After falling behind late in the game, Seattle University scored a key run to force extra innings, and Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Redhawks a 7-6 victory over New Mexico State Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference collegiate baseball game at Bannerwood Park.
New Mexico State (4-26-1, 1-9-1 WAC) rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the top of the eighth inning, as Brent Hermanussen led off with a double, Michael Paulson followed with a single, and pinch hitter Jake Hasbrouck tied the game with a three-run home run over the left field wall off Redhawk reliever Nick Meservey (Scottsdale, Ariz.). After Meservey threw the first pitch to Lincoln Herendeen, Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) came on in relief, but he walked Herendeen, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored the go-ahead run on a double to left-center field by Quinnton Mack.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Sean Sutton (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) kept the inning alive with a single, advanced to second on a single by Carpenter, and came around to score on a single by Michael McCann (Vancouver, Wash.). A line drive hit by Colin Peterson (Bellingham, Wash.) landed in the glove of Aggie second baseman Lucas Martinez, keeping the game tied at 6-6.
Hermanussen notched another double in the ninth inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Seattle U pitcher Ky Dye (Everett, Wash.) earned a strikeout and a groundout to strand the runner at third base. In the top of the 10th inning, Herendeen led off by reaching base on a Redhawk error, but Dye struck out Daniel Kennon before giving way to Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.). After Doyle struck out pinch hitter Jay Sheeley, he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Herendeen to reach second base, and Mack followed with a ground ball to the left side of the infield that Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) dove to block, keeping Herendeen from coming around to score. Andreychuk then made another solid defensive play, throwing out Joseph Koerper at first base on a tough grounder to end the Aggie scoring opportunity.
New Mexico State reliever Bill Conard entered his third inning of work, forcing Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) to fly out to right field before striking out Anthony Gosline (Spokane, Wash.). Carpenter took a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left field for his second home run of the season, with both home runs serving as the game-winning runs following his long distance shot last Saturday against Sacramento State in a 2-1 Redhawk victory.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Seattle U struck first in the second inning, as Jack Reisinger (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) led off with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Peterson, and came around to score on a single by Andreychuk. New Mexico State starter Matt Loeffler committed a balk, allowing Curtis Perrin (Vancouver, Wash.), who had drawn a walk and hustled to third base on the Andreychuk single), to score the second run of the game.
Seattle U starter Skyler Genger (Kent, Wash.) retired 10 of the first 11 Aggie batters he faced before Koerper reached base on an infield single, advanced to third on a single by Cameron Haskins, and came in to score on a Genger wild pitch. The Redhawks reestablished their two-run lead when Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.) hit a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth inning, stole second base, and scored on a single by Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.).
Perrin led off the sixth inning with a triple down the right field line and scored on a bloop single to left field by Hurd. Each team would score a run in the seventh inning to keep the margin at three runs heading into the eighth inning.
Genger pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits, two walks, and two runs while striking out seven batters. Loeffler battled through six innings for the Aggies, giving up six hits, four walks, and four runs, plus he hit four batters with a pitch while striking out three hitters.
Andreychuk, Hurd, and Carpenter each earned two hits as Seattle U totaled 11 hits in the game, but the Redhawks left 15 runners on base. New Mexico State stranded 12 runners on base as the Aggies finished with 12 hits, led by Hermanussen with a 3-for-4 effort with three doubles.
Seattle University (18-15, 10-1 WAC) will look to sweep its third consecutive conference series Sunday, April 12, as it faces New Mexico State one more time starting at 12 noon. The game will be streamed online by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch), with live stats available on GoSeattleU.com.