The CSUN Matadors took the early lead and held off Seattle University’s chances at extending the game as CSUN defeated Seattle U, 7-3, Sunday afternoon in a non-conference collegiate baseball game at Bannerwood Park.
In the second inning, Nick Blaser hit a one-out single, and Dylan Alexander followed with a walk. With two outs, Justin Toerner laced a double into right-center field, scoring both Blaser and Alexander to give the Matadors the early lead. CSUN would add a run in the third inning when Ryan Raslowsky led off with a double and scored on a Redhawk error.
Raslowsky once again started things in the fifth inning, this time with a walk. He would advance to second on a groundout and steal third base before Albee Weiss drew a walk. Seattle U starter Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) attempted to pick off Weiss at first, and Raslowsky took advantage of the play by stealing home to increase the Matador lead to 4-0 halfway through the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Curtis Perrin (Vancouver, Wash.) drew a one-out walk, and Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) followed with a two-run home run over the right field wall, the team’s first long ball of the 2015 season. After a pitching change, Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) drew a walk and Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) singled, but Matador reliever Nick Viola picked up a strikeout to end the Redhawk scoring threat.
Grant Gunning (Snohomish, Wash.) came on in relief of Skubal in the sixth inning, giving up three straight singles before being pulled for Garrett Anderson (Kennewick, Wash.). Anderson induced a ground ball from Chester Pak, but the infield defense was not in position to force anyone out, allowing Alexander to score. Raslowsky moved up all three runners, including driving in Nolan Flashman, with a sacrifice fly to left field, and a wild pitch brought in Toerner with the third run of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.) led off with a triple, Sean Sutton (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) drew a walk, and Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.) reached base on a single down the third-base line. Brandon Warner came on in relief of Viola and induced a groundout and a double play grounder to end the Seattle U scoring chance without any runs.
Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) led off the seventh inning with a single, advanced to second on a single by Newton, and scored when Matador third baseman Blaser could not handle a grounder hit by Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.). However, the Matadors were able to turn another double play to stop the Redhawk scoring threat with CSUN still on top,
Chris Carns (Federal Way, Wash.) came on in relief for the Redhawks and pitched two perfect innings to keep Seattle U within striking distance. In the ninth inning, Olson and Newton drew back-to-back walks off Matador reliever Kyle Dohy, but Joey Deceglie came on and retired the final two batters to earn his first save of the season and complete the series sweep.
The Redhawk offense did show signs of life, earning almost as many hits in Sunday’s game (11) as it did in the three prior games against CSUN combined (12). Andreychuk went 3-for-5 and Newton hit 2-for-4, but Seattle U stranded 12 runners on base and hit into two double plays.
CSUN (8-1) also finished with 11 hits, led by two-hit performances by Alexander, Flashman, and Toerner, the bottom three batters in Sunday’s lineup. Warner was credited with the victory after giving up just two hits, one walk, and one unearned run in 3 1/3 innings of work, while Skubal took the loss, allowing five hits, three walks, and four runs in five innings to go along with three strikeouts.
Seattle University (1-8) is scheduled to head across the country to Cary, N.C., for the USA Baseball-Irish Classic at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Redhawks will face Richmond Friday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Notre Dame Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. local time, and Cincinnati Sunday, March 1, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.