Huskies Split Day One Of Sportco Kickoff Classic

Friday, February 6

Las Vegas, NV

11:15 AM

University of Washington

1-0

UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic: CSU-Bakersfield

0-1

Washington

Bakersfield

February 06, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Washington Athletics

Washington 11, CSU Bakersfield 2 | Stats
Minnesota 8, Washington 0 | Stats

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- A five-run third inning helped fuel No. 11 Washington to an 11-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield to open the 2015 season at the Sportco Kick Off Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday. The Huskies fell to Minnesota, 8-0 in the second game of the day.

“We have a lot of room to grow and different things to learn, but it was great to finally get out there and compete with this group," head coach Heather Tarr said. "We faced a lot of different pitchers today and that's always a challenge, but it felt good to get that first win under our belt. We saw a really great pitcher against Minnesota and although we didn't do what we wanted to do against her, it was great for us to compete against that type of pitching because that's ultimately what it comes down to. We're looking forward to having the opportunity to respond in tomorrow's games."

Sophomore Casey Stangel made her first start in the circle as a Husky, allowing one run off three hits. Junior Hailey Bator came on in relief in the third inning, pitching the remainder of the game without allowing a run and recording three strikeouts to secure the run-rule victory. The Husky offense was led by Kelli Suguro and Taylor Van Zee who each recorded two hits and three RBI.

Sophomore Ali Aguilar started the 2015 season off with a bang, hitting a leadoff home run to give the Huskies an early 1-0 advantage. The Dawgs tacked on another run after Kylee Lahners drew a walk, advanced on a fielder's choice and was brought home off a single by Stangel.

The 'Runners threatened in the bottom of the first after a walk and hit-by-pitch put runners on the corners, but a perfectly executed double play by Suguro and Aguilar ended the inning as the Huskies escaped unscathed.

Back-to-back doubles by Lahners and Stangel in the third ignited the Husky offense as the team exploded for five runs. A single by Suguro kept the rally alive, scoring Lahners and pinch runner Braun. Van Zee then picked up her first collegiate hit, smacking a triple to bring home Suguro and give the Huskies a 5-0 lead.

Despite sitting out the last half of the 2014 season, Courtney Gano showed no signs of rust in her return, knocking out a two-run home run to put UW on top 7-0 in the bottom of the third.

The 'Runners were able to crack the scoreboard, scoring a run in the third and fourth. CSUB took advantage of a walk and a catcher's interference call to put a pair on and a single brought their first run across. A double and a single put runners on the corners in the fourth and a sac-fly scored CSUB's second and final run of the game.

The Huskies used a four-run sixth inning to run away with the 11-2 win, highlighted by a Suguro triple and Van Zee's first collegiate home run.

In the second game of the day, Washington faced a tough No. 15 Minnesota team with talented pitcher Sara Groenewegen, who was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year last season as a freshman. She tossed all five innings for the Gophers, giving up four hits and striking out nine.

Kasey Stanchek (0-1) made the start for the Huskies while Bator and Courtney Schwan also made appearances.

Minnesota took advantage of a pair of hits and walks in the first inning to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. The Huskies' defense retired the side in order recording two straight fly outs and a strikeout in the second but Minnesota came storming back in the third with two singles and two doubles to go on top 5-0.

Washington's defense again retired the Gophers in order in the fourth, but Minnesota responded with three singles and a triple to score three more runs in the fifth and end the game with a run-rule victory.

Offensively, Washington recorded four hits, but the Dawgs were unable to get into a rhythm and string them together into runs. Lahners, Braun and Souza recorded singles while Van Zee doubled.

The Huskies are back in action tomorrow with two games in the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic. Washington will face UC Davis at 9:00 a.m., followed by a matchup with host UNLV at 1:30 p.m.

Fans can follow along via live game stats here.