ST. GEORGE, Utah — The weekend woes continued on Sunday for Seattle U baseball (13-30, 7-21), dropping its Western Athletic Conference series finale Dixie State (19-30, 17-15), 14-4 in seven innings.
After being productive at the plate a day earlier, the Seattle U offense struggled to find its rhythm as it was outhit, 12-7, while scoring all four runs in the sixth. The Trailblazers meanwhile had five home runs on the day.
"We got down early and the long ball killed us today," said Seattle U head coach Donny Harrel. "Our pitching staff could keep the ball in the park and we were only able to generate runs in one inning. We need to go back to work and try and finish strong at home next weekend."
Dixie State took a commanding 9-0 advantage after the fourth, scoring two in the first, three in the second, and four in the fourth.
Seattle U was held scoreless during the first five innings as it recorded just four hits and two walks in 16 plate appearances. The drought then ended in the sixth as the Redhawks batted through the lineup and had three hits and six base runners.
Shane Jamison put Seattle U on the board with one-out double to left that scored Justin Mazzone and Kellen Carr. Mazzone reached on a lead-off single was Carr got on with a hit by pitch. Gavin Rork then had a base knock through the middle that allowed Jamison and Grant Hesier, who reached on a walk, to touch home, and cut the deficit to 9-4.
The Trailblazers then put the game out of reach in the home half with a five-run frame.
On the mound, Riley Sinclair suffered the loss as the starter allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits in three innings of work. He was then followed for two innings by Alex McBee who conceded two runs on two hits. Mason Hoover (0.2 IP) and Ethan Brown (0.1 IP) split the sixth.
Rork paced the Seattle U effort at the plate with his second multi-hit game of the series as went 2-for-4, while Kyle Sherick, Trevor Antonson, Kai Alberghini, Mazzone and Jamison had a hit apiece. Hesier finished with two walks.
The Redhawks will look to bounce back next weekend as they return Bannerwood Park to host Utah Valley in the final homestand of the season. The four-game series is slated for May 20-22.