Seattle University was unable to overcome Saint Mary’s College’s early offensive outburst as the Gaels clinched the weekend series with an 11-6 victory over the Redhawks Sunday afternoon in a non-conference collegiate baseball game at Bannerwood Park.
After a scoreless first inning, Anthony Villa led off the second inning with a home run over the left field wall, his second home run of the weekend. After two outs, Logan Steinberg and Jackson Thoreson picked up back-to-back singles, and Steinberg would come around to score on a Redhawk error.
Joey Fiske walked to load the bases, and Seattle U starter Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) committed a balk, allowing Thoreson to score. Skubal then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Brett Rasso, and another Seattle U error brought home Fiske with the Gaels’ fifth run of the inning.
Saint Mary’s (3-1) added two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Zach Kirtley as well as another run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Anthony Gonsolin. In the seventh inning, a Thoreson single drove in Collin Ferguson, and the Gaels picked up two more runs in the eighth inning on a Ferguson RBI double and an RBI single from pinch-hitter Austin Chauvin.
Gael starter and winning pitcher Jake Valdez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three runs while striking out two batters. The Redhawks finally broke through in the seventh inning off reliever Drew Strotman, as Sean Sutton (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) led off with a single. Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) reached base on a Saint Mary’s error, allowing pinch runner Nelson Taylor (Seattle, Wash.) to score the Redhawks’ first run of the game.
In the ninth inning, TJ Byrne (Federal Way, Wash.) led off with a walk, Taylor reached base on a Gael error, and Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Andreychuk drove in Byrne with a sacrifice fly, and Jack Reisinger (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) reached on another Saint Mary’s error to once again load the bases, this time with two outs.
Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) drove in one run with a single up the middle, and Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.) followed with a two-run single to left field. Curtis Perrin (Vancouver, Wash.) sent a single into right field that scored Newton, but Saint Mary’s settled down, as Vince Braman came on and picked up the final out of the game.
“We have to take care of our pitchers better defensively and get them off the field,” Seattle U head baseball coach Donny Harrel said. “At least we finished the game on a positive note, as the guys continued to battle right to the end. Hopefully that can help us moving forward, but we need to be more consistent in all aspects of the game.”
Skubal took the loss after giving up seven hits, one walk, and seven runs, three of them earned runs. Stober led the Redhawk offense with a 3-for-5 effort and two runs batted in, while Newton and Peterson collected two hits apiece. Five Saint Mary's players collected two hits apiece during the game as the Gaels outhit the Redhawks, 14-10.
Seattle University (1-3) heads south for a quick trip Tuesday, Feb. 17, to take on the Portland Pilots, with the first pitch at Joe Etzel Field scheduled for 2 p.m. The Redhawks return to Bannerwood Park next weekend for a four-game series against CSU Northridge Feb. 20-22.