The Seattle University offense exploded for eight runs in the first inning, and the Redhawks maintained their distance from Texas-Pan American the rest of the way, defeating the Broncs 16-6 Saturday evening in a Western Athletic Conference baseball game at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
The Redhawks took advantage of UTPA mistakes right from the start when Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) reached on an error to lead off the game. Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.) singled and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position, and Cray came in to score on a wild pitch as Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) drew a walk.
Grant Newton (Bend, Ore.) laid down a safety squeeze that scored Stober, plus he reached base on another UTPA error, and Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) drew a walk that loaded the bases. Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.) sent a single into center field that scored Olson, and Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.) followed with a double that drove in Newton and Carpenter.
Batting for the second time in the inning, Cray laced a shot into left field for a triple, scoring McCann and Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.). Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) completed the scoring in the first inning with a single to left field, allowing Cray to score for the second time in the frame.
With two outs in the second inning, Carpenter reached base on an infield single, stole second base, and came around to score on a single by Hurd. UTPA broke through in the bottom of the inning as Correy Davis led off with a walk, Victor Garcia Jr. blooped a double into left field, Manny Loredo drove in Davis on a groundout, and a similar groundout by Scott Mercer scored Garcia.
In the third inning, Cray drew a walk, stole second base, and came around to score on a double to right field by Stober. The Broncs answered once again in the bottom of the third inning when Jesus Garcia singled, stole second base and advanced to third on a Redhawk error, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Logan Landon.
The Redhawks continued to produce offensively in the fourth inning, as Carpenter drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on an infield single by Cray. After Andreychuk walked to load the bases, Stober cleared them with a three-run triple to extend the Seattle U lead into double digits. Olson kept the inning going with a double down the left field line that scored Stober.
UTPA (11-13, 0-5 WAC) fought back in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting when Isaac Gonzalez reached base on an infield single, Cole Loncar drew a walk, and Jesus Garcia earned an infield single to load the bases. After a popout, Davis drew a two-out walk that forced in Gonzalez, and a Redhawk error on a fly ball hit by Victor Garcia Jr. allowed Loncar and Jesus Garcia to score, closing the Seattle U lead to 15-6.
Neither team scored until the eighth inning, when Cray hit a one-out double to right-center field and came around to score on a single by Stober. Nick Meservey (Scottsdale, Ariz.) pitched three innings of one-hit relief, earning three strikeouts along the way, to pick up his first career save and end the game after the eighth inning due to the WAC’s 10-run rule.
Skyler Genger (Kent, Wash.) picked up his third victory of the season, allowing five hits, three walks, and six runs, three of them earned, in five innings on the mound. He struck out the side in the first inning, but collected only one more strikeout during the rest of his outing. Robert Quinonez took the loss for UTPA, allowing five hits, three walks, and eight runs, all of them unearned, in one inning plus one batter in the second inning.
Stober led the Redhawks by going 4-for-6 with a double, a triple, two runs scored, and five runs batted in, while Cray went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two walks, five runs scored, three RBI, and two stolen bases. Jesus Garcia was the only Bronc batter with more than one hit, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
The 16 runs Seattle U accumulated are the most scored in a WAC game by the Redhawks, eclipsing the previous total of 15 scored against New Mexico State May 16, 2013, but it is one off the SU modern single-game record of 17 runs the Redhawks scored against UC Davis Feb. 16, 2014. Seattle U has already clinched the series and will look for its first three-game sweep on the road since the program was reinstated in 2010.
Seattle University (11-14, 4-1 WAC) and UTPA conclude their three-game conference series Sunday, March 29, at 11 a.m. local time (9 a.m. Central time). The game will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch).