SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Fueled by stingy defense and a solid effort at the plate, Seattle U baseball (13-16, 7-8 WAC) swept Saturday's doubleheader with 24th-ranked Sacramento State (21-10, 13-6 WAC) in shutout fashion, winning 3-0 in game one and 5-0 in game two. As a result, the Redhawks secured the series, marking the first time they have done so against Sac State since 2016.
The weekend meeting is scheduled to conclude tomorrow with the series finale at John Smith Field. First pitch is slated for 1 pm.
Game 1: SU 3, SAC 0 (8)
A back-and-forth pitchers' duel in the opener, resulted into a scoreless tie after playing the seven scheduled innings. In the eighth, with bases loaded and two outs, senior Chase Wells broke the deadlock sending the 1-2 pitch through the middle and allowing senior Connor O'Brien and junior Julian Kodama to score on the play.
Junior Kyle Sherick then crossed home to make it 3-0, as he was driven in by by freshman Derek Gellos, who hit a a bloop single to left.
In the home half, Sacramento State threatened as it loaded the bases behind an error and a walk. Reliever Lucas Ford though escaped the the jam as he retired the next three batters faced to secure the victory. As a result, the right-hander was credited with his first career win, moving to 1-1 on the year.
For the second time in as many days, the Seattle U bats churned out double-digit hits, finishing with 10-6 advantage. In total, seven Redhawks recorded a hit, as O'Brien led the way with a 3-for-4 outing, while Gavin Rork was 2-for-4.
On three occasions, Seattle U threatened to break the scoreless tie as it stranded two runners in scoring position in the first and one in the fifth, while leaving bases loaded in the third.
On the mound, junior Alex Jemal was dealing from the start as he retired seven of the first eight batters he faced, including a 1-2-3 frame in the first. The right-hander, who received a no-decision, scattered six hits in six scoreless innings and only allowed two Sac State runners into scoring position. He then made way for Ford in the seventh.
Game 2: SU 5 , SAC 0 (7)
In his first career start, Seattle U sophomore Peter Chronowski put together a stellar performance, tossing seven innings as he was attributed with a complete-game win.
The southpaw dominated the Hornet lineup early and often, opening the game by striking out five of the first seven bases faced en route to tallying a career-best six K's. Chronowski limited the Sacramento State order to four hits with only one runner reaching second.
After going down in order during the first three frames, the Redhawk offense perked up in the fourth as Rork scored the opening run on a RBI double from O'Brien. Rork reached base by bunting for an infield single to lead off the inning.
Seattle U then extended its lead to 5-0 as it hung up a four-spot in the sixth. The Redhawks worked quick to put pressure on Hornets' reliever Travis Martizia, as they loaded the bases with back-to-back singles from Kodama and Justin Mazzone following O'Brien hit by pitch.
O'Brien and Kodama then crossed home during Sherick's trip to plate as he reached on an error. Leading 3-0, Wells then ushered Mazzone and Sherick across with double down the line.
Coach Harrel comments:
"Our pitching and defense have been unbelievable. Jemal gave us another tremendous start and Ford did really well to bring game one home. Chronowski then did an incredible job to follow up with a complete game against an offense like Sac State. Things are clicking for our guys and I'm really proud of this club. Being able to keep a team like Sac State scoreless for 24 innings–I don't think I've every seen anything like it. Also, hats off to our pitching coach Greg Goetz and what his staff is doing."
Notes
• First time Seattle U has recorded shutouts in three consecutive games.
• The last time Seattle U recorded back-to-back shutouts to open a four-game series since Feb 26 and 27 of the 2016 season when it defeated Bowling Green.
• First season series win over a ranked opponent since 2014. The last time it happened the Redhawks took two of three against Washington. The series was played on three separate days over the course of three weeks and the Huskies were ranked No. 7 in the first win and No. 5 in the second.