University of Washington
Gonzaga
Johnson Homers Twice As UW Beats Zags, 12-5
March 23, 2004 | Baseball
March 23, 2004
SPOKANE, Wash. - Senior switch hitter Ben Johnson hit home runs from both sides of the plate Tuesday as the Washington baseball team beat Gonzaga, 12-5, at a windy Avista Stadium. The win gave the UW the two-game series and a sweep of the five Husky-Bulldog games this season. Washington swept a three-game set from the Zags in February.
Johnson, the Huskies' left fielder from Bellevue High, homered in the second and fourth innings, hitting the first off of lefty starter Chris Albrecht and the second off of right-hander Darrin Trautmann. The homers were the second and third of the season for Johnson.
The Huskies, who hit five homers on the day, improved to 13-6-1 on the year in their final game before opening Pac-10 play. Gonzaga dropped to 8-14.
The Zags scored a run in the first when leadoff hitter Chris Sinner doubled and eventually came in on a sacrifice fly from Marshall Bratton.
In the top of the second, however, the UW went in front when first baseman Kyle Larsen and Johnson, who finished 2-for-3 with four RBI, took advantage of a steady wind blowing out to left, hitting back-to-back solo homers. Second baseman Brian Bauer followed with a walk and scored from first and a double from Brent Lillibridge, putting the Huskies on top, 3-1.
The Zags made use of that same wind in the bottom of the second as third baseman Bobby Carlson went deep with a two-run homer to left, knotting the score at 3-3.
In the fourth, with Nick Batkoski and Larsen aboard, Johnson blasted his second homer of the day to right, giving Washington a 6-3 lead. An RBI double from Carlson in the fourth cut that lead to 6-4.
Washington put the game away with a four-run sixth inning that featured a pinch-hit, two-run double from Zach Clem and an RBI single from Aaron Hathaway. Gonzaga scored its fifth run in the seventh when Sinner tripled and scored on a groundout.
Clem and Taylor Johnson hit the UW's second set of back-to-back homers in the ninth to cap the Huskies' scoring. Clem, who entered the game in the sixth, was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in. Larsen had two hits and scored three runs. Sinner was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a triple and Carlson drove in three for the Zags.
Jordan Ponzoha, a freshman from Tumwater, made his first career start for the Huskies. He went three and two-thirds, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. Senior reliever Trent Baysinger (2-1) worked three and one-third innings, allowing a run on two hits, for the win. Trautmann (0-1) suffered the loss with four innings of relief work.
The UW opens Pac-10 play with a three-game series at No. 7 Arizona State, beginning Friday.
LINESCORE Washington 12, Gonzaga 5 Washington 030 304 002 -- 12 10 1 Gonzaga 120 100 100 -- 5 9 2 Jordan Ponzoha, Trent Baysinger (4), Kyle Parker (8) and Aaron Hathaway, Ben Johnson (8). Chris Albrecht, Darrin Trautmann (3), Josh Monroe (7) and Kiel Thibault. W - Baysinger (2-1). L - Trautmann (0-1). 2B - UW, Brent Lillibridge, Zach Clem; GU, Chris Sinner 2, David Johnson, Thibault, Bobby Carlson. 3B - GU, Sinner. HR - UW, Kyle Larsen (3), Ben Johnson 2 (3), Clem (5), Taylor Johnson (2); GU, Carlson (1). T - 2:36. A - 123. Records: UW 13-6-1, GU 8-14.
