The Cougars’ season home opener didn’t go quite as expected for coach Vance Law and the Cougars as they split games with Seattle University at Miller Field on Saturday.
“The first game we hit way too many fly balls,” Law said. “We didn’t swing the bats the way I know that we can swing them. We are struggling a little bit offensively. As soon as we get these guys back swinging with confidence we will be getting a lot more runs, and hopefully those wins will start stacking up.”
As far as where the team needs to be, Law feels that the team could be doing better.
“I am a little disappointed,” Law said. ”I know we are a better team than that, and I know our guys know that. Sometimes, in baseball guys tend to put a little too much pressure on themselves, and right now I think some of our guys feel that way.
Despite the Cougars’ 2-1 loss in the first game of the doubleheader, the team was able to refocus and take the second game with an impressive 9-2 victory to end the night.
Throughout the first game and into the second, the game turned into a battle of the pitchers. Chris Capper, a right-handed pitcher from Phoenix, opened the first game for the Cougars. Capper pitched five strikeouts from the mound.
“I haven’t seen the things Capper has seen,” said Mark Anderson, a left-handed pitcher. “If there was a pitcher that deserved to win today it was Capper. He did unbelievable, it just happened that they hit when I was pitching but it was definitely Capper’s day.”
Anderson started the second game for the Cougars’ and extended his undefeated record on the mound to 4-0. Seattle’s Marcelino Morales scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning, bringing the Redhawks within two. Seattle had two men on base when the Cougars performed a double play to send the Redhawks to the dugout.
“I was in a tight spot at the top of the fifth,” Anderson said. “Getting that double play was key. When your team puts up a double play behind you, you can start rolling. It’s real nice.”
Wes Guenther, a senior catcher from Overland Park, Kan., played a great game with three RBIs and two runs. Guenther, along with the rest of the team, was grateful to finally play at home after battling 13 straight games on the road.
“It is definitely exciting to be at home, especially when we have been gone so long on the road,” Guenther said. “It’s nice to have a great crowd and have people cheering for you.”
The Cougars again take to the road as the team heads to Portland to take on the pilots in a three-game series starting March 22.