Freshmen Lift Huskies Past Santa Clara, 8-1

Sunday, February 19

Santa Clara, Calif.

3:00 PM

University of Washington

2-1

Santa Clara

1-2

Washington

Santa Clara

February 19, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Brian Tom

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A pair of freshmen came through big for the 12^th-ranked Huskies as they beat Santa Clara, 8-1, Sunday afternoon at Stephen Schott Stadium. Catcher Nick Kahle drove in five runs and pitcher Jordan Jones stuck out nine batters over six innings to pick up the win in his first collegiate start and give the Huskies a 2-1 advantage in the four-game series.

"It was fun to watch Nick and Jordan do their thing," eighth-year UW Coach Lindsay Meggs said. "Those two are not your typical freshmen. They can contribute immediately."

Making his 2017 debut, Kahle drove in two runs with a double in the fourth inning and struck later for a three-run homer in the sixth to give Jones all the offense he would need.

Jones (1-0) worked ahead of the count for much of the day and played mix-and-match with his pitches to keep Santa Clara hitters at bay. The 2016 Kentwood (Kent, Wash.) grad allowed one earned run on six hits and did not walk a batter.

The freshman made an unscheduled start after debuting in the eighth inning of Saturday night's second game of the double header. Jones entered a bases-loaded, one-out jam and escaped with a strikeout and pop out, giving an indication of what was in store on Sunday.

After falling behind early in each of their first two games, the Huskies turned the tables and started quick, jumping all over Santa Clara starter Grant Nechak (0-1) for two runs in the first inning. AJ Graffanino and Jack Meggs singled to start the inning and Joey Morgan sacrificed them into scoring position. John Naff reached on a fielder's choice in which Graffanino was thrown out at home while trying to score.

With two outs, sophomore third baseman Willie MacIver came up clutch, singling down the right-field line. Meggs scored easily from third and Naff was content to stop at third, but when right fielder Grant Meylan struggled fielding the ball, he chugged home to give Jones a 2-0 lead before even stepping onto the mound.

The Broncos got a run back in the second inning against Jones, but it would ultimately be the only offense of the game for Santa Clara. Last night's game-two hero for the Broncos, John Cresto, continued his hot hitting, doubling home Jake Brodt with two outs.

After that, Kahle took over the show. He gave his team a 4-1 lead in the fourth on a clutch, two-out double to right field. Kahle, making his first collegiate appearance, doubled home MacIver and Christian Jones to pick up his first career hit and pair of RBIs.

He stuck again in his third at bat, this time connecting for a no-doubt shot over the left-centerfield fence off Santa Clara reliever Luke Martin-Resnick. With MJ Hubbs and Jones on base, Kahle hit a 1-0 pitch for the second homer by a UW batter this season.

UW tacked on an unearned run in the eighth when one of four Santa Clara errors on the day kept the inning alive. MacIver drove in pinch-runner Jacob Hirsh on a ground out to make the score 8-1.

Freshman Leo Nierenberg and junior college transfer Joe Wainhouse combined to face the minimum and throw hitless baseball over the final three innings. Nierenberg threw two innings, while Wainhouse struck out two in his ninth-inning debut to close out the game.

The Huskies had eight hits by six different batters. Meggs (2-for-4) and Kahle (2-for-4) were the only Huskies with multiple hits.

"We did a better job today offensively from top to bottom," said Coach Meggs. "It was important for us to bounce back today and take better at bats.

"It was a good day for all of us."

With bad weather predicted, the Huskies and Broncos are scheduled to wrap up the series Monday night at 6:00 p.m. Stay tuned on GoHuskies.com and @UW_Baseball Twitter for the latest updates.