PULLMAN, Wash. — After dropping the first two games of the series, Seattle U baseball rebounded in the rubber match with a balanced effort, to claim a 6-2 victory over Washington State.
Five Redhawks tallied multi-hit outings, as the Seattle U (5-5) batters combined for a season-high 12 hits as it scored two runs in the first, seventh and eight. Washington State (9-2) meanwhile was limited to one run in the sixth and seventh, while finishing with six hits.
The story for the Redhawks early was the stingy performance from starter Morgan White (1-1), who picked up his first career win in a Seattle U jersey.
The righty dominated Washington State as he tossed back-to-back strikeouts early en route to finishing with four on the day. After facing the minimum in the first, White hummed along, allowing just a single in the second and the another in the fourth. A three-up, three-down inning marked the end of the line for White who held Washington State scoreless through five.
White's outing came on the backdrop of a 2-0 lead, with both runs coming with two outs. Gavin Rork accounted for the opening run, as scored on a wild pitch. It was a wild pitch that allowed Rork to get on base after striking out to begin the inning. Julian Kodama was then driven in from second on bloop-single by Matt Boissoneault.
The Redhawks were then held scoreless and limited to four hits through the sixth.
Leading 2-1, Connor O'Brien singled through the left side to lead of the seventh. He then immediately advanced to third on a Justin Mazzone double. Kodama then slapped a single to right allowing both runners to easily score.
In the eighth, Kyle Sherick and Rork notched back-to-back one-out singles. After the second out, Mazzone belted a 0-2 pitch to left for his second double of the day, which allowed Sherick to come across and moved Rork 90 feet away. The Cougars then sent Kodama to first on an intentional walk to load the bases. With nowhere to go, Rork was pushed across as Austin Lively drew the RBI walk, giving SU a 6-2 advantage.
The Redhawks relievers stood tall as Lucas Ford worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Peter Chronowski meanwhile got the Redhawks out of jam in the seventh.
At the plate, Sherick, Boissoneault, Kodama were each 2-for-4 on the day. Mazzone meanwhile went 2-for-5, while Derek Gellos was 2-for-3.
"I'm very proud of the how the guys turned around yesterday's poor performance and were able to play quality baseball today," said Redhawks head coach Donny Harrel. "It always starts on the mound, and White did just that with another quality start. We got the big hits when needed and played very good defense."
Seattle U returns to action on Thursday at Husky Stadium when it faces Washington State, first pitch is at 1 pm.
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