University of Washington
Southern Utah
Baseball Beats Southern Utah In Home Opener
March 09, 2001 | Baseball
March 9, 2001
SEATTLE - The Washington baseball team trailed early, but rallied in the middle innings to beat Southern Utah, 8-6, in the Huskies' home opener Friday night at Husky Ballpark. The Huskies improved to 7-3 with the win.
Trailing 4-2, the Thunderbirds took the lead in the third when Todd Mitchell stroked a three-run homer to left to put Southern Utah ahead, 5-4.
Washington would have to wait to take the lead for good in the fifth, when the Huskies scored four runs, all with two outs. With runners at first and second, freshman Steve Ramsey tied the game with a double, his first career hit. Brandon Jacobson's triple then plated two more runs, and Jacobson made it 8-5 when he crossed the plate on a single from Marc Rittenhouse.
Freshman Clay Johnson (2-0) picked up the win for the Huskies, allowing three earned runs and fanning five over five innings. Junior Randy Vanderplow threw four solid innings of relief for the save, his first. SUU starter Rick White worked 4.2 innings to fall to 0-4 on the season.
Jacobson, a sophomore from Issaquah, finished the day 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Catcher Jefferson Thiel and third baseman Michael Done added two hits each for the Huskies. Mitchell and Chris Nelson each had two hits to lead the Thunderbirds (1-13).
The Huskies and Southern Utah have added a game to the series. Tomorrow, the teams will play a doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m., instead of a single game. Sunday, they will close out the series with the regularly scheduled 1:00 p.m. game.
LINESCORE at Husky Ballpark Washington 8, Southern Utah 6 Southern Utah 113 000 001 -- 6 9 1 Washington 040 040 00x -- 8 12 1 Rick White, Steven Stoker (5), Wes Matthews (8) and Ken Parker. Clay Johnson, Randy Vanderplow (6) and Jefferson Thiel. W - Johnson (2-0). L - White (0-4). Sv - Vanderplow (1). 2B - SUU, Chris Nelson, UW, Michael Done, Jay Garthwaite, Steve Ramsey. 3B - SUU, James Anderson, UW, Brandon Jacobson. HR - SUU, Todd Mitchell (4). T - 3:16. A - 491.
