University of Washington
Oregon State
Huskies Take Series With 8-5 Win At OSU
May 02, 2004 | Baseball
May 2, 2004
CORVALLIS, Ore. - A fourth-inning grand slam from junior right fielder Taylor Johnson proved the difference as the 21st-ranked Washington baseball team beat Oregon State, 8-5, Sunday at Goss Stadium.
The win gave the Huskies (26-14-1 overall, 10-5 in the Pac-10) a 2-1 series win and left the UW alone in second place in the conference, a game and a half behind Stanford (35-6, 10-2). Oregon State dropped into a tie for fourth place at 27-14 and 7-8 in league play.
UW freshman starter Tim Lincecum (5-1) worked five innings for the victory. He allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and seven walks while striking out nine. OSU freshman Jonah Nickerson (4-1) gave up six runs (five earned) over three and one-third to suffer the loss. Will Fenton threw the ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.
Johnson, a junior from Vancouver, Wash. (Skyview HS), went 1-for-3 with four runs batted in, two runs and a stolen base on the day. His grand slam gave the Huskies a 6-1 lead at the time.
In the first inning, Husky second baseman Greg Isaacson walked, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Kyle Larsen.
OSU came back to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first when Aaron Mathews hit a two-out solo homer, his third of the weekend, fourth against the Huskies this year and eighth of the season.
In the third, Isaacson once again reached, this time on a single, before stealing second and eventually coming in on Larsen's second sacrifice fly of the day.
Washington broke the game open in the fourth on Johnson's grand slam. Matt Lane singled to lead off and John Otness walked to put two aboard. Ben Johnson then followed with a grounder back to the mound. Pitcher Jonah Nickerson threw to second to begin a double play, but shortstop Tony Calderon had the ball go in and out of his glove, loading the bases for Taylor Johnson, whose blast to right field was his fourth of the year and second of the weekend.
OSU came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Husky lead to 6-4. Paul Richie walked and moved to second on a wild pitch before a single from Calderon sent him home. After a walk and a strikeout put runners at first and second, Tyler Graham grounded to shortstop Nick Batkoski, whose throw to third to try and get the lead runner went into the OSU dugout, allowing Calderon to score. Shea McFeely, who had walked, eventually scored on a wild pitch, but the Beavers, who drew four walks in the inning, left the bases loaded.
Washington tacked on a seventh run in the seventh when Isaacson reached on an error and eventually scored on a Batkoski single. Batkoski finished the day 3-for-5 while Isaacson, who reached base 13 times in the three games, scored three runs in the game.
OSU had a chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the seventh as Mike Lissman singled and Cole Gillespie doubled to start the inning. The Huskies and reliever David Dowling escaped without allowing a run, however, after two sharp groundouts to third and a strikeout ended it.
The UW scored another in the eighth on an RBI single from Brent Lillibridge. In the bottom of the eighth, pinch hitter Andy Jenkins led off with a solo homer, his sixth, cutting the Washington lead to 8-5.
Next up for the Huskies is a showdown with Stanford, the second-ranked team in the nation, in a battle of the top two teams in the Pac-10 standings. Friday night, game time at Husky Ballpark is 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, first pitch is 1:00 p.m. All three games will air live on KKNW AM-1150.
LINESCORE Pac-10 Conference #21 Washington 8, Oregon State 5 Washington 101 400 110 -- 8 11 1 Oregon State 010 300 010 -- 5 8 2 Tim Lincecum, David Dowling (6), Will Fenton (9) and Ben Johnson. Jonah Nickerson, Kevin Gunderson (4), Jared Sanders (7), Nathan Pendley (8), Jake McCormick (9) and Paul Richie. W - Lincecum (5- 1). L - Nickerson (4-1). Sv - Fenton (6). 2B - OSU, Tyler Graham, Cole Gillespie. HR - UW, Taylor Johnson (4); OSU, Aaron Mathews (8), Andy Jenkins (6). T - 3:19. A - 912. Records: UW 26-14-1, 10- 5 Pac-10; OSU 27-14, 7-8 Pac-10.
