PHOENIX, Ariz. — Seattle U baseball (5-12, 0-4 WAC) stumbled in the finale with Grand Canyon (9-9-1, 6-2 WAC) on Sunday, falling 8-4, resulting in a series sweep.
Redhawks pitching was on-point early as starter Riley Sinclair held GCU scoreless through the first four frames, and did not allow a hit until the third.
Connor O'Brien accounted for the opening tally as he easily touched home from third, thanks in part to a Justin Mazzone sac fly. O'Brien reached on a one-out single before a fielding miscue allowed him to move to second. He later moved 90 feet from on a hit by Julian Kodama.
A three-hit second inning then produced a 2-0 lead for Seattle U. After the first two batters were retired, Drake Maningo blooped a single to center. In the next at-bat, he advanced to third a Kyle Sherick hit a dribbler through the right side. Gavin Rork then slapped a single to right bringing Maningo across.
Seattle U then saw its 2-0 advantage erased as Grand Canyon pieced together a six-run fifth. A pair of walks and a hit allowed GCU to load the bases with one-out. The Lopes then assumed a 6-2 lead, as they scored on four-consecutive plate appearances including a pair of two-run doubles.
Riley exited during the fifth, and was eventually charged with the loss, finishing the day with five runs against, four earned, on three hits in 4 1/3 innings. Desmond Parisotto accounted for the inning's final two outs, while giving up one run on two hits.
The Redhawks went to the bullpen three more times during ensuing innings with relief appearances made by from Ethan Brown (0.1 IP), Kohl Petersen (1.2) and Lucas Ford (1.0).
Redhawk bats were quiet as they notched just one hit in nine trips to the plate. Mazzone then snapped the drought in the eighth with a two-out single. Matt Boissoneault then pushed his series RBI total to six, launching the first pitch he saw over the right field fence, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
The margin however was pushed back to four as GCU tallied a two-run homer in the inning's home half, making it 8-4.
At the plate, Mazzone was 2-for-3, while six others made up the balance of the Redhawks eight hits on the day.
Seattle U will continued Western Athletic Conference next week when it hosts NM State on March 26-28, at Bannerwood Park.