Bellevue, Wash. - Seattle U baseball used the long ball to takedown Utah Valley, 8-6, Sunday afternoon at Bannerwood Park. The Redhawks hit three homeruns on their way to their first series win of the season.
"Big series win for us against a very competitive Utah Valley team," head coach Donny Harrel said after the win. "Need to clean up our defense, but Smith kept their offense down and we had some big swings to give us the runs we needed."
For the second straight game the Redhawks got on the board first with an opposite field homerun. Jackson Reed sent one over the left field fence for a solo shot in the bottom of the 2nd. That was followed by a 2-run homerun by Michael Tsoukalas in the 4th and a 2-run homerun from Jackson Lind in the 5th, with Lind's coming courtesy of a ball bounced off the left fielder's head. For all three players it was their first four-bagger of the season.
"That was one of the weirdest things I've seen in my life," said Lind of his homerun. "First homerun of my career in college and it goes of somebody's face, so I hope he is ok"
Once again the Redhawk offense was backed up by a solid performance on the hill. Blake Smith made his sixth appearance and third start of the season, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs and striking out six.
After Lind's homerun made it 8-2 heading into the 6th, the Wolverines would try to rally in the late innings by scoring 3-straight runs and narrowing the gap to just three. Cameron Dayton, who started the day at designated hitter, switched over to pitcher to secure the win and his first save conversion of the season. After a leadoff homerun from the Wolverines, Dayton settled in and struck out back-to-back batters before getting a fly out for out three, sending the Redhawks to an 8-6 win.
The Redhawks now move to 4-12 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. They will now turn their sights to a 1-game matchup with Southern California on Wednesday, March 22, in Los Angeles. First pitch between the Redhawks and Trojans is scheduled for 6pm PT and will be broadcast live on PAC-12 Network+.
"Big series win for us against a very competitive Utah Valley team," head coach Donny Harrel said after the win. "Need to clean up our defense, but Smith kept their offense down and we had some big swings to give us the runs we needed."
For the second straight game the Redhawks got on the board first with an opposite field homerun. Jackson Reed sent one over the left field fence for a solo shot in the bottom of the 2nd. That was followed by a 2-run homerun by Michael Tsoukalas in the 4th and a 2-run homerun from Jackson Lind in the 5th, with Lind's coming courtesy of a ball bounced off the left fielder's head. For all three players it was their first four-bagger of the season.
"That was one of the weirdest things I've seen in my life," said Lind of his homerun. "First homerun of my career in college and it goes of somebody's face, so I hope he is ok"
Once again the Redhawk offense was backed up by a solid performance on the hill. Blake Smith made his sixth appearance and third start of the season, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs and striking out six.
After Lind's homerun made it 8-2 heading into the 6th, the Wolverines would try to rally in the late innings by scoring 3-straight runs and narrowing the gap to just three. Cameron Dayton, who started the day at designated hitter, switched over to pitcher to secure the win and his first save conversion of the season. After a leadoff homerun from the Wolverines, Dayton settled in and struck out back-to-back batters before getting a fly out for out three, sending the Redhawks to an 8-6 win.
The Redhawks now move to 4-12 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. They will now turn their sights to a 1-game matchup with Southern California on Wednesday, March 22, in Los Angeles. First pitch between the Redhawks and Trojans is scheduled for 6pm PT and will be broadcast live on PAC-12 Network+.