SEATTLE – After waiting out an hour and a half rain delay, the University of Washington baseball team (6-2) rode a strong outing from starting pitcher Stevie Emanuels en route to defeating visiting UC Irvine (4-5), 5-1, in Friday's home opener at Husky Ballpark. The Dawgs have now won six straight.

"Proud of how our guys battled tonight," said head coach Lindsay Meggs. "The weather made it miserable for everyone, but we found a way to hold on. I thought Stevie was great, he emptied the tank and gave us everything he had. And how about Viltz, Ward and Petrie, they all took good at bats. It was a good win for us."

UW opened the scoring in the home half of the first and then added two runs in the second before tacking on a run in both the seventh and eighth.

Preston Viltz had a monster game at the dish, drilling three doubles. He delivered back-to-back two-baggers in the first two innings, including a two-run knock in the second. Viltz finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and a walk. Lead-off hitter Braiden Ward also had a three-hit performance and scored a pair of runs, while Christian Jones turned in a pair of base knocks. 

Emanuels (2-1) was excellent on the bump, fanning nine and scattering seven hits while allowing just one run in 6.0 innings of work. The UW's bullpen continued to be dominant, as Dylan Lamb, Gabe Smith and Davis Delorefice combined to shut out the visitors the rest of the way. 

The Huskies and Anteaters will meet in game two of the weekend series Saturday at 2:05 p.m. Jack Enger is set to get the start for the Huskies.