The University of Northern Colorado baseball team lost its second consecutive series this weekend, losing two games to one to Seattle in Bellevue, Washington.

The two teams played a doubleheader at Bannerwood Park Friday, with the Redhawks taking game one 6-5. Jake Prizina earned the win and Zach Wolf the save, while Gavin Gorrell took the loss for the Bears.

Both pitching staffs lacked control, as there were a combined seven hit batters. Gorrell hit three and Prizina two, and Northern Colorado reliever Karver Pate also plunked two Seattle batters.

Gorrell started for the Bears, allowing four runs on four hits in three innings. Prizina went 5 and 2/3, allowing five runs on eight hits.

UNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run double by Evan Johnson. SU got one back in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Austin Lively.

The Redhawks took a 4-2 lead in the third on a bases-clearing double by Lively.

The Bears answered with one in the top of the fourth on a solo shot by Brett Minnick. UNC’s first baseman crushed the ball over the left field wall, making it a 4-3 game.

SU added two more in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by Sean Sutton, giving Seattle a 6-3 lead. Justin Mulvaney replaced Pate in the sixth and pitched three scoreless innings.

Northern Colorado made it a 6-5 game in the sixth as Dean Lawson drove in Austin Miller with an RBI single. Brett Minnick scored the second run on a wild pitch by Tyler Yeh.  

Zach Wolf recorded the final six outs of the game, sealing the victory for the Redhawks.

Seattle won the series with an 8-1 victory in the nightcap. Tarik Skubal earned the victory for the Redhawks, while Aaron Hamilton was charged with the loss. 

It was a pitching duel through the first three innings, with Hamilton not allowing a hit and Skubal only three. Control was again an issue for the Bears, however, as Hamilton hit three Redhawks batters in his 3 and 2/3 innings pitched.

Hamilton allowed five runs on five hits, walking two and striking out four. Skubal pitched a strong game for Seattle, going six shutout innings and striking out nine.

The Redhawks broke up the pitching duel in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five. Jack Reisinger drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single with two outs, and that’s when the inning went south for the Bears.

Jack Pauley and Johnson lost two balls in the lights, which may have been a product of the team’s inexperience of playing night games. Cameron Sterne was credited with one RBI on the ball that Pauley lost, but his errant throw into the infield allowed a second run to score. Curtis Perrin hit a fly ball to left center, but Johnson couldn’t see, either, and two more runs scored.

Northern Colorado got on the board in the top of the seventh, as Matt Burkart’s RBI double made it a 5-1 game.

Austin Bergdahl entered in the bottom of the seventh, and he struggled with control as well. Two wild pitches in the inning led to another SU run, and Bergdahl gave way to Corey Nakakura after failing to record an out. Nakakura allowed an inherited runner to score, as Dalton Hurd scored on a sacrifice bunt, making it a 7-1 Seattle lead.