FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
• Friday, May 21 at 5 p.m.
• vs. No. 20 Michigan
• Stats | ESPN2
ABOUT THE GAMES
• No. 3 Seattle U (29-19) vs. No. 2 Michigan (36-6)
• All-time series-First-ever meeting
NEWS AND NOTES
• Seattle U returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. It also played at Washington in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, beating Fordham for its first Division I NCAA Tournament win.
• SU won the 2021 WAC Tournament, winning all three of its games on its way to repeating as conference champions. Carley Nance led the Redhawks, winning all three games in the circle while hitting three home runs. She earned WAC Tournament MVP for the second straight season, becoming the first player in WAC history to win two tournament MVPs.
• Seattle U has never faced Michigan in program history. It beat Portland State twice earlier this season and fell at UW twice in March. Since 2017, SU is 7-3 against Portland State.
• Carley Nance leads the Redhawk pitching staff in 2021. She is the only player in the NCAA Tournament with two conference tournament MVP awards. SU is the only team in this year's NCAA Tournament with three all-conference pitchers. It also one of just two schools with the top three pitchers in their conference in ERA (James Madison).
• The Redhawks beat GCU, Utah Valley, and NM State on its way to the 2021 WAC Tournament title. They are just the third team in WAC history to repeat as conference tournament champions, joining NM State (2017-18) and Utah (1991-92).
• Entering this weekend, senior Ally Choate sports a 15-game hitting streak and a 32-game streak of reaching base. The hit streak is the longest by a Redhawk since Sarah Petosa had a 19-game string in 2012. The streak of reaching base is the longest at SU since Katie Antich posted a 35-game streak in 2011.
• Nance earned WAC Tournament MVP and made the all-tournament team, as Mekenzie Madokoro, Alyson Matriotti, Bailey Thompson, and Olivia Viggiano were named as well.
• The Redhawks took two of three games at GCU to close the regular season May 7-8. Madison Cathcart hit a home run and two doubles to lead SU to a 7-3 win in the opener and then she doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of a 5-3 victory to cap the doubleheader.
• Madison Cathcart hit three doubles at GCU on May 7, becoming the WAC's all-time leader in doubles. She has 58 two-baggers at Seattle U, passing Fresno State's Christina Clark on the WAC's career list.
• Cherise Silvan hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning to lift SU to a 2-1 win over DSU on senior day. It marked the third straight season that the Redhawks won in walk-off fashion on senior day. Emma Mitchell tallied walk-off hits in the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
• Shi Smith nearly threw a five-inning perfect game on Apr. 30, settling for a one-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over DSU at Logan Field. Smith did not allow a baserunner until a single with two outs in the fifth frame.
• For the period ending May 2, Shi Smith was picked WAC Pitcher of the Week. The junior threw nine scoreless innings in two appearances against DSU. She pitched all five innings in an 8-0 win, giving up just one single, on Apr. 30. Smith followed with four shutout innings of relief in SU's 2-1, nine-inning win the next day. She struck out seven in the relief effort.
• SU has won its last 12 WAC series, dating back to the 2019 season. It is the longest streak of series wins by a WAC team since NM State won 14 in a row from 2014-16.
• Seattle U's six-player senior class played its final regular-season home games on Apr. 30-May 1. Madison Cathcart, Ally Choate, Alyson Matriotti, Stephanie Merwin, Cherise Silvan, and Bailey Thompson were honored after the May 1 contest at Logan Field.
• The Redhawks won two of three games at Tarleton State on Apr. 23-24, taking their fourth straight WAC series to start the season. Carley Nance pitched a complete game to win the rubber match in a 6-2 victory, while Stefanie Madrigal got the win and Shi Smith picked up the save in a 6-4 decision in the second game of the weekend.
• Olivia Viggiano hit two triples in the first game of the day at Tarleton State on Apr. 24. The junior has seven triples this season, fifth-most in the nation. She is one of only two players in the country with a pair of two-triple games in 2021. She posted two three-baggers against NM State on Mar. 27 at Logan Field.
• Seattle U took its third straight WAC series to open the 2021 conference slate, beating California Baptist twice in a three-game set at Logan Field on Apr. 16-17. Stefanie Madrigal and Carley Nance both pitched complete-game two-hit shutouts to lead the Redhawks to a pair of victories.
• The Redhawks won a three-game series at Utah Valley on Apr. 9-10, moving to 4-2 in WAC play. Carley Nance pitched a complete game and drove in two runs on two hits in the first game of the weekend, as SU won, 7-1. UVU won the nightcap, but Seattle U bounced back with a 9-6 win in the finale. Stephanie Merwin hit a three-run inside-the-park home run in the top of the seventh inning to lift SU to the series win.
• SU took two of three games from New Mexico State on Mar. 26-27 at Logan Field to open WAC play. Bailey Thompson homered twice in the WAC opener, while Shi Smith pitched three scoreless innings in relief to save a 6-4 win. In the nightcap, Carley Nance struck out seven in a complete-game victory as SU picked up a 4-1 decision to complete the doubleheader sweep.
• Bailey Thompson was named WAC Hitter of the Week, for the period ending on Mar. 28. The catcher hit three home runs in three games against NM State, adding a double and seven RBIs.
• The games with NM State were first at Logan Field in 692 days, as the Redhawks did not host any games in the shortened 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Seattle U won two out of three games at Montana on Mar. 18-19. Stefanie Madrigal and Carley Nance both threw complete games to lead SU to wins on Mar. 18, as Madrigal allowed no earned runs in a 3-2 win and Nance struck out seven in a 5-2 victory. Cherise Silvan homered and doubled in a three-hit game to spark the Redhawk offense in the second game of the day.
• Madison Cathcart drew two walks in the win at Montana on Mar. 18, moving into a tie for the all-time WAC record with 138 base on balls. The first baseman is two doubles shy of the WAC career record for two-baggers as well.
• The Redhawks rallied to beat Portland State twice on the weekend of Mar. 12-13 at the Husky Classic. SU also dropped two games to seventh-ranked Washington.
• Against Portland State on Mar. 12, Bailey Thompson hit a two-run single to give SU the lead in the sixth inning on its way to a 5-3 win. The next day, the Redhawks broke out with a seven-run seventh inning to claim a 10-4 victory over the Vikings.
• SU won three of five games at the Boyd Gaming Classic from Mar. 5-7 in Las Vegas. It knocked off UNLV and beat Idaho State twice.
• Sophomores Brooke Milder and Stefanie Madrigal were named WAC Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period ending on Mar. 7. Milder went 9-10 with a double and two walks at the Boyd Gaming Classic, while Madrigal won twice and struck out a career-high eight batters in a victory over Idaho State on Mar. 6.
• In an 8-7 loss at UNLV on Mar. 6, Madison Cathcart and Brooke Milder both tallied four hits. Cathcart matched a career high, while Milder set a new personal best for hits in a game.
• The Redhawks went 2-3 at the Wildcat Invitational from Feb. 26-28, beating Oregon State and Colorado State. In the win over the previously unbeaten Beavers, Shi Smith pitched a complete game, allowing one run as SU won, 2-1. Stephanie Merwin homered to take the lead in the fourth inning of the Redhawks' 5-3 victory over CSU.
• SU went 4-1 at the Hillenbrand Invitational from Feb. 19-21. It scored 39 runs across five games, winning three contest by eight or more runs.
• Senior Ally Choate was named WAC Hitter of the Week for the period ending on Feb. 21. The rightfielder recorded 10 hits in five games at the Hillenbrand Invitational. She claimed two hits in each outing, adding five runs, four RBIs, two doubles, and two walks.
• Sophomore Stefanie Madrigal put together a pair of stellar starts at the Hillenbrand Invitational. The righthander pitched 10 innings over two outings, allowing zero runs while striking out nine hitters. She earned two wins on the weekend.
• Seattle U started the 2021 season at the Kajikawa Classic from Feb. 12-14. It faced tough competition, including four Pac-12 opponents, as SU dropped five games on the weekend.
• Madison Cathcart homered to become Seattle U's all-time RBI leader. She has 162 runs batted in as a Redhawk, passing Jane Purdy for the SU career record.
• The 2020 season ended abruptly on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SU was 9-15 at the time after being chosen to win the WAC in the preseason poll. The Redhawks beat Missouri to claim a win over a nationally-ranked opponent for the second consecutive season.
• SU was picked to win the WAC in the preseason coaches' poll for the second straight year. Madison Cathcart and Ally Choate were picked Preseason All-WAC.
• The Redhawks return every starter from the 2020 campaign, including all four "super" seniors-Madison Cathcart, Alyson Matriotti, Stephanie Merwin, and Cherise Silvan.
• Coach Geoff Hirai enters his sixth season at SU, having guided the Redhawks to their best season in program history in 2019. Seattle U won a school-record 40 games on its way to its first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament appearance. It won the WAC regular-season and tournament crowns for the first time and knocked off a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time ever (No. 25 Illinois).
• For the second straight season, Shi Smith broke her own single-season record for strikeouts per seven innings (9.9) in 2020. She also threw the eighth no-hitter in program history, setting a school record with 15 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over UC Davis on Feb. 21.
• In 2019, the most recent WAC season, SU topped the WAC with a 15-3 record, winning all six series, including three sweeps. It led the league in batting (.309) and ERA (2.35).