Behind a strong combined pitching performance and one big offensive inning, Seattle University defeated Concordia University, 5-2, Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference collegiate baseball game at Bannerwood Park.
Skyler Genger (Kent, Wash.), scheduled to start Tuesday before that game was postponed, opened the contest with two hitless innings, pitching out of a jam in the first inning caused by two Redhawk errors that allowed Concordia leadoff hitter Blake Drake to reach third base with just one out. Genger earned two strikeouts in the second inning, but Cavalier starter Austin Hadley also breezed through the first two innings with two strikeouts.
Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.) came on to pitch in the third inning, but he walked leadoff hitter Adam Taylor, allowed a single to Drake, and walked Christian Lichtenthaler to load the bases with one out. Blake Evetts sent a single into right field, scoring Taylor and Drake and ending Doyle’s time on the mound. Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) replaced Doyle and retired the next two Cavalier batters to prevent any further damage.
In the bottom of the third inning, Eric Koenig (Auburn, Wash.) led off with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a single to center field by Chase Fields (Ontario, Ore.). With Fields running on the pitch, Cray sent a chopper through the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners, and Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) sent a double down the left field line to drive in Fields with the game-tying run.
Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) drew a walk to load the bases, forcing Concordia to make a pitching change from Hadley to Ryan McMonigle. Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) hit a flyout to left field deep enough to advance all three runners, including Cray with the go-ahead run. Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) followed with a single to left-center field, scoring Olson and Hendrickson.
The Redhawk pitchers took care of the rest of the game, starting with a perfect inning from Hammond and continuing with Austin Hansen (Mukilteo, Wash.), who benefited from Lichtenthaler being thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double. Connor Moore (West Richland, Wash.) struck out two batters in a perfect sixth inning, and Grant Gunning (Snohomish, Wash.) also picked up two strikeouts in the seventh inning.
In the eighth inning, Will Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.) allowed back-to-back singles to the first two hitters he saw, but he settled down, earning a strikeout and two grounders back to him to get out of the inning without any runs scoring. Garrett Anderson (Kennewick, Wash.) collected two strikeouts and a groundout in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
“It was a good working day for us, because we wanted to get a lot of people in the lineup. Our pitching did exactly what we wanted them to do, especially with 25 first pitch strikes out of 32 batters faced,” Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel said. “We got the one big inning with five runs, but I was a little disappointed with our offense the rest of the way as they were not piecing hits together. Hopefully this gives us some momentum heading into the Northern Colorado series.”
Concordia (19-17) stayed close thanks to its bullpen, as McMonigle settled down and allowed just two hits in his final two innings of work before Brad Bearden and Oliver Wange held Seattle U hitless over the Redhawks’ final three innings at the plate. Olson was the only Seattle U player with a multiple-hit game, going 2-for-4 during the afternoon.
Seattle University (12-15) hosts Northern Colorado in a three-game Western Athletic Conference series starting Friday, April 11, with a 6 p.m. contest. The series continues Saturday, April 12, at 2 p.m. before the final game of the weekend takes place Sunday, April 13, at 12 noon.