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GAME PREVIEW: SB at No. 1 Washington

Seattle University softball plays at top-ranked Washington on Wednesday at Husky Softball Stadium.

GAME PREVIEW: SB at No. 1 WashingtonGAME PREVIEW: SB at No. 1 Washington

2018 SCHEDULE

SEATTLE – (April 3) Seattle University softball makes the short trip north to play at No. 1 UW on Wednesday.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

ABOUT THE GAMES

  • Seattle U (24-16) at No. 1 Washington (35-2)
  • All-time series-UW leads, 13-0
  • Home-UW leads, 2-0
  • Away-UW leads, 7-0
  • Neutral-UW leads, 4-0
  • Last meeting-UW won, 3-1, at Washington (May 3, 2017)

NEWS AND NOTES

  • Seattle U took two out of three games from Utah Valley in the first WAC series of the season. It won, 9-3 and 5-0, on March 30, before UVU claimed the finale, 8-7 in 10 innings, on March 31.
  • In the WAC opener, the Redhawks scored seven runs in the fifth inning, pulling away from UVU for a 9-3 victory at Logan Field.
  • Andie Larkins pitched a five-hitter in SU’s 5-0 win over the Wolverines. It marked the Redhawks’s sixth shutout of the year.
  • Madison Cathcart has hit 17 in 2018, tied for most in the nation. The sophomore also leads Division I in total bases (114) and stands fifth in slugging percentage (1.009), doubles (13), and RBIs (49) this year. She paces the WAC in 10 statistical categories this season.
  • Among WAC pitchers, Carley Nance tops the league in wins (11) and strikeouts (106) in 2018. Shianne Smith leads the conference in strikeouts per seven innings (6.6), opponent batting average (.208), ERA (2.23) and saves (2).
  • The Redhawks put together a 3-2 weekend at the Gaucho Classic II March 24-26. SU swept a pair of meetings with Saint Mary’s before dropping two out of three at UC Santa Barbara.
  • Carley Nance threw a complete-game shutout of Saint Mary’s on March 24, striking out seven and allowing just four hits as SU won, 2-0.
  • Seattle U exploded for a season-high 15 runs in a 15-3 win at UCSB on March 26. With the game even at 3, it scored seven runs in the sixth and added five more in the seventh to pull away from the Gauchos. Nine straight Redhawks reached base in the sixth inning.
  • For the first time since joining the WAC, SU has reached the 20-win barrier before the start of conference action. It leads the league in wins entering this weekend.
  • SU went 5-1 at the Seattle U Invitational from March 16-18. It swept three games with Bryant and took two of three meetings with Portland State at Logan Field. The Redhawks pitched shutouts in their first three outings of the weekend.
  • Carley Nance earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing 13.1 innings over the weekend. She did not allow an earned run over three performances.
  • Washington has been ranked atop the USA Today/NFCA Coaches’ Poll for seven straight weeks. It swept a three-game series at Stanford last weekend.
  • Sophomore Taran Alvelo has been UW’s ace, compiling 17 wins, 168 strikeouts, and eight shutouts to lead the Huskies.
  • Last season, the Huskies won 50 games and advanced to the College World Series, winning twice before losing to Florida in Oklahoma City.
  • Seattle U dropped three of four outings at the CSUN Invitational March 9-11. It beat CSUN, 4-1, on March 11, as Andie Larkins threw a complete game to lift the Redhawks. Madison Cathcart homered to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning.
  • For the period ending March 11, Madison Cathcart was named WAC Hitter of the Week. The first baseman hit .500 in six games, claiming her second weekly conference honors of the season.
  • Madison Cathcart hit a walk-off grand slam to lift Seattle U to a 7-4 win over Toledo on March 6. The sophomore capped a standout day with his national-high 12th home run of the season.
  • In the doubleheader, Cathcart went 4-4 with two home runs, two doubles, and three walks.
  • SU swept the Rockets, 6-4 and 7-4, in the 2018 home opener at Logan Field.
  • The Redhawks won twice at the Red Desert Classic March 2-4, beating Southern Utah and Montana. Madison Cathcart hit three home runs on the weekend, batting .588 with seven RBIs.
  • Shianne Smith won WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after recording a 0.54 ERA in five relief appearances at the Red Desert Classic. Smith threw 13 innings and allowed one earned run, striking out nine batters.
  • For a third straight weekend to open 2018, the Redhawks went 3-2, this time at the Libby Matson Tournament. They defeated Northern Colorado, Nevada, and Pacific in the event, hosted by Pacific from Feb. 22-24.
  • Carley Nance was terrific at the Libby Matson Tournament, winning twice and throwing a pair of complete games. In a 3-1 win at Pacific, the redshirt freshman went seven innings, allowing six hits and one run. She struck five and walked none in the victory.
  • SU won three of its five contests at the Marucci Desert Classic from Feb. 15-17.
  • Madison Cathcart was chosen WAC Hitter of the Week after batting .412 with two home runs and two doubles in Las Vegas. The sophomore ranks second nationally with six homers in 2018.
  • The Redhawks beat Utah State and Hawai’i on the first day of the Marucci Desert Classic. Susanne Morris hit a three-run home run to spark a rally against USU and then Andie Larkins and Carley Nance combined to blank Hawai’i over the final six innings of a 4-2 win.
  • Despite a seven-run rally against San Jose State on Feb. 17, SU fell, 10-8, to the Spartans. Later in the day, the Redhawks beat Nevada, 2-1, as Maddy Kristjanson hit a sacrifice fly to score Kaylee Ree for a walk-off victory. Seattle U won despite claiming just one hit in the contest.
  • Seattle U went 3-2 at the Kajikawa Classic on opening weekend. It marked the best start by the Redhawks since 2013.
  • SU beat Stanford, 13-9, on Feb. 9, as the Redhawks rallied with a nine-run fifth inning. Kaylee Ree hit a grand slam to highlight the action. The victory is SU’s third-ever over a Pac-12 program.
  • On Feb. 10, Seattle U won a pair of marathon extra-inning games. It beat CSUN, 6-4 in eight innings, on Susanne Morris’ two-run walk-off home run. The Redhawks followed with a come-from-behind 11-8 win over Western Michigan. The 10-inning contest took nearly four hours as SU rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the seventh inning. Sara Dominguez hit a tying home run to force extra innings. In the 10th inning, Ally Choate drove in Alyson Matriotti for the go-ahead run and then Madison Cathcart blasted a two-run homer to make it 11-8.
  • SU’s two losses both came by a single run, as Notre Dame (4-3) and Nebraska (3-2) narrowly pulled out wins.
  • Coach Geoff Hirai begins his third season at the Redhawks’ head coach. He took SU to its first-ever WAC Championship Game appearance in 2017.
  • The Redhawks were picked to finish third in the 2018 WAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Grand Canyon and defending champion New Mexico State were voted to take first and second, respectively.
  • Andie Larkins is the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. The junior earned All-WAC Second Team and WAC All-Tournament honors last season. She is the first Redhawk to win a major WAC preseason award.
  • Sophomores Alyson Matriotti and Madison Cathcart return following All-WAC performances in 2017. Matriotti earned All-WAC First Team after hitting .419 in conference games as a freshman. The third baseman tallied 11 stolen bases in 12 tries on the year. Cathcart was an All-WAC Second Team choice, having led SU in RBIs (40) while starting all 52 games at first base.
  • Andie Larkins and Kaylee Ree were both named All-WAC Preseason in February. Larkins set six Division I program records last season. Ree led the team with a .508 on-base percentage in WAC action. She started all 52 games at second base in 2017.
  • SU features eight newcomers this season, with six true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, and one junior transfer joining the roster.
  • In 2017, SU won 20 games and tied for third in the WAC regular season standings. It then won its first two games at the WAC Championship and advanced to its first-ever WAC Championship Game.