After a day full of rain in Seattle that pushed the first pitch back an hour, the clouds parted, allowing for sunshine to cast over Montlake as Seattle University Baseball took on the University of Washington for the first of three matchups this season. 

The crosstown rivals last met April 23, 2024, where the Redhawks fell to the Diamond Dawgs 14-3.  

The Redhawks were able to score two in the top of the first inning after Junior third baseman Reese Harmon lined a single to left field, scoring the two-way sophomore Kenny Ishikawa, who got on base via walk. On the same play, senior shortstop Tyler Peterson, who also got on via walk, advanced to third base. Seattle U’s second run came after Harmon pulled a “steal and stop” trick play that drew a throw to second base from UW’s catcher, allowing Peterson to score.  

Senior right-handed pitcher Brady Liddle had a strong start to his outing. In the bottom of the first, Liddle retired the first two batters in just five pitches. The Huskies’ offense attempted to fight back with a walk and a hit that put runners into scoring position for Washington, but Liddle punched out Senior outfielder Braeden Terry, ending the inning with Seattle U leading 2-0.  

The Huskies were able to put up a run in the bottom of the second inning, bringing the score to 2-1 with the Redhawks still maintaining the lead. The score remained stagnant until the seventh inning, when both teams were able to put a run on the board. Freshman catcher Josh Cunnigan led off the inning for the Redhawks and got on via an error by the Washington first baseman. Redshirt Junior outfielder Colin Curry came in to pinch run for Cunnigan and stole second, putting a runner in scoring position for the Redhawks. Seattle U was able to load the bases after Junior outfielder Jared Stevenson, along with Ishikawa, both got on via walk. Peterson was able to put together a good at bat, receiving his second base on balls of the day and recording his first RBI, scoring Curry, bringing the score to 3-1.  

UW was able to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth after multiple walks and an error from the Seattle U defense. The Redhawks were able to get out of the inning, but they had lost the lead going into the top of the ninth. Despite Ishikawa hitting a single up the middle and Peterson receiving his third walk of the night, the Redhawks were not able to bring a run around, falling to Washington 4-3.  

“I was able to get on base three times, but one thing that I regret is when bases were loaded, I did wanna hit there. So yeah, just more effort for me, at that point,” Ishikawa commented on being disappointed that he couldn’t produce a run in a crucial moment.  

This Seattle U squad hasn’t been as successful this year as they have been in previous years. The team started the season going on a nine-game losing streak, but after that rocky start, the Redhawks were able to go 13-13, showing that they have the ability to be a competitive team in the conference. Head coach Donny Harrell is in his 16th season at the helm of the Seattle U baseball program.  

“I thought we were [a] little bit nervous in key situations where guys were just a little bit anxious because they want to beat the Huskies so bad, with the crosstown rivalry and stuff. We just gotta calm down a little bit… What comes with pressure is obviously just slowing the game down and we didn’t slow it down, but we competed so it was a good midweek baseball game,” Harrell said, regarding the team’s overall performance.  

Despite not getting the result that they wanted, the team remained confident after the game and even reflected on some positive takeaways from the match-up.  

“We’re feeling pretty confident, granted today didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but there’s a lot of things we can take away from the game that we can carry on into the next series and I think we’ll be fine,” Grad student pitcher Reid Madariaga said.  

At the time of publishing, the team went 1-2 in their series against conference opponents Sacramento State and have also taken on Washington for the second of the three matchups this season, falling to the Huskies once again, this time with a score of 22-0. There’s still a lot of baseball left to play for this Redhawks squad, and it’s not too late in the season to turn things around. The team comes home this Friday to take on Western Oregon University at Bannerwood Park.