Seniors send Huskies into offseason with series win

May 28, 2013, 12:00 AM

In their final college series, the Washington baseball team’s seniors led the way. Joe Meggs hit a game-winning single Friday, and Jayce Ray led the Huskies to a series-clinching win Sunday as the UW won two of three against No. 19 Arizona State. The UW (24-32, 15-15 Pac-12) won 15 of its final 22 games to pull into a fifth-place tie in the Pac-12 standings. “Give our guys credit,” head coach Lindsay Meggs said. “They could have rolled over and died, but they fought back and found a way to win. In many respects, it’s the best season we’ve had since I’ve been here.” Friday’s series opener was a back-and-forth extra-inning affair that lasted until Joe Meggs singled home the winning run in the 11th inning for an 8-7 UW victory. Arizona State (35-20-1, 16-14) is known for its powerful offense, and that was on display early Friday. The Sun Devils picked up four runs in the second inning against Jared Fisher, but the lead only lasted until the fifth, when the Huskies got five to jump in front. The Sun Devils tied it up on a wild pitch in the sixth, then took the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly. But the Huskies came back to tie it up again, as senior Ty Afenir walked, moved over on a bunt, and scored on an Andrew Ely single. After each team scored in the 10th, the Huskies found a way to win in the 11th. With one out, senior Michael Camporeale walked and stole second. After an out and another walk, Joe Meggs singled to center, and Camporeale scored well ahead of the throw to give the Huskies the win. “We played hard all three games, and we didn’t quit when we got behind in either game,” Joe Meggs said. “We battled back, and that kind of stands for how our whole season has been.” Saturday, the Huskies tried to put the first blemish on ASU freshman Ryan Kellogg’s record this season but were unable to do so. Kellogg struggled early, giving up four runs in the first two innings, but collected himself and got a late offensive outburst as the Sun Devils won 14-4. Kellogg improved to 11-0 with the win. In the rubber match Sunday, the Huskies got strong production from their seniors en route to a 7-2 win. Erik Forgione scored on a bunt from Ray in the first, then Austin Rei scored on an Ely single in the third after Arizona State had tied the game. After ASU tied it again in the sixth, the Huskies put together a rally to take the lead for good in the seventh. With Forgione on second after a single and sacrifice, Ray blooped a double that landed just fair down the left-field line to give the UW the lead. He scored when Camporeale singled, and Camporeale scored on a single from Robert Pehl and an error from the ASU defense. Ray capped off his UW career with another run-scoring hit in the eighth, with two men coming across on his single and the error that followed. He ended the day 4-for-4. “This was definitely a sweet way to end my college career,” Ray said. “It was kind of unreal. It still hasn’t really hit me that this was my last college game. I’ve been a little bit frustrated this weekend, but today I just went back to the basics — and a 4-for-4 day, can’t ask for much more than that.” After their poor start to the season, the Huskies will not be appearing in the NCAA tournament. However, the good feelings around the program will continue as Husky Ballpark is redone this offseason. The field is expected to be ready for opening day next spring. Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com.Twitter: @drubens12

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