Seattle University once again showed its ability to battle back, as the Redhawks answered North Dakota’s two-run eighth inning that tied the game with two runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-2 victory Friday evening in a Western Athletic Conference collegiate baseball game at Bannerwood Park.
Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) led off the bottom of the eighth inning as a pinch hitter and sent the first pitch he saw up the middle for a single. Griffin Andreychuk (Nanaimo, B.C.) sacrificed pinch runner Eric Koenig (Auburn, Wash.) over to second base, and Dalton Hurd (Bend, Ore.) followed with a single that allowed Koenig to come around and score the go-ahead run.
Hurd took second on the throw home attempting to tag out Koenig, and then he reached third base on a groundout before scoring on a bloop single to right field by Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.). After walking the leadoff hitter in the top of the ninth inning, Kyle Doyle (Covington, Wash.) retired the next three North Dakota batters in order to finish the game and earn his second victory of the season.
North Dakota (12-18, 6-7 WAC) started its rally in the top of the eighth when Brett Harrison drew a leadoff walk, and then reached second base safely when Seattle U could not turn the force play cleanly on a grounder hit by Zach Heaser. After a failed sacrifice bunt, Dalton Parrott reached base on a bunt single to load the bases with one out.
Tyler Follis hit a chopper towards the mound, but Seattle U pitcher Will Dennis (Saratoga, Calif.) could not handle it cleanly, allowing Heaser to score and the bases to remain loaded. After Doyle replaced Dennis, Jeff Campbell beat out the relay throw to first base on a potential inning-ending double play, and Cooper Maas was able to score the game-tying run. Doyle struck out Ryan Reese with runners on the corners to keep the score tied at 2-2.
Dennis basically cruised through the first seven innings, scattering six hits while striking out six batters. The Redhawk defense played well for most of Dennis’s outing, turning double plays in both the fifth and seventh innings that kept North Dakota off the scoreboard.
North Dakota starter Andrew Thome did not allow a hit through the first three innings before allowing a one-out walk to Sheldon Stober (Kent, Wash.) in the fourth inning and then committing a balk to allow Stober to advance to second base. Olson followed with a single, and Sean Sutton (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) drove in Stober with a single to right field. Olson would score from third base when Brock Carpenter (Milton, Wash.) beat out a relay throw to first base on a potential inning-ending double play.
Thome would take the loss, as he gave up seven hits, three walks, and four runs in 7 2/3 innings of work, striking out five Seattle U batters in the process. Follis was the only North Dakota player with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 in the contest. Olson also went 2-for-4 for the Redhawks with a run scored and an RBI.
With the victory, Seattle U has now won 11 straight conference games as well as 16 out of its last 19 games overall. The Redhawks were able to increase their lead at the top of the WAC standings over Grand Canyon to one-and-a-half games, as the Antelopes lost their weekend series opener to New Mexico State, 12-2.
Seattle University (21-16, 12-1 WAC) faces North Dakota again Saturday, April 18, starting at 2 p.m. at Bannerwood Park. Live stats and live audio/video will be available on the Seattle U Athletics official website (www.GoSeattleU.com).