Washington baseball’s season comes to an end
Washington baseball was hoping to have a positive season this year and return to the College World Series but it didn’t turn out that way
The Washington baseball team started off strong, winning 14 of their first 19 games. This was before a downward spiral that started at the hands of three Pac-12 opponents beginning with Oregon State and followed by Arizona and Stanford, who all swept the Dawgs. After Stanford, the Huskies went 1-11 between March 26 and April 14.
The Huskies finished the year 28-24 overall, and 12-17 in Pac-12 conference play, 16-8 at home, 8-14 on the road and 4-2 on neutral sites.
The Huskies did honor their two seniors, outfielder Mason Cerrillo, and designated hitter-first baseman Joe Wainhouse. Cerrillo played two years for Washington. He played at Washington State his freshman year and Bellevue Community College as a sophomore. This year he batted .264 after having an excellent year last year where he hit .341. Also, he hit only five doubles while having fourteen last season.
Wainhouse was beloved by Husky fans, but sadly he didn’t have the year the team was hoping for. He ended up hitting .169 after batting .306 last year. He had ten home runs compared to nineteen last year, and 28 RBIs after knocking in 61 during his junior year.
Junior catcher Nick Kahle led the team with an average of .339. He also led the Huskies with 50 RBIs and was tied for second on the team in home runs. Both he and Connor Blair hit eight. Center fielder Braiden Ward also had an excellent season. He was second on the team in hitting, with a .321 average, he also led the Dawgs with 11 doubles, 41 runs scored and 26 stolen bases.
Sophomore Josh Burgmann led the starting rotation with a record of 4-6, 3.99 ERA, 22 walks and 101 strikeouts. Junior Chris Micheles led the team in appearances out of the bullpen with 34 along with a record of 6-2. He had an ERA of 4.13, and the most strikeouts among the relievers with 76.
Sophomore Stevie Emanuels was second on Huskies in appearances at 31, and led the team in ERA at 2.41. He placed sixth in the Pac-12 conference in ERA. Also, he led the Huskies in saves at six which turned out to be fourth in the Pac-12. In two seasons he has appeared in 65 games.
Another reliever, sophomore Jack Enger was second on the team with a 3.20 ERA. He appeared in 28 games and was third in strikeouts far among relievers with 61 behind Michaels and Emmanuels.
With much of the team returning next season, the Huskies will hope that they will return to the College World Series next season.