Seattle University (20-10, 8-1 WAC) baseball finished off their six game road trip with a series win against North Dakota (6-17, 3-6 WAC).
Despite being handed their first conference loss the Redhawks are still looking down at the rest of the Western Athletic Conference and have established themselves as the team to beat, boasting the best overall record and the best conference record.
They had enough offense to win the first two games before falling in the series finale 15-2, one of their worst losses of the season.
They started Friday’s double header with a 7-5 come-from-behind win. They trailed for most of the game after the second inning, going into the ninth inning down 3-5. Junior Michael McCann—who was designated hitter for the game—hit a three-run home run in the ninth to take the lead. It would ultimately be the game winning hit. Sophomore Nick Meservey got the call to start, but only made it 1.2 innings despite none of the three runs he gave up being earned. Junior Sheldon Stober and Griffin Andreychuk helped in the win collecting two and three hits, respectively.
The bats did even better in the second game, resulting in a 12-6 Redhawks win. Senior starter Ted Hammond didn’t have his usual stuff, giving up five runs in 3.2 innings, but was backed by 16 hits and good play from the bullpen.
The Redhawks had five players with multiple hits including three apiece from Juniors Brock Carpenter and Lucas Denney. They also had run scoring production throughout the lineup with five guys knocking in at least two runs.
They led 3-0 through three innings before giving up the lead in a five-run fourth inning for North Dakota. They took back the lead right back in fifth inning and didn’t look back, scoring six runs over the next four frames. Freshman Tyler Oldenberg picked up the win with 1.1 innings of work.
The finale didn’t quite go as planned as North Dakota got to sophomore ace Tarik Skubal, knocking him out in the first inning by scoring six runs. But, there was no comeback in the cards for Seattle U this time as the UND Fighting Hawks scored another eight runs in the third inning to take a 14-2 lead, all but ending the game. Despite their success the day before, the Redhawks couldn’t quite get it going offensively.
Even with the embarrassing loss, Seattle U can take away more positives than negatives from the weekend trip. They still stand at the top of the conference as they continue this incredible season. They also proved that they are resilient as a team and know how to stick together. They were able to maintain composure when they were down and put some hits together in order to get the team back on top.
This will be important come playoff time as the Redhawks look to build on last years success.
The Redhawks return home this week for a series against Grand Canyon at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, Wash.
Willy may be reached at [email protected]
