SEATTLE - Over the two day senior weekend celebration, all six Seattle U (24-22, 9-12 WAC) softball seniors stepped up for the Redhawks to provide a pivotal spark across all phases, but the series finale would not fall the Redhawks' way with Utah Valley (15-28, 8-12 WAC) securing the 11-6 victory at Logan Field on Saturday afternoon.
Following a strong performance from senior Naomi Chaidez the game prior, where she pitched her third complete game and crafted two strikeouts, the veteran led squad went back to work for game three against the Wolverines.
Senior Tai Wilson came through for her 43rd run of the season to further cement her legacy in the SU uniform. She remains second all-time in career runs scored with 147. She tallied two hits, including an RBI double, in three at bats. The double was her eighth of the season.
Senior Amanda Morris secured her 12th hit of the year as the designated player, earning the start and eventually pivoting over to right field later in the contest. Senior Nicola Simpson scored a run after making three appearances at the plate. She started from the circle and pitched 4.2 innings. Simpson faced 33 batters and struck out three.
Senior KJ Hopfer made the start at second base, a welcome sight after working through injury. She was locked in from the get-go and picked up two assists and a putout between the first and second base paths. Graduate Jasmine Wehn aided from first, securing the Redhawk defense with six putouts to go for a new career season high 289 putouts this year.
Sophomore Mikee Morris joined Wilson with two of the eight hits recorded by the Redhawks. She picked up a run and led the team with three assists. Fellow sophomore Karen Spadafora also went for extra bases, securing two RBI and a double in two at bats. She paced the Redhawk defense with eight putouts and caught one runner stealing.
Junior Taylor Fitch and sophomore Sophia Kissling rounded out the group of Redhawks with a hit in the contest. The duo each went for extra bases as Fitch drafted up an RBI double and Kissling knocked out a triple in her first at bat of the day. Fitch and Kissling each scored a run in the contest.
Sophomore Avari Morris entered the circle for the remaining 2.1 innings of the game. She faced eight batters and struck out four of them, including a 1-2-3 inning that consisted of all strikeouts. In that time span, she gave up no hits and no runs.
The Redhawks lept out first in the bottom of the second after Simpson picked up her first strikeout of the day. Wilson led off with a double before Mikee followed suit with a single to advance Wilson to third. Wilson scored off a wild pitch to get SU on board first 1-0 before Avari grounded out to second to allow her sister Mikee to score.
Both teams went scoreless in the second, with Simpson leading off the inning with another strikeout. Seattle U built its largest lead in the bottom of the third after Kissling led off with her triple through the left side. Wilson immediately followed suit with an RBI single up the middle as Kissling came in for the score. Mikee Morris advanced Wilson into scoring position before the Wolverines removed the threat by taking down the subsequent three Redhawk batters.
Simpson cataloged her third strikeout of the day in the top of the fourth but the Wolverines tied the game after the inning was extended by some defensive miscues. Utah Valley grabbed the lead following its second hit of the inning before exiting the fourth up 7-3. Spadafora responded for the Redhawks in the bottom of the fourth with her RBI double to pull Seattle U within three, scoring Fitch from first base.
The Wolverines built up their lead following a four run inning in the fifth before Avari entered and struck out her first batter to halt the Utah Valley offense. After drawing two walks and facing one out, Fitch doubled to left center to score Avari and move Simpson to third. Spadafora crafted a sacrifice fly to score Simpson to dig into the Wolverine lead in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Avari struck out all three batters she faced but the Redhawks were unable to get any runs through despite getting a runner on in the sixth. Avari and the Redhawk defense orchestrated another 1-2-3 inning for Seattle U, but the Wolverines thwarted the attempted comeback in the seventh to take the game 11-6.
Seattle U returns to action next weekend for its conference and regular season finale at UT Arlington.
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Following a strong performance from senior Naomi Chaidez the game prior, where she pitched her third complete game and crafted two strikeouts, the veteran led squad went back to work for game three against the Wolverines.
Senior Tai Wilson came through for her 43rd run of the season to further cement her legacy in the SU uniform. She remains second all-time in career runs scored with 147. She tallied two hits, including an RBI double, in three at bats. The double was her eighth of the season.
Senior Amanda Morris secured her 12th hit of the year as the designated player, earning the start and eventually pivoting over to right field later in the contest. Senior Nicola Simpson scored a run after making three appearances at the plate. She started from the circle and pitched 4.2 innings. Simpson faced 33 batters and struck out three.
Senior KJ Hopfer made the start at second base, a welcome sight after working through injury. She was locked in from the get-go and picked up two assists and a putout between the first and second base paths. Graduate Jasmine Wehn aided from first, securing the Redhawk defense with six putouts to go for a new career season high 289 putouts this year.
Sophomore Mikee Morris joined Wilson with two of the eight hits recorded by the Redhawks. She picked up a run and led the team with three assists. Fellow sophomore Karen Spadafora also went for extra bases, securing two RBI and a double in two at bats. She paced the Redhawk defense with eight putouts and caught one runner stealing.
Junior Taylor Fitch and sophomore Sophia Kissling rounded out the group of Redhawks with a hit in the contest. The duo each went for extra bases as Fitch drafted up an RBI double and Kissling knocked out a triple in her first at bat of the day. Fitch and Kissling each scored a run in the contest.
Sophomore Avari Morris entered the circle for the remaining 2.1 innings of the game. She faced eight batters and struck out four of them, including a 1-2-3 inning that consisted of all strikeouts. In that time span, she gave up no hits and no runs.
The Redhawks lept out first in the bottom of the second after Simpson picked up her first strikeout of the day. Wilson led off with a double before Mikee followed suit with a single to advance Wilson to third. Wilson scored off a wild pitch to get SU on board first 1-0 before Avari grounded out to second to allow her sister Mikee to score.
Both teams went scoreless in the second, with Simpson leading off the inning with another strikeout. Seattle U built its largest lead in the bottom of the third after Kissling led off with her triple through the left side. Wilson immediately followed suit with an RBI single up the middle as Kissling came in for the score. Mikee Morris advanced Wilson into scoring position before the Wolverines removed the threat by taking down the subsequent three Redhawk batters.
Simpson cataloged her third strikeout of the day in the top of the fourth but the Wolverines tied the game after the inning was extended by some defensive miscues. Utah Valley grabbed the lead following its second hit of the inning before exiting the fourth up 7-3. Spadafora responded for the Redhawks in the bottom of the fourth with her RBI double to pull Seattle U within three, scoring Fitch from first base.
The Wolverines built up their lead following a four run inning in the fifth before Avari entered and struck out her first batter to halt the Utah Valley offense. After drawing two walks and facing one out, Fitch doubled to left center to score Avari and move Simpson to third. Spadafora crafted a sacrifice fly to score Simpson to dig into the Wolverine lead in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Avari struck out all three batters she faced but the Redhawks were unable to get any runs through despite getting a runner on in the sixth. Avari and the Redhawk defense orchestrated another 1-2-3 inning for Seattle U, but the Wolverines thwarted the attempted comeback in the seventh to take the game 11-6.
Seattle U returns to action next weekend for its conference and regular season finale at UT Arlington.
Donate Today
Fans interested in making a gift to Seattle University Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift directly impacts all Redhawk student athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in the community. Thank you for supporting Seattle University Athletics!
Follow Along With the Action
Stay connected with Seattle U softball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.