University of Washington
Portland
Larsen Hits Grand Slam In 18-7 UW Win
April 05, 2005 | Baseball
April 5, 2005
SEATTLE - Led by first baseman Kyle Larsen's two-out grand slam in the fifth inning, the Washington baseball team came back from a couple of early deficits to out-slug Portland Tuesday night, beating the Pilots, 18-7, in a non-conference game at drizzly Husky Ballpark.
The win was the Huskies' 12th straight over Portland and was their 17th straight home win over a non-Pac-10 team, dating back to last season. The victory improved the UW to 19-12 on the season while the Pilots dropped to 11-18.
Larsen, a senior from Eastlake High, gave the Huskies an 8-6 lead with his sixth home run of the season after Portland had moved in front, 6-4, with three in the top of the fifth. In the seventh, Larsen drove in two more with a two-out, bases-loaded single to finish the game 2-for-5 with six runs batted in.
Senior third baseman Nick Batkoski went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, and three driven in while freshman designated hitter Matt Hague added three doubles, a solo homer and three RBI in six at bats for the UW.
Portland scored the game's first run in the second inning. Matthew Peters and Jesse Rodgers singled and Justin Pierce was hit by a pitch to load the bases no outs. Peters scored when Gustaf Little grounded out to second base, giving the Pilots a 1-0 lead.
After walking Danny Meier to re-load the bases, Husky starter Keaton Everitt got out of the jam without any further damage however, striking out Riley Snell and getting Justin Ehlers to fly out to end the inning.
The Huskies tied the score at 1-1 in the third when Zach Clem walked, moved all the way to third on an errant pickoff attempt and scored on a double from Hague.
Portland, however, took advantage of another bases-loaded situation in the fourth. This time, with one out, Ehlers came through, dumping a single into shallow left to break the 1-1 tie. Portland scored another when Everitt let loose a wild pitch, his final throw before being lifted in favor of senior lefty David Dowling. Dowling walked Nik Kosach to load the bases once more, but he struck out Travis Vetters to shut down the rally with Portland in front, 3-1.
The Huskies, who had left a total of seven runners on base through the first three innings, almost missed out on another scoring chance in the fourth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Pilots reliever Brian Yoakum came in and got two infield popouts on two pitches, but catcher Matt Lane came through with a bases-clearing double to straightaway center field, lifting the UW to a 4-3 lead.
Once again, the Pilots loaded the bases in the fourth, this time with one out on a double and two walks. Dowling then walked Danny Meier to force home a run to tie the game at 4-4 before Snell singled to left, driving in two to give Portland a 6-4 lead.
The Huskies' fifth inning followed a similar pattern as much of the early part of the game as Washington loaded the bases with no outs. Joe Jones came on in relief and got two quick outs with no runs coming in, but Larsen followed with his grand slam to give the UW an 8-6 lead.
Larsen's two-run single highlighted a three-run sixth for the Huskies and, after Hague's third double had driven in one, Batkoski hit a two-run homer as the UW went on to six in the seventh inning.
Hague hit a solo homer in the eighth, his third of the season, but the eighth ended with a triple play. With the bases loaded and no outs, Cory Rickard hit a fly ball to left. Billy Krause narrowly missed a diving catch, but the Husky baserunners thought he'd caught the ball on the fly. Krause got the ball back to the infield where forceouts were recorded at all three bases.
Dowling got the win for Washington to improve to 4-0 on the season. Portland's Brian Yoakum (0-1), one of eight Pilots pitchers used in the game, suffered the loss.
Friday through Sunday, Washington travels to Riverside, Calif., for a three-game, non- conference series at UC Riverside. Friday, first pitch is 7:00 p.m. Saturday, game time is 6:00 p.m. and Sunday's start is slated for 1:00 p.m. All three games will air on KKNW AM-1150 and will also be available at gohuskies.com.
LINESCORE Non-Conference Washington 18, Portland 7 Portland 010 230 001 -- 7 8 3 Washington 001 343 61X -- 18 18 2 Given Kutz, Chris Siegfried (3), Brian Yoakum (4), Joe Jones (5), Brian Cox (6), Stephen Ball (6), Justin Ehlers (7), Josh Roberts (7) and Riley Snell. Keaton Everitt, David Dowling (4), Brandon McKerney (7), Emmanuel Pedroza (8), Matt Hague (9) and Matt Lane, Joey Dunn (8), D.J. Neyens (9). W - Dowling (4-0). L - Yoakum (0-1). 2B - UP, Andrew Wrisley; UW, Nick Batkoski 2, Hague 3, Lane. HR - UW, Kyle Larsen (6), Batkoski (3), Hague (3). T - 4:03. A - 263.
