SEATTLE, Wash.- John Otness went 4-for-6 with five runs batted in to lead the 13th-ranked Washington Huskies to a 20-4 win over the Portland Pilots Tuesday evening at Husky Ballpark. Six Huskies had two or more hits as Washington (29-15-1) pounded out 22 hits. Travis Vetters extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a 2-for-5 performance for Portland (10-37), while Nik Kosach tallied three hits for the Pilots.
Sophomore right-hander Keaton Everitt (4-2) earned the win, going 5.1 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk while
fanning three. Pilot starter Jared Adams (1-6) lasted only a third of an inning in the loss, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk.
Washington wasted no time in gaining a lead, loading the bases with no outs in the first inning. Kyle Larsen doubled to left, driving in the first two runs of the game. After Nick Batkoski grounded out to drive in a run from third, Hathaway singled to send home Larsen, giving the UW a 4-0 lead after one.
UW added three more in the third before Portland put one on the board in the fifth inning. Justin Pierce hit a ground rule double and scored on Billy Krause’s RBI-single, making it 7-1.
The Huskies opened it up with six more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Portland tacked on two runs in the sixth on a Jeffrey Crinklaw RBI-single and a throwing error from Brent Lillibridge in center.
Washington opened the bottom of the inning with a leadoff homer from Hathaway, his seventh of the season. Otness followed with a double and, after an out, scored on a double from Taylor Johnson. A two-out, bases-loaded error by Vetters allowed two more runs to score, increasing the UW lead to 17-3.
Husky catcher Ben Johnson, on to replace Hathaway, led off the seventh with
his sixth homer of the year. Kosach's RBI-double in the ninth added Portland's fourth run.
The teams will meet again tomorrow at Husky Ballpark, concluding the two-game series at 6:30 p.m. Portland then returns to Pilot Stadium, hosting San Francisco for a three-game West Coast Conference series beginning Fri., May 14 at 3:00 p.m.
