Huskies Take Series-Opener Thanks To Dominant Pitching
April 18, 2025 | Baseball
SEATTLE โ The Huskies earned their 10th Big Ten win of the season on Friday, taking down Illinois 3-1 at Husky Ballpark. With the win, the Diamond Dawgs take sole possession of fifth place in the conference standings.
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Washington improves to 20-19 on the season and 10-6 in Big Ten play while Illinois drops to 21-14 and 9-7 in the conference. The Huskies are now 6-0 in Big Ten series-openers.
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Max Banks turned in yet another dominant performance, tying a career-high 7.0 innings pitched. He allowed five hits and just one run while striking out seven.
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Friday's win marks the sixth occasion this season Banks has allowed two or less runs in a start of at least 6.0 innings pitched. He moves to 5-2 on the year and brings his ERA down to 2.98.
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The Huskies used a three-run third inning to jump ahead and never looked back. The scoring began when Casen Taggart hit an RBI double, sending home Trevor Kole and advancing AJ Guerrero to third.
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Then, Sam DeCarlo laced a single up the middle to bring home Guerrero and Taggart.
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DeCarlo went on to collect three hits on the day, leading all players in the game. Casen Taggart also had a multi-hit game, knocking two.
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Jackson Hotchkiss also extended his hitting streak to eight games after tagging a single in the fourth inning. During this stretch, Hotchkiss is batting .448.
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Banks allowed only one run, giving up an RBI single in the top of the fifth. After finishing off the seventh inning, Isaac Yeager took the bump in the eighth.
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Yeager immediately punched out two batters in his first frame and then forced three groundouts in the ninth to seal the victory. The junior earned his team-leading fifth save, the sixth-most in the Big Ten.
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The Huskies will look to take the series on Saturday night, with first pitch slated for 7:02 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.
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DAWG BITES
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Washington improves to 20-19 on the season and 10-6 in Big Ten play while Illinois drops to 21-14 and 9-7 in the conference. The Huskies are now 6-0 in Big Ten series-openers.
ย
Max Banks turned in yet another dominant performance, tying a career-high 7.0 innings pitched. He allowed five hits and just one run while striking out seven.
ย
Friday's win marks the sixth occasion this season Banks has allowed two or less runs in a start of at least 6.0 innings pitched. He moves to 5-2 on the year and brings his ERA down to 2.98.
ย
The Huskies used a three-run third inning to jump ahead and never looked back. The scoring began when Casen Taggart hit an RBI double, sending home Trevor Kole and advancing AJ Guerrero to third.
ย
Then, Sam DeCarlo laced a single up the middle to bring home Guerrero and Taggart.
ย
DeCarlo went on to collect three hits on the day, leading all players in the game. Casen Taggart also had a multi-hit game, knocking two.
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Jackson Hotchkiss also extended his hitting streak to eight games after tagging a single in the fourth inning. During this stretch, Hotchkiss is batting .448.
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Banks allowed only one run, giving up an RBI single in the top of the fifth. After finishing off the seventh inning, Isaac Yeager took the bump in the eighth.
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Yeager immediately punched out two batters in his first frame and then forced three groundouts in the ninth to seal the victory. The junior earned his team-leading fifth save, the sixth-most in the Big Ten.
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The Huskies will look to take the series on Saturday night, with first pitch slated for 7:02 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.
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DAWG BITES
- Washington claimed its sixth Big Ten series-opener on Friday night against Illinois. The Huskies are undefeated in conference series-openers this season
- Max Banks tossed a career-best 7.0 innings on Friday while striking out seven. It's his sixth start this season of at least 6.0 IP and 2 or less runs allowed
- Isaac Yeager collected his fifth save of the season, the sixth-most in the Big Ten
- Sam DeCarlo had three hits on the night, including a two-RBI double. It's DeCarlo's 10th multi-hit game this season and his fourth multi-RBI game
- Jackson Hotchkiss extended his hitting streak to eight games
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Banks, Max (5-2)
L: Schmitt, Tyler (3-2)
S: Yeager, Isaac (5)
Batting:
2B: Schroeder, Jacob 1
RBI: Westcott, Drake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schroeder, Jacob 1
CS: Schupmann, Kyle 1
PO: Schupmann, Kyle 1

Batting:
2B: Taggart, Casen 1 ; DeCarlo, Sam 1
RBI: Taggart, Casen 1 ; DeCarlo, Sam 2
SH: Terry, Braeden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Guerrero, AJ 1 ; Taggart, Casen 1 ; Kole, Trevor 1
CS: Hotchkiss, Jackson 1
HBP: Bower, Colton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
Players Mentioned
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