Eric Yardley, a member of the Seattle University baseball team from 2009 to 2013, appeared in the California League-Carolina League All-Star Game Tuesday night at LoanMart Field.
Yardley entered the game with one out in the top of the ninth inning and retired both batters he faced, striking out Mark Zagunis of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans before Ramon Torres of the Wilmington Blue Rocks grounded out to second base. Yardley helped the California League All-Stars close out a 9-2 victory over the Carolina League All-Stars.
Yardley is playing for the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Class A Advanced California League, an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. So far this season, Yardley has appeared in 26 games, posting a 1-3 record with a 3.94 earned run average and 13 saves, the most in the California League. In 29 2/3 innings of work, he has struck out 25 batters while walking just seven opposing hitters.
After graduating from Seattle U in 2013, Yardley was signed by the Padres and finished out the 2013 campaign in the Arizona League, going 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and two saves in 12 appearances. He played the majority of the 2014 season for the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class-A Midwest League, posting a 2-4 record with a 2.95 ERA and three saves. He also made four appearances for the San Antonio Missions of the Class-AA Texas League.
On the same day as Yardley’s appearance in the California League-Carolina League All-Star Game, two other former Redhawks made their professional baseball debuts. In the Gulf Coast League, catcher Brian Olson went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, a run scored, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly as the GCL Twins defeated the GCL Orioles, 5-1. On opening night of the Appalachian League, Landon Cray batted leadoff and played center field for the Princeton Rays, going 0-for-3 with a walk at Hunnicutt Field in Princeton, W.V.
The Seattle University baseball team is coming off its best season since the program returned to NCAA competition in 2010, winning 31 games and advancing to the championship game of the WAC Baseball Tournament.