"Baseball falls from first" -- April 25, 2006

By C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front

Home runs lifted Western’s club baseball team to victory this weekend, but not before the team suffered a heartbreaking loss.

The Vikings outscored the Seattle University Redhawks 37-6 in a three-game series sweep two weeks ago, but lost 7-6 to the Redhawks in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Joe Martin Field. The team rebounded to win the second game.

The two-game split dropped the Vikings’ to second place with a 9-2 record in the Pacific Mountain Conference, while Seattle University came away with a 4-8 record and third place in the conference.

“We came into this game knowing we were going to kill them, and they came out swinging,” said senior left fielder Mikel Lenox, who is hitting .385 with nine stolen bases this season. “We shot ourselves in the foot, but by the same token, I think it will jump start us to play harder.”

The loss to Seattle crippled Western’s postseason hopes because the University of Oregon is in first place in the conference.

The Vikings must win three out of four games at Oregon this weekend to secure a regional playoff bid, Johnson said.

“It adds a little bit of pressure, but as a team we just need to go into every game understanding that if we take care of our job today, things are going to work out for us,” Johnson said. “We just got a little bit tougher of a job to take care of.”

The Redhawks knocked around Viking starting pitcher Brandon Boyd in the first two innings, rocking him for seven earned runs.

Boyd pitched the rest of the game, holding Seattle scoreless, while striking out five.

Boyd entered the game with a 2-2 record and 2.70 ERA.

“I had a couple rough innings at the beginning and didn’t get it done,” Boyd said. “They were sitting on my fastball and watching my curveball a lot, so I decided to throw the changeup. I think that’s when the game changed around.”

Western scored a 12-2 victory over the Redhawks in the second game, with a solo home run and a two-run shot from senior designated hitter Ryan Kauffman and junior first baseman Eric Peterson, respectively.

Western head coach Michael Johnson said the Vikings started the first game slowly because they crushed the Redhawks in their last meeting April 9.

The Vikings worked to get solid hits after falling behind early to the Redhawks, which distracted the team from their strategy of stealing bases and bunting, Johnson said.

“I think our minds just kind of slipped,” he said. “We came out in the second game and switched the mindset. We came back to the basics as opposed to trying to do too much too quick.”

Western senior pitcher Andrew Irvine pitched a complete game in the second game, allowing two runs in six innings.

Irvine entered the game 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA and struck out five batters by keeping hitters off-balance through the game by varying the speed of his pitches, Johnson said.

Kauffman’s home run came in the third inning with Western leading 7-0. He worked the count to 2-1 and then smashed Redhawk freshman pitcher Paul Massart’s pitch over the left field fence.

Kauffman was batting .333 going into Saturday’s games.

“I was just telling myself to try to go the other way because I get pull happy and roll over on balls,” Kauffman said. “It was the right height and the right spot I guess, and I got it on the barrel.”

Peterson, who entered the game hitting .405 with 14 RBIs, homered for the third time this season in the fourth inning with a shot over the right field fence.

C. Jennings breakey / The Western Front

Western sophomore catcher Matt Fink looks on during the Vikings 7-6 loss to Seattle University Saturday at Joe Martin Field.