University of Washington
Portland
Huskies Hand Portland 8-5 Loss
April 06, 2004 | Baseball
April 6, 2004
PORTLAND, Ore. - Richie Lentz threw four innings of one-hit relief for the win and the Washington hitters rapped six doubles as the 25th-ranked Huskies beat Portland, 8-5, Tuesday in a non-conference baseball game at Pilot Stadium, the last of 12 straight road games for the UW.
Lentz (3-2), a freshman righty from Woodinville, was making his second relief outing after starting seven games. He entered the game to begin the third inning with the Huskies trailing 3-2 and pitched the next four innings, allowing a single and two walks while striking out five. Thanks to a double play and a runner caught stealing, he faced only 13 batters, one over the minium.
The Huskies improved to 18-8-1 on the season while Portland, which snapped a 13-game losing streak with a win Sunday at Santa Clara, fell to 4-25.
Washington got off to a quick start, scoring a pair of runs with two outs in the first. With John Otness aboard via a walk, Zach Clem doubled off the fence in left-center field, scoring Otness all the way from first. Ben Johnson followed with a single to drive in Clem, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead.
Portland came right back with two two-out runs of its own in the bottom of the first as catcher Joe Watson belted a long double down the right-field line to drive in a pair. The Pilots took a lead in the second when Jesse Rodgers singled and eventually came around on a sacrifice fly from Nik Kosach, giving UP a 3-2 edge.
In the fourth, Husky catcher Ben Johnson singled to lead off and eventually scored on a Nick Batkoski sacrifice fly to tie the game. Designated hitter Tyler Mach, who had reached on a fielder's choice, scored on a two-out double from Taylor Johnson, giving the Huskies back the lead at 4-3.
The Huskies made it 5-3 in the fifth when right fielder Aaron Hathaway doubled, stole second and scored on a Ben Johnson sacrifice fly. In the seventh, a double from Kyle Larsen drove home two runs to increase the lead to 7-2. The UW scored its last run on an RBI single from Otness in the eighth.
Portland rallied in the ninth, scoring a pair of runs on a Mike McRae sacrifice fly and an error, but closer Will Fenton came on to get the final out for his fifth save of the year.
Pilots starter Jared Adams (1-5) suffered the loss, allowing five Husky runs on six hits over five innings. Husky junior reliever Josh Conover, a right-hander from Lake Washington High, struck out six Pilot batters in his two innings of relief.
Taylor Johnson finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI while Ben Johnson was 2-for-4 with two runs driven in. Portland's Nik Kosach led his team's offense, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
The Huskies return to Husky Ballpark this Thursday through Saturday for a three-game, Pac-10 series against Washington State. The Huskies and Cougars play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Next Monday and Tuesday, Oregon State visits Seattle for a pair of non-conference games.
LINESCORE Non-conference Washington 8, Portland 5 Washington 200 210 210 -- 8 11 2 Portland 210 000 002 -- 5 10 0 Jordan Ponzoha, Richie Lentz (3), Josh Conover (7), Jamie Hawkins (9), Will Fenton (9) and Ben Johnson. Jared Adams, Trent Kristjanson (6), Brian Cox (7), Sean Sargent (8) and Joe Watson. W - Lentz (3-2). L - Adams (1-5). Sv - Fenton (5). 2B - UW, Zach Clem, Nick Batkoski, Taylor Johnson 2, Aaron Hathaway, Kyle Larsen; UP, Watson, Billy Krause. T - 2:54. A - 269. Records: UW 18-8-1, UP 4-25.
