It was a typically close game between Seattle University and the University of Washington, but the Huskies hit a walk-off double in the ninth inning to defeat the Redhawks, 3-2, Tuesday evening in a non-conference collegiate baseball game at Husky Ballpark.
Seattle U struck first in the top of the third inning when Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.), which was mishandled by the Husky defense, allowing McCann to reach base. Carpenter hustled to third base on a deep flyout to center field by Eric Koenig (Auburn, Wash.) and scored on a groundout by Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.).
Washington (12-5) tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Branden Berry drew a one-out walk and Alex Schmidt doubled, putting runners on second and third. Duncan Hendrickson lined out to Redhawk second baseman Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.), but Stober’s attempt to double up Schmidt was off-line, allowing Berry to score.
With two outs in the fifth inning, Andreychuk sent a deep fly ball off the wall in right field for a triple, driving in Koenig to put the Redhawks back on top, 2-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Joey Morgan reached second base on a Seattle U throwing error, advanced to third on a Levi Jordan sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Matt Jackson, tying the game at 2-2.
Seattle U starter Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) pitched well, allowing just two hits, two walks, and two unearned runs in seven innings of work. The Redhawk bullpen got into trouble in the eighth inning, as Washington loaded the bases before Chris Carns (Federal Way, Wash.) induced a groundout to end the Husky threat.
Carns hit Chris Baker with a pitch to lead off the ninth inning, and Morgan drew a walk. After Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) came on in relief of Carns, Jordan failed to get the bunt down, but hit a 3-2 pitch into the right-center field gap for a double that brought in Baker with the game-winning run.
The Redhawks were held to three hits by four different Washington pitchers. Brandon Choate allowed just one walk in two innings of relief while striking out three batters, and Spencer Jones was credited with the victory after two innings of one-hit relief, including two strikeouts of his own.
“We had some cracks in there that we could have taken advantage of, but they also had some cracks in there that they did not take advantage of. Skubal is very competitive and pitched out of some situations where they had a chance to score,” Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel said. “The small things hurt us tonight, but I have no complaints as to how the guys competed. We need to get better, because we are not scoring enough runs to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Seattle University (5-12) hosts Northwestern University in a four-game series, starting Thursday, March 12, at 5 p.m. at Bannerwood Park, followed by a doubleheader Friday, March 13, starting at 2 p.m., and the series finale Saturday, March 14, at 12 noon.