Tarik Skubal (Kingman, Ariz.) and Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) combined to shut out Texas-Pan American, and Seattle University picked up timely hits late in the game as the Redhawks defeated the Broncs, 4-0, Sunday afternoon to complete a Western Athletic Conference weekend sweep at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
Skubal allowed a single and a walk with one out in the first inning, followed by a Redhawk error that loaded the bases. However, the freshman earned a strikeout and a flyout to get out of the jam, and then he retired 21 of the next 22 UTPA batters to keep the Broncs off the scoreboard. Skubal threw 95 pitches, 57 of them for strikes, as he struck out three UTPA batters.
The Redhawks finally converted on a scoring chance in the seventh inning, as Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.) hit a one-out single to center field and advanced to second when he took off on an apparent hit-and-run as Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) grounded out to second base. Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) found fair territory in right field with a fly ball for a double that scored Peterson, and he would come around to score on a single to center field by Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.).
Seattle U extended its lead in the eighth inning thanks to more clutch two-out hits. Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) singled, Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) drew a walk, and Peterson followed with a single to left field that scored Carpenter. Cray would hit a ball into the left-center field gap, driving in pinch runner Eric Koenig (Auburn, Wash.).
In the bottom of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Manny Loredo drew a walk and Jesus Garcia followed with a single to put two runners on base with one out. Hammond came on in relief of Skubal and retired the next two Bronc batters on a groundout and a strikeout to keep the shutout intact. Hammond retired the Broncs in order in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
Peterson went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Andreychuk and Stober collected two hits apiece for the Redhawks. Seattle U earned 10 hits and three walks, plus had three batters hit by pitches, but the Redhawks left 12 runners on base and hit into three double plays. However, the Broncs were held to three hits, one by each of UTPA’s first three batters in the lineup.
With the victory, Seattle U earned its first three-game sweep on the road since the baseball program was reinstated as a varsity sport and began play in 2010. The Redhawks are off to their best start in WAC play and have now won all six games they have played against the Broncs over the past two seasons.
“This was a great weekend with it being the first road sweep since 2010. Today, we did not allow the leadoff batter to reach base in any inning, and our defense played very sound. Those two pieces of the puzzle gave our offense time to find a way to win. I am very proud of the team,” Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel said.
Seattle University (12-14, 5-1 WAC) faces nationally-ranked Oregon Wednesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Ore., home of the 2014 Northwest League champion Hillsboro Hops, a Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Redhawks then return home to open a three-game conference series against WAC preseason favorite Sacramento State Thursday, April 2, at 5 p.m., followed by games Friday, April 3, at 5 p.m., and Saturday, April 4, at 12 noon.