Seattle University’s baseball team split a four game series at Bannerwood Park this past weekend against Sacred Heart.
Aaron Stroosma swings at a ball in the zone.
The Redhawks (4-7) were able to take two of the last three games of the series from the Pioneers (5-6) after dropping game one.
It has not been the start to the season that the team expected after winning the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) last year and being given many preseason accolades. Their four home losses already match the total from all of last season.
It came to a head after a 12-5 loss in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, in which the team gave up its third grand slam of the season. Head Coach Donny Harrel was clearly disappointed in his team’s effort, focus, and production on the field.
“Our pitching isn’t where it needed to be. We’re not playing up to our standards,” Harrel said. “It’s disappointing based on the work we’ve put in.”
Before the season began Harrel stated that the team’s pitching would be their strong point, but it is now evident that may not be the case. Reigning WAC Pitcher of the Year, junior Nick Meservey, hasn’t been strong to start the season and the team is missing Tarik Skubal who is still out with an injury.
After the big loss the team held a meeting to talk about their attitudes and how they can turn their season around before it gets out of hand. It looks like it helped as they closed out the series with a 6-4 comeback victory.
“We looked like a different ball club today,” Harrel said. “We met this morning and opened it up for the team to talk. Our dugout was fantastic today, it was definitely a team feeling. We are moving in the right direction.”
Freshman Alden Huschle made his first start of the season for the Redhawks, giving up two runs in 3.2 innings, but it was reliever Connor Moore who kept the team in the game. Moore pitched 5.1 shutout innings to earn the win and allow Seattle U to climb back in the game.
“Moore is our player of the day, no questions,” said Harrel. “He kept us in the ball game so we could find a crack to score. He deserved the opportunity to give us a chance to win the ballgame.”
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