Senior catcher Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) hit a home run to straightaway center field to lead off the 13th inning as Seattle University outlasted Utah Valley in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams, 9-8, Friday night at Bannerwood Park.
Olson hit a 3-1 pitch off Utah Valley reliever Marco Briones over the wall in center field to end a game that featured four hours of action as well as a 45-minute rain delay just as the 10th inning started. It was Olson’s first home run of the season and second extra-base hit of the game.
With one out in the first inning, Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) doubled and scored on a single through the right side of the infield by Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.). With one out in the second inning, the Redhawks loaded the bases on a single by Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) and walks drawn by Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) and Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.), and then Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) drew a walk to force in McCann with a run.
Logan Hold came on in relief of Utah Valley starter Danny Beddes and promptly walked Cray, forcing in Carpenter with another run. Stober sent a double into right-center field to score Hurd and Andreychuk, and Cray was able to come home thanks to a Wolverine error. However, Hold would settle down, allowing just one hit over the next three innings.
Utah Valley (4-17, 0-1 WAC) started working its way back into the game in the fifth inning, scoring two runs thanks in part to two Seattle U errors. In the sixth inning, Jordan Schlehuber and Craig Brinkerhoff led off with consecutive singles and advanced to second and third when Redhawk starter Will Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.) committed a balk. Tate Harding drove in Schlehuber with a single, and Brinkerhoff would score on a grounder hit by Jake Atkinson.
A bunt single by Spencer Gothberg loaded the bases, and a fielder’s choice grounder hit by Zac Fuller drove in Harding. After Dennis earned a strikeout for the second out, Seth Rhineer laid down a perfect bunt single, scoring Atkinson to tie the game at 6-6.
The Redhawks answered right back in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a double by Carpenter and a bunt single by Hurd. Andreychuk drove in Carpenter with a sacrifice fly to right field and Hurd stole second base to put himself in scoring position with one out, but Hold was able to retire the final two Redhawk batters of the inning.
Matt Davidson started the seventh inning for the Wolverines and gave up a triple to Olson, followed by a single by Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) that drove in Olson to increase the Redhawk lead to 8-6. In the top of the eighth inning, Fuller drew a walk, advanced to second on a groundout, and came around to score on a Redhawk throwing error.
Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) came on in the ninth inning and walked Schlehuber to lead off the inning. With two outs, Schlehuber advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single through the left side of the infield by Atkinson, tying the game at 8-8.
After the Redhawks did not score in the bottom of the ninth inning, Hammond walked Fuller to lead off the 10th inning, and then the game was halted due to rain. After a 45-minute wait, Hammond was able to work out of the jam and faced the minimum nine batters over the next three innings to pick up his third victory of the season.
Seattle U earned 14 hits during the game, led by Newton’s 3-for-5 performance and four other Redhawks with two hits apiece. Harding and Atkinson each went 2-for-6 as the Wolverines finished with nine hits in the game.
Seattle University (8-13, 1-0 WAC) will look to extend its three-game winning streak in the second game of the weekend conference series against Utah Valley Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. at Bannerwood Park.