Seattle University fell behind early in both games of Friday’s doubleheader and could not produce enough offense to come from behind, as BYU swept the twinbill, 8-2 and 4-2, in collegiate baseball action at Bruce Hurst Field.
In the bottom of the second inning of game one, Kelton Caldwell led off with a single, and Bret Lopez followed with a double down the left field line. Caldwell scored on a groundout hit by Dillon Robinson, and Lopez would pick up the second run of the inning on a groundout hit by Dallen Reber.
Seattle U cut its deficit in half in the top of the third as Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a balk committed by Cougar starter Kolton Mahoney. After two outs, Newton was able to score on a single to left field by Chase Fields (Ontario, Ore.).
BYU (4-8) broke the game open in the bottom of the third with six runs. With one run already in and the bases loaded, Reber hit a single to left field that drove in Brock Whitney and Caldwell. With runners on second and third and two outs, Trace Hansen laced a double down the left field line, scoring Robinson and Reber, and Brennon Lund would follow with a single to center field that drove in Hansen.
Austin Hansen (Mukilteo, Wash.) would come on for Seattle U starter Andrew Olson (Enumclaw, Wash.) in the fourth inning and give up just three hits over four innings of work. Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.) came on in the eighth inning and retired the Cougars while allowing just one hit, but the Redhawk offense could not solve Mahoney or BYU reliever Rhett Nelson.
The Redhawks did score one more run in the seventh inning as Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) led off with a walk, advanced to second on a single by Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.), reached third on a Newton flyout, and scored on a groundout hit by Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.).
“In game one, we just did not make the plays or the pitches when we needed to, and the six-run third inning was more than we could overcome,” Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel said.
In game two, after Seattle U starter Mac Acker (Redmond, Wash.) retired the first two batters in the bottom of the first, Whitney singled to right field and came around to score when Caldwell’s single was misplayed by the Redhawk defense. Lopez reached on an infield single, advancing Caldwell to third, and Robinson would bring Caldwell home with a single to right field.
In the bottom of the third, Whitney was hit by a pitch, Caldwell singled to center field, and Lopez walked to load the bases with one out. Acker was able to induce a ground ball that eventually resulted in two outs, but not before Whitney scored to increase the BYU lead to 3-0.
Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) led off the top of the fourth with a single, and Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) followed with his own single, with a Cougar error allowing the runners to reach second and third base. Olson scored on a sacrifice fly to center field from Eric Koenig (Auburn, Wash.), and McCann, who advanced to third on the flyout, came home on a groundout hit by Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.).
Bronson Larsen led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double down the left field line, but Acker was able to retire the next two batters. Hayden Nielsen extended the inning with an infield single, and Whitney drove in Larsen with a single to left field, ending Acker’s outing after 5 2/3 innings.
Seattle U had a golden opportunity in the top of the seventh inning, as Cash McGuire (Kent, Wash.) drew a leadoff walk, and Somers followed with a single up the middle. After a fielder’s choice and a BYU pitching change, Cray singled to left field to load the bases with just one out. However, Cougar relievers Chris Howard and James Lengal retired the next two Redhawk batters without any runs scoring.
In the eighth inning, a double by Olson and a walk to McCann put runners on first and second with one out and led to another BYU pitching change. Cougar closer Brandon Kinser ended the Seattle U threat and then overcame a leadoff double by Fields in the ninth inning to finish off the game and pick up his first save of the season.
“Game two found us in a familiar situation with going down early and having plenty of chances to get back in the game and take the lead, but we left 11 guys on base because we could not get the big hit,” said Harrel. “We need our older offensive guys to start picking us up when guys are in scoring position.”
Seattle University (5-6) heads to Eugene, Ore., to face nationally-ranked Oregon Tuesday and Wednesday, March 4-5, at PK Park. The Redhawks then open their home schedule with another team in the national rankings, as Cal Poly comes to town for a three-game weekend series March 7-9 at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.