Sparks' shot the difference in win over Redhawks

Mar 6, 2013, 12:00 AM

In serious need of a slump-busting win before a big road trip, the Washington baseball team hosted Seattle University on Tuesday night. Thanks to a balanced attack and strong pitching, the Huskies got the win. The question moving forward will be whether they can build on it. Will Sparks hit his first career home run to pace the Huskies offensively, and five UW pitchers combined to stymie the Redhawk bats in a 4-2 win. Now, the Huskies will hit the road for their first-ever visit to a Southeastern Conference team, as they travel to No. 3 LSU for a three-game set starting Friday. “Any win is important,” head coach Lindsay Meggs said. “It’s nice to play well enough to win. We still have to get better, but the beauty of getting to play a midweek game is that you can get better.” Jared Fisher went four innings for the Huskies in his first start of the year, allowing three hits and striking out one. Because Fisher only went four frames, he was ineligible for the win; it was instead awarded to Nick Palewicz, who tossed a scoreless fifth. The UW opened the scoring in the bottom of the third off Seattle starter Skyler Genger. Centerfielder Jayce Ray doubled to left-center to lead off the inning, then moved to second on a groundout. Robert Pehl continued his torrid start with a run-scoring single, plating Ray for his eighth RBI of the season. Fisher had to work his way out of a jam in the fourth. The Redhawks got a walk and a bunt single to start the frame, then used a sacrifice bunt to move the two runners into scoring position with one out. But Fisher focused in and got a pop-up to short and, after an intentional walk, a flyout to center to escape from trouble. In the bottom of the inning, the UW offense gave Fisher some breathing room. After a one-out walk, Sparks found a pitch he liked and promptly deposited it over the fence in left-center field, just left of the 385-foot sign, to give the UW a 3-0 lead. “It was pretty special,” Sparks said. “I’m not really much of a home-run hitter. I was down 0-2 and just trying to get a pitch to hit. I got something to hit and just jumped on it.” The UW tacked on another run the next inning, when Trevor Mitsui’s two-out double scored Ray from third. Ray continued to scorch the baseball Tuesday night, going 3-for-4 to improve his batting average to .391 for the season. The Redhawks rallied in the eighth, scoring two runs off UW closer Tyler Kane. After a one-out single, Grant Newton doubled home a run then scored after a single and a sacrifice fly to cut the UW lead in half. After another Redhawk single, Kane buckled down, striking out Landon Cray with two men on to end the threat. Kane allowed two hits in the ninth before getting a strikeout and a groundout to preserve the victory. Next up for the Huskies are three games with the formidable Tigers. LSU is 10-1 on the season and averages nearly seven runs a game. Ideally, the series will ready the Huskies for the tough opponents they’ll face once Pac-12 play starts next weekend. “I wanted to go out there because I think that’s as close to a regional environment as you’re going to get,” Meggs said. “It’s exactly what you want your team to experience, so that when you’re in that moment later on, you feel comfortable about it.” Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

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