Resiliency pays off for Huskies in come-from-behind series win

After the Washington baseball team’s comeback effort fell short in the series opener against Utah on Friday, the Huskies could have folded. But they refused. The UW responded to its series-opening loss with back-to-back wins Saturday and Sunday behind strong pitching to take the series from the last-place Utes. In Sunday’s rubber match, the Huskies shut down the Utes, keeping them scoreless for 8 2/3 innings, then held on to win 3-2. Four UW pitchers, Tyler Davis, Zach Wright, Tyler Kane, and Trevor Dunlap, combined to stifle the Utah bats and get the Huskies their 10th win in 15 games. “I was proud of our guys,” head coach Lindsay Meggs said. “We lost a heartbreaker on Friday, but we came back and salvaged this weekend. We’re a little bit battle scarred, and our guys have matured enough to realize that we have control over things when they aren’t going well.” The Huskies (19-30, 10-14 Pac-12) got on the board first in the third inning. Ty Afenir and Jayce Ray singled to start the inning, then both moved into scoring position on a bunt. Robert Pehl then lined a single to right to score one, and Michael Camporeale grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought Ray home. They would add another in the seventh on an RBI groundout from Erik Forgione. Utah’s Wyler Smith hit a two-out, two-run home run against Kane in the ninth inning to cut the UW lead to one. But Dunlap came in and shut the door to earn his third save of the season. “It’s kind of the way our season has gone,” senior Joe Meggs said. “We could have given up after Friday, but give our guys credit. Nobody has quit, everyone comes to the park ready to go and we are here to battle.” Despite coming back from a four-run deficit, the Huskies dropped Friday’s series opener 5-4 in 10 innings. The Utes jumped ahead 4-0 with two each in the fifth and sixth innings. Not to be outdone, the Huskies added two runs in back-to-back innings as well to tie the game. UW third baseman Andrew Ely, who was 4-for-4 on the night, led off the eighth with a single, then scored on a double from Camporeale. He came around on a pinch-hit single from Ryan Wiggins. The Huskies then scored a pair in the ninth inning to tie the game. Parker Guinn and Duncan Hendrickson began the inning with singles and moved over on a bunt. A wild pitch scored Guinn and moved pinch runner Forgione to third, who then came around on a single from Pehl. But, in the tenth, the Utes scored what would be the winning run. A bloop single with a man on and two outs kept the inning alive for Cory Hunt, who singled off the glove of the diving Ely to score the go-ahead run. After losing Friday night, the Huskies evened the series with a 5-2 win Saturday afternoon. Austin Voth continued his strong season, going eight innings for the win, and freshman outfielder Braden Bishop added three hits to pace the UW offensively. Bishop helped get things started in the first, as he had a bunt single, moved over on another bunt, stole third, and scored on a groundout from Ray. Utah responded quickly, scoring two runs in the second on a safety squeeze and a single to give the Utes the lead. But from that point on, Voth was terrific. Over eight innings, he allowed just the two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out five to improve his record to 6-5. And, though it took some time, the UW’s offense came alive for him. In the fifth, the UW scored two to take a lead it would not relinquish. With runners at first and third, Bishop dropped down another bunt single to bring home Meggs. The Huskies then loaded the bases, and Afenir came home when Camporeale was hit by a pitch to make it 3-2. The Huskies padded their lead with single runs in the sixth and seventh. With their latest series win, the Huskies head into a single-game midweek set with Portland on Tuesday on the road. Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

Resiliency pays off for Huskies in come-from-behind series win

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