SEATTLE — Seattle U baseball celebrated the careers and contributions of six seniors on Saturday as it recognized the 2021 class of Drake Maningo, Justin Mazzone, Connor O'Brien, Will Smith, as well as Austin Lively and Chase Wells, who missed out last season due to the COVID pandemic. On the field, the Redhawks out hit Utah Valley, 15-11, but were on the short end of the box score, falling 14-5.
In Saturday's series finale, Utah Valley controlled from the outset and never let go, scoring twice in the first and three more times in the second for a 5-0 lead after three. The Wolverines then scored three more in the sixth, before plating four in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
After a sluggish 2-for-10 start during the opening three innings, the Redhawks bats found their rhythm in the middle innings with eight hits, one walk in 19 plate appearances, before finishing strong as it notched five hits and four walks in 15 trips to the dish.
Wells put Seattle U on the board in the fourth with a base knock to right side that scored Andrew Haight, who pinch ran for Justin Mazzone after he reached on a lead-off ground-rule double, making it 5-1 UVU. Wells and Mazzone both finished the day 1-for-2.
The Redhawks then trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the fifth as Shane Jamison continued to swing a hot bat, driving in Kellen Carr and Grant Heiser with a well-hit single to left. Carr and Hesier pinch ran for Lively and O'Brien, respectively as they had back-to-back singles to lead-off the inning. Lively exited with 1-for-3 outing, while O'Brien was 1-for-1.
The Redhawks scored once more in the seventh as Derek Gellos came in on an RBI walk from Gavin Rork, before Jamison registered his second home run of the season in the eighth, but by then the deficit was too far out of reach as Utah Valley led 12-5 heading into the ninth.
On the mound, the Redhawks used a platoon of arms in effort. Starter Nestor German was charged with the loss as he allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits in two innings of work. He was then followed by Kohl Petersen (3.0 IP), Alex McBee (1.0), Lucas Ford (1.0), Brady Liddle (1.0) and Shane Melrose.
With the regular season officially in the books, Seattle U now focuses its attention on next week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Mesa, Ariz. The Redhawks enter as the five-seed and will play their first game on Wednesday, May 26 at 6 pm PDT, as they face fourth-seeded NM State. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+. For information regarding tickets, tournament schedule and more, be sure to visit WACsports.com or the WAC Baseball Tournament Central.