Slam-Bam Hara Gives Gu A Split

While Kevin Hara removed all thoughts of hitting a grand slam home run, everyone else in A.R.T. Stadium couldn’t help thinking about the possibility as the shortstop strode to the plate.

After all, the last two times the Gonzaga senior has come to bat with the sacks packed, he has come through with a bomb. So why should this time be any different? Turned out it wasn’t.

Hara, who hit two home runs all of last year, clubbed his third grand slam in the last six games Saturday to lead the Bulldogs to an 11-6 victory over Santa Clara. Gonzaga (25-18, 15-8) dropped the first game of the doubleheader 5-4. But the Zags still ended up taking two of three from the Broncos (17-34, 7-17) and are two games behind West Coast Conference Coast Division leader Loyola Marymount.

“I’ve never had anything like this happen before,” said Hara. “And I’m not doing anything different. I don’t really know what it is. But I’m not going to complain.”

Neither will his teammates. Hara’s third-inning heroics not only helped Gonzaga go from a 5-2 deficit to a 6-5 advantage. It gave the Bulldogs a huge shot of confidence heading into next weekend’s important games at Loyola and Pepperdine.

“We are listening to the scoreboard (LMU’s 9-7 win over San Francisco was announced) and we lose that first one 5-4, so it was crucial to come back and win that game handily,” said coach Steve Hertz. “It really showed me something. They didn’t hang their heads after giving up the five-spot in the top of that inning.”

“We have a different attitude this year, and everyone is buying into it,” said Hara. “Everyone is starting to believe that we can win. “If we just stay positive and don’t hit the panic buttons, somebody is going to come through, somehow or some way,” he continued. “And I guess the last couple of games, it has been me.”

In the last eight days the reigning WCC player of the week has gone 8 of 21 with 17 RBIs and has hit three grand slams. But as spectacular as those numbers are, Hara has had plenty of help.

In the win over the Broncos, pitcher Scott Stencil and center fielder Jason Bay also came through.

After starter Mike Jackson got into trouble in the third inning, Stencil came out of the pen. The junior only allowed one earned run over the next three-plus innings. While Stencil (2-0) was shutting down the Broncos, Bay was padding Gonzaga’s lead.

The senior hit his 11th home run of the season, a three-run shot over the center-field wall in the fifth.

“He is just busting his tail out there,’ said Hertz. “And it’s not just the hits. He made two wonderful plays out there in the outfield.” The Bulldogs’ only big problem in the nightcap and in the past two weekends has been defense. After not committing an error in six straight games, the Bulldogs have had 13 in their last five games. “That’s something we are going to try and focus on a little bit this week,” said Hertz.

The Bulldogs will also focus on not having a repeat of last year. In 1999, GU trailed Pepperdine by two games facing a weekend series against the Waves at Pepperdine with two weeks to go in the WCC season. The Waves swept GU and the race was over. Hara feels this year the result will be different.

“We are a pretty good team against them (LMU),” he said. “We have taken four of the last six against them and we feel like we can beat them any time in any yard.”

The Zags will play a make-up game with Pepperdine Thursday before their weekend series with the Lions. UCLA sophomore Josh Karp threw five shutout innings and allowed only two hits to lead the Bruins to a 13-2 Pacific-10 Conference victory over Washington State at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

The Bruins (27-20, 10-4 Pac-10) pulled to within one game of the conference lead. After losing seven of eight games, they’ve won the first two games of this series.

The Cougars (16-28, 4-13) are 1-11 at home this season.

Karp, a Washington native and son of a former WSU player, picked up the pitching win to improve to 7-1 on the year. The 1999 Team USA member struck out seven, walked one and lowered his ERA to 3.45.

WSU starter Todd Meldahl (2-6) allowed nine runs in 5-1/3 innings and struck out six.

Freshman reliever Tony Auckland made his WSU debut with a hitless and scoreless ninth inning.

WSU’s Ray Hattenburg had his 22nd multiple-hit game of the season and raised his average to .375.

The three-game series concludes with a 1 p.m. game today.

Matt Massingale struck out a 10 batters in a complete game, leading Washington (20-22, 4-10 Pac-10) to an 8-3 victory over Oregon State (25-20, 6-8) in Corvallis, Ore.

Massingale (5-5) allowed seven hits, all of them singles, two earned runs and walked four in his fourth complete game of the season.

Willamette (19-14, 10-7 Northwest Conference) took two games from Whitworth (11-21, 6-11), beating the Pirates 5-4 and 8-1 at Salem, Ore.

Scott Biglin had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates in the opener.

In the second game, Whitworth took a brief lead on Aaron Keller’s RBI in the first inning, but the Pirates were held to five hits.

Community Colleges of Spokane swept Big Bend 4-3, 2-0 at Spokane Falls.

Treasure Valley swept North Idaho 5-0 and 3-1 at Ontario, Ore.

Softball

Community Colleges of Spokane held Wenatchee Valley to six hits and zero runs in sweeping a NWAACC doubleheader at Spokane Falls CC.

Kylee Curry pitched the first shutout, a four-hitter in an 8-0 victory for the Sasquatch (22-3). Kris Rozett’s triple highlighted a five-run fifth. CCS added three runs in the seventh.

In the second game, a 2-0 victory, Rebecca Triplett threw a two-hitter.

Linfield swept visiting Whitworth 10-1 and 3-0.

The Pirates’ only run resulted in a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the five-inning first game. The run scored when Jennifer Stringer singled to drive in Aubrie Caldwell.

Nineteenth-ranked Salt Lake defeated North Idaho College 4-3 and 3-1, completing a four-game weekend sweep at Coeur d’Alene.

NIC (23-13, 12-7 Region 18) enters a four-game series at Snow this weekend, probably needing one win to hold off Ricks (13-11) for third place.

This sidebar appeared with the story: RECORD-SETTER Vanwert shines

Holly Vanwert (Mead High, CCS) set one Central Washington University school record and tied another in a complete-game 3-0 softball victory over Seattle University on Saturday in Seattle.

Vanwert, who hasn’t allowed a run in her last 19 innings, set the school record with her third consecutive shutout and tied the record of three shutouts in one season.

Seattle won the other game 3-2.