The pitching and defense of Seattle University did not support the Redhawk offense, as Santa Clara took advantage of eight errors to defeat Seattle U, 16-11, Saturday afternoon at Stephen Schott Stadium.
Seattle U struck first in the top of the first inning when Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) led off with a single up the middle, stole second base, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.).
Santa Clara (2-0) answered in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of Redhawk errors that allowed leadoff hitter Kert Woods to reach base and later to score the Broncos' first run of the game. Seattle U starter Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) walked consecutive batters to load the bases, but he worked out of the two-out jam by inducing a groundout to end the inning with the score tied 1-1.
In the top of the third inning, Sean Narby (Auburn, Wash.) led off with a single, advanced to second on a passed ball, reached third on a flyout, and scored on a single to right-center field by Somers. Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two outs, and Zach Aaker (Ravensdale, Wash.) followed with a single up the middle to drive in Hendrickson and Somers to extend the Redhawks' lead to 4-1.
Quinton Perry led off the bottom of the third inning with a home run to close the Bronco deficit to 4-2. In the fourth inning, Drew Ozanne and Woods led off with back-to-back singles, with Ozanne advancing to third on a flyout and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Greg Harisis. Woods would score the tying run on a double down the right field line by Perry, ending Hammond's day on the mound.
Seattle U regained the lead in the fifth inning on back-to-back doubles by Hendrickson and Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.). An infield single by Somers and a walk drawn by Olson loaded the bases with nobody out, and Aaker followed with his second two-run single of the game, scoring Roberts and Somers, and Olson scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Latta (Tacoma, Wash.) to give Seattle U an 8-4 advantage.
The Broncos came right back in the bottom of the fifth, starting with back-to-back singles by Casey Munoz and Peter Summerville, followed by a double from Drew Ozanne and an RBI groundout by Woods that drove in both runners. Three straight errors by the Redhawks loaded the bases and eventually scored Ozanne, and a Matt Ozanne single plated Justin Viele and Harisis, with T.J. Braff scoring on Seattle U's fourth error of the inning to give the Broncos a 10-8 lead.
Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) started the top of the sixth inning with a single, Hendrickson followed with a double, and Roberts drove both Redhawks in with a single up the middle that tied the game at 10-10. Roberts was picked off, but Somers doubled and scored on a single up the middle by Olson that put Seattle U back on top, 11-10.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Matt Ozanne and Munoz singled to load the bases, and Zach Looney followed with a two-run single up the middle that drove in Perry and Ozanne to pull the Broncos ahead, 12-11. Santa Clara added to the lead in the eighth inning by loading the bases before Braff forced in Viele by being hit by a pitch and Matt Ozanne reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Harisis. Munoz drove the final nail in the coffin with a two-run single.
Hendrickson went 3-for-5 with four runs scored, while Somers finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Munoz led Santa Clara with a 4-for-6 performance as the two teams combined for 31 hits in the contest.
Max Deering picked up the win for the Broncos, pitching the last 2 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit and one run. Garrett Anderson (Kennewick, Wash.) suffered the loss for the Redhawks, giving up three hits, two walks, and two runs in two innings of work.
Seattle University (0-2) concludes the three-game series at Santa Clara Sunday, Feb. 17, starting at 12 p.m., with sophomore lefthander Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.) scheduled to start for the Redhawks. Dan Giuliani will broadcast the game live on GoSeattleU.com beginning with the pregame show approximately 20 minutes before first pitch.