University of Washington
1-3
UTRGV
2-2
Huskies Finish Two-Day Home Opener, Win 10-3
February 27, 2021 | Baseball
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A rare winter lightning storm shook Husky Ballpark Friday night, stopping UW's home opener in its tracks. The game was picked up Saturday afternoon with the Huskies leading 6-3 in the top of the fifth inning and two outs.
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The storm came right as UTRGV was mounting a comeback, and when play resumed the Huskies were able to stop the flood gates and add on four runs complete the win.
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Washington's offense pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of six UTRGV errors to reach double-figure runs for the first time in 2021.
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Centerfielder Braiden Ward led the offensive onslaught with three hits (3 for 5), two stolen bases and a run batted in. Β Noah Hsue, Michael Brown and Ramon Bramasco each chipped in with two hits.
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Stefan RaethΒ (1-0)Β took over on the mound when play resumed on Saturday and did not allow a run over 3 1/3 innings to pick up his first Division I win. He struck out two and allowed three hits.
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The Husky offense jumped on UTRGV starter Christian Ramos (0-1) right out of the gate in the first inning, using a familiar formula. Ward led off with a single, and the three-time Pac-12 stolen bases leader swiped the 58th base of his career to get into scoring position. No. 2 hitter Hsue promptly sent him home on a single. Hsue later scored on a single by Brown to start the offensive onslaught for the Dawgs in their home debut.
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In the second, Ward drove in Bramasco with a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.
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The way Husky starter Tyson Guerrero was pitching, a 3-0 lead looked like it would be enough. The sophomore JC transfer was cruising along, striking out six and allowing just one hit, before he injured his left leg making a pitch in the third inning. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings, throwing 27 strikes out of 37 total pitches.
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The Huskies tacked on three more unearned runs an inning later to make it 6-0. Brown picked up a RBI single and scored on a three-base error when left fielder Spencer Serven misplayed a fly ball off the bat of Dalton Chandler. Chandler would come around to score on a RBI single byΒ Bramasco.
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UTRGV got on the board three times in the fifth inning before lightning halted the game at 8:41 p.m. RJ Ochoa drilled a double into the right-center gap, and right as Serven crossed the plate to score the Vaqueros' third run, lightning struck in the background over Lake Washington.
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Raeth struck out Coleman Grubb when play resumed at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, ending the Vaqueros' best scoring opportunity.
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The Huskies piled on a run in the fifth, seventh and two in the eighth to pull away.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Raeth, Stefan (1-0)
L: Ramos, Cristian (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Ochoa, RJ 1 ; Rojas Jr., Freddy 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
3B: Serven, Spencer 1
RBI: Serven, Spencer 1 ; Ochoa, RJ 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Serven, Spencer 1 ; Ramirez, Diego 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
HBP: Alexander, Elijah 1
Batting:
2B: Ward, Braiden 1 ; Viltz, Preston 1
RBI: Ward, Braiden 1 ; Hsue, Noah 1 ; Brown, Michael 2 ; Jones, Christian 1 ; Bramasco, Ramon 2 ; Petrie, Michael 1
SH: Viltz, Preston 1 ; Bramasco, Ramon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ward, Braiden 1 ; Hsue, Noah 2 ; Brown, Michael 1 ; Simpson, Will 2 ; Chandler, Dalton 3 ; Bramasco, Ramon 1
SB: Ward, Braiden 2 ; Corona, Emilio 1 ; Simpson, Will 1 ; Chandler, Dalton 1 ; Jones, Christian 1 ; Bramasco, Ramon 1 ; Petrie, Michael 1
CS: Ward, Braiden 1 ; Viltz, Preston 1
HBP: Brown, Michael 1 ; Petrie, Michael 1
