SEATTLE — On the penultimate day of the regular season, Seattle U baseball guaranteed a spot for itself in next week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Arizona, as it swept Utah Valley with a pair of come-from behind victories on Friday at Bannerwood Park. The Redhawks (16-30, 10-21 WAC), who are now set to make their sixth postseason appearance, won the opener 5-3, before taking game two, 7-2, thanks to a big fifth inning.
The Redhawks will close the series and the regular season as they return to action tomorrow. First pitch is slated for 12 pm. Saturday's contest will also be senior day, festivities are scheduled to begin at approximately 11:30 am.
Game 1: Seattle U 5, Utah Valley 3 (7 inn)
In the opener, the Wolverines drew first blood as they jumped out to a 3-0 advantage thanks in part to a three-run home run in the first. Seattle U responded by pulling one back in the home half of the first, before scoring twice in the third and fifth.
In spite of going 1-for-2 at the plate, Connor O'Brien led the game one rally, as he finished with a three RBI. O'Brien was credited with a ground out RBI in the first that scored Gavin Rork, before pushing Kyle Sherick across in the third with a sac fly to tie at 3-3. Then in the fifth a base knock to center accounted scored Sherick again for the go-ahead run.
Justin Mazzone also picked up an RBI during the opener, as he doubled in the third to score Rork, whole Shane Jamison poked a single through the middle in the fifth to bring in Mazzone and make it 5-3.
Following the Utah Valley long ball, the Seattle U starter Peter Chronowski commandeered control as he retired the next 13-consecutive batters, highlighted by a three strikeout frame in the fifth. The southpaw then allowed just one hit and one walk during the final two innings, en route to picking up his third win of the season.
Game 2: Seattle U 7, Utah Valley 2
The Redhawk offense was slow to get going in game two as it went 2-for-12 with walks during the first four innings. During the sluggish start, Seattle U also slipped into a shallow 1-0 hole, after Utah Valley pushed one across during the third.
The Seattle U bats then exploded for a six-run inning in the fifth as it batted around the order. Chase Wells scored the tying run with help from Rork after reaching on a lead-off walk. After a UVU error allowed the Redhawks to the load the bases, Mazzone and Julian Kodama then registered RBI walks to score Derek Gellos and Austin Lively respectively. After a Wolverine pitching change, Jamison then laced a hit to deep right-center for a three-run double, giving Seattle U a resounding 6-1 advantage.
From there, the game hummed along as Utah Valley registered just three hits in 15 plate appearance with a run in the sixth, while the Redhawks capped its scoring with a run in the seventh and had two hits during the final three frames.
On the mound, Alex Jemal was credited with the win. The right-hander put together a workman-like effort as he went 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and allowing two runs on three hits. Jemal controlled the Wolverine lineup early and often, as he retired 15 of the first 17 batters faced, with 1-2-3 innings in the first, second, fourth and fifth. Riley Sinclair (2.2 IP) and Ethan Brown (1.0 IP) then had effective relief appearances, each allow one hit but were scoreless in their respective outings.