University of Washington
Hawaii Pacific
Nichols Wins In First Start As UW Beats HPU, 10-7
March 01, 2006 | Baseball
March 1, 2006
WAIPAHU, Hawaii - Freshman Geoff Nichols picked up the victory in his first college start as the Washington baseball team beat Division II Hawaii Pacific, 10-7, Wednesday at Hans L'Orange Park.
The win was the fifth straight for the Huskies (10-2), who take on Hawaii later Wednesday as the Rainbow Baseball Tournament gets back underway for the UW. The game against HPU (9-10) was not a tournament game.
Nichols, a freshman from Portland, Ore., had faced only one hitter prior to Wednesday's win. He went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits.
Junior designated hitter Matt Lane led the UW with two doubles and a triple in five at bats. Freshmen Trevor Petersen and Brett Kaluza each added two hits, as did sophomore Ryan Anderson and senior Nick Burnham.
The Huskies, who were set down in order in the first, got rolling in the second. Lane doubled to lead off and freshman Trevor Petersen followed with a bad-hop single over the shortstop's head. Catcher Joey Dunn belted a triple to left-center field to score both runners and then came across on a single from Kaluza, giving the UW a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second with one out, Jherell Miller singled and Gavin Concepcion walked to put two aboard for HPU. After a wild pitch moved both runners up a base, a groundout from Colton Silva drove in a run to cut the Husky lead to 3-1.
In the fifth, with Ryan Anderson on first after a single, senior left fielder Nick Burnham doubled to drive in the Huskies' fourth run. Burnham eventually made it 5-1 when he scored on a safety squeeze bunt from Bradley Boyer.
HPU scored a second run in the fifth as Michael Kealoha led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Grandon Costa.
Washington broke the game with a five-run, two-out rally in the ninth. The first of the six runs came when backup catcher D.J. Neyens singled to drive in Burnham. Later, with the bases loaded, Lane hit his second double of the day to clear the bases. Another double, this one from Curt Rindal, drove in Lane to cap the Huskies' offense for the day.
The Huskies needed those runs, however, as HPU rallied for five of their own in the ninth. After the first four hitters in the inning reached on singles, putting one run across the plate, an error on a possible double-play scored another. Brandon Sato singled to drive in two more, but a double play off the bat of Danny Lee, which scored the Warriors' fifth run of the inning, spelled the beginning of the end as, with the bases empty and two down, Miller grounded out.
Sea Warriors ace Mario Ramirez (2-1) took his first loss of the season despite a solid outing. He threw eight innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits. He walked two and struck out six.
Later Wednesday, the Huskies take on Hawaii at 7:00 p.m. HST (9:00 p.m. PST). A live audio broadcast of the Hawaii game will air on the internet at gohuskies.com.
LINESCORE Non-Conference Game Washington 10, Hawaii Pacific 7 Washington 030 020 005 -- 10 15 2 Hawaii Pacific 010 010 005 -- 7 11 1 Geoff Nichols, Brandon McKerney (6), Bryce Mooney (7), Jason Erickson (9) and Joey Dunn. Mario Ramirez, Brandon Muser (9), Michael Kealoha (9) and Gavin Concepcion. W - Nichols (1-0). L - Ramirez (2-1). 2B - UW, Matt Lane 2, Nick Burnham, Curt Rindal; HPU, Michael Kealoha, Concepcion. 3B - UW, Dunn, Lane. T - 2:31. A - 150.
