SEATTLE – The Washington bats came alive after a 27-inning slumber, and the bullpen made a 6-2 lead stick as the Huskies rallied to beat Utah in the opener of a three-game series Friday night at Husky Ballpark.
The win improved Washington to 27-25 on the season (12-16 in Pac-12) with two games left to play and snapped a three-game losing skid. The loss for Utah (16-34-1, 7-20-1) was its fifth straight and the Utes are winless in their last eight games (0-7-1).
It was Utah that drew first blood in the game as leadoff hitter Kody Davis got things started with a bang, driving a 1-2 pitch from Husky starter Noah Bremer over the left-field wall and into the Utes bullpen. Davis' second homer of the season meant that the Huskies would take their first hacks with a deficit for a third-straight game.
The Utes tacked on another run in the third inning on a ground out to make it 2-0 before Washington's bats finally came alive in the home half of the inning.
Nyles Nygaard led off the third with a double and came around to score one out later on a single by Braden Bishop that made the score 2-1 in Utah's favor. The run snapped a scoreless streak of 27 1/3 innings for the Huskies.
The hits kept coming after that for the Huskies, as from the third inning on they would have a runner reach third base in every inning.
Washington tied the score, 2-2, in the fourth on a lead-off home run by Branden Berry. Berry yanked a 1-0 pitch from Utah starter Bret Helton over the left-field fence for his eighth home run of the season and 36th RBI – both team highs.
The Huskies' offense kept the momentum going in the fifth inning, scoring three times to grab a 5-2 advantage. All three runs came with two outs. Alex Schmidt had a RBI single and Berry followed with a run-scoring single of his own. The third run came around to score on a passed ball.
With a 5-2 lead Bremer (6-3) was lifted from the game after 66 pitches and five innings of work. The freshman closed out his first season of college ball picking up his sixth win of the season, allowing five hits and two earned runs, while striking out a pair.
The Huskies added on an insurance run in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Bishop and Jack Meggs. For Bishop, it was his third hit in five at bats.
The bullpen combined to shutout Utah over the final four innings, allowing three hits. Brandon Choate tied a school record with his 33rd appearance, recording one out in the sixth. Spencer Jones threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Troy Rallings got the final four outs to pick up his fifth save of the season.
The Huskies and Utes play game two Saturday at 7:00 p.m. It will be the final appearance for senior Tyler Davis (7-6, 3.21), the Huskies' all-time leader in innings pitched and tied for fourth with 22 career wins.
Washington 6, Utah 2
UTAH 101 000 000 –- 2 8 2
WASH 001 130 01x –- 6 9 0
LOB: UTAH 5, UW 9. Bret Helton, Nolan Stouder (7) and AJ Young; Noah Bremer, Brandon Choate (6), Spencer Jones (6), Troy Rallings (8) and Austin Rei. W – Bremer (6-3). L – Helton (2-8). Sv – Rallings (5). HR – UTAH, Kody Davis (3); UW, Branden Berry (8). 3B – none. 2B – Utah, Davis; UW, Nyles Nygaard, Braden Bishop, Jack Meggs. Time – 3:09. Attendance – 928.