UW Falls in Pac-12 Opener to USC

SEATTLE -- In another close game at Husky Ballpark, the Washington Baseball team (8-7, 0-1) fell just short in its Pac-12 opener to USC (7-6, 0-1), losing by a score of 3-2 in its first conference game in nearly two years.  

There were eight scoreless innings on Friday afternoon, with all of the scoring coming in the seventh inning.

Logan Gerling was dominant as the starter for the Huskies, making it through the first five innings without allowing a hit. While he did allow an infield single in the top of the sixth, he made it out of that inning unscathed. He finished with six scoreless innings, allowing just one walk and one hit, while striking out eight Trojans.

In the top of the seventh and Gerling out of the game, USC would rally to take the lead. A single and double to lead off the inning gave the Trojans runners on second and third to start things off. While UW was able to get two more outs, USC had the bases loaded and used a hit-by-pitch and single to score three runs in the inning. 

To lead off the bottom half of the seventh, Michael Brown worked a full count and was able to draw a walk. Kaiser Weiss then drove an RBI triple into the right-center field gap to get the Huskies on the board. A few batters later, Braiden Ward singled to shortstop to bring home Weiss and make it a one-run game. 

That would be it for both teams, however, as UW couldn't find another run the rest of the game and dropped its first Pac-12 game of the season.

The Huskies are back in action tomorrow evening against the Trojans, with first pitch set for 5:00 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.
Husky Notes 

• With his first inning HBP, Braiden Ward continues his streak of reaching base in all 15 games this season. 
• Ward stole his 12th base of the season which leads the Pac-12.
• Logan Gerling's six innings pitched and eight strikeouts were both career highs.
• Colton Charnholm has now appeared in a team-high 10 games out of the bullpen.