Husky hits pile up in 14-5 victory over the Cougars to even Apple Cup series
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Rivalry games tend to bring out the most in both schools of that bitter battle, and through two games we’ve seen that for the Huskies and Cougars. After getting shutout by Washington State yesterday and only registering one hit, the Huskies bats came alive for a 14 run on nine-hit performance and a convincing win over the Cougars to even things up in this Apple Cup series. Washington starting pitcher Calvin Kirchoff was solid through five innings as his eight strikeouts kept the Huskies moving as a seven-run fourth inning gave him plenty of breathing room. Sam Boyle came out of the Washington bullpen and held things down over the final four innings to secure victory and make tomorrow’s series finale a decider early into this PAC-12 schedule.
Seattle Kraken mascot “Buoy the troll” threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of tonight’s game. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Washington whacks Cougar pitching
Getting shutout in any sense will motivate an offense to come out the next game and improve, but especially so when you’re only able to collect one hit on the day. That proved to be the case for the Washington lineup, as a big fourth inning and a pulling-away effort in the eighth helped push them to double digits and beyond to give starter Calvin Kirchoff plenty of run support and reliever Sam Boyle even more reason to feel comfortable up on the mound. Two of the five Husky homers on the night came in that fourth inning, as Colin Blanchard uncorked a three-run blast to right field to drive in Brody Mills and AJ Guerrero. The line kept moving thanks to Carson Ohland reaching on a fielders choice to drive in Dylan Osborne before Jeter Ybarra cleared the bags with a the second three-run blast of the frame, a bomb that also landed over the right-center fence to drive in Cam Clayton and Ohland.
The Cougars were able to pull themselves back into the game a bit with two runs, both off RBI singles from Cole Cramer and Casen Taggart, in the top of the fifth inning and another two-run burst in the eighth off a double from Griffen Sotomayor and a sacrifice fly by Crew Parke, but the Husky offense ensured that there was going to be no memorable comeback for Washington State. Aiva Arquette homered twice in the final three innings of this game, a solo shot in the sixth and a two-run blast in the eighth before Jeter Ybarra drove in two runs with a single and AJ Guerrero topped the night off with a three-run bomb to left field that scored Ybarra and Cam Clayton to put the final touches of the 14-5 score together.
The Washington Husky offense came alive for 14 runs on nine hits in the win over the Washington State Cougars. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Kirchoff and Boyle lock things down
Right-hander Calvin Kirchoff got the start for the Huskies in the second game of this Boeing Apple Cup series, and while it wasn’t a shutout effort on the mound, the 6’6” senior from Sammamish did his job and got the run support to collect his second win of the season. Through his five inning, five hits allowed, three earned runs against effort that saw him strikeout a career-high eight batters on 88 pitches. The Cougars got on the scoreboard first with an Alan Shibley RBI single that added some trouble on the bases early that Kirchoff got out of. The only other trouble that the Washington State offense created was at the end of Kirchoff’s outing, as back-to-back RBI singles at the top of the Cougar lineup drove in two runs to cut the Husky lead to four after their big fourth inning. Left-handed sophomore reliever Sam Boyle out of Vancouver, Washington came in for the final four innings of the night and pitched well outside of an eighth inning that saw runs score in the form of a double and sac fly. Boyle, striking out six but hitting two batters, recorded his second save of the season in the win.
Washington Husky pitchers Calvin Kirchoff and Sam Boyle performed well in tonight’s win, as their defense behind them ensured there wouldn’t be free bases. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
What’s next?
Following tonight’s big victory over Washington State even the series at a game each, after last night’s shutout loss to the Cougars, the Boeing Apple Cup series will finish tomorrow. The Saturday, March 30th contest between the Huskies and Cougars that will decide a series winner has a first pitch time of 1:05PM PDT at Husky ballpark. With the sort of offensive performance that Washington was able to pump out against their bitter in-state rivals and with the hope of pushing forward in PAC-12 play positively, every series is important and getting the majority of the games helps the Huskies into the future. The game will be available for streaming via the main PAC-12 Network channel, as well as on PAC-12 Washington.
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Instagram: @CSS_UWHuskies Twitter: @CSS_College Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports 〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports
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Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports 〰️
The Washington Husky outfield celebrates following the final out of the win. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
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Cover photo and photos in article by Rio Giancarlo, check out his portfolio here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.