The University of Washington baseball team (40-16-1) is still alive in NCAA Division I Regional play thanks in part to 2011 Mountlake Terrace High School graduate Brandon Choate, who saw his first postseason action on Sunday night and helped the Huskies get past the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets 4-2 in an elimination game played in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Huskies are one loss away from being eliminated from the NCAA college baseball championships themselves and must beat Regional #1 seed Ole Miss twice on Monday, June 2, to move up to Super Regional play later this week.

Choate, a 6’4” junior pitcher for the Huskies, came into the UW-GT game in the fifth inning with the score tied 2-2 and the Yellowjackets threatening with runners on second and third with one out. Choate was able to coax GT’s Matt Gonzalez to hit a ball to third that turned into an out at the plate on a fielder’s choice, then got the Yellowjacket’s Thomas Smith to pop out to first and end the inning.

After the Huskies scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning, Choate gave way to Husky reliever Trevor Dunlap, who pitched four innings of shutout ball to preserve the win for the UW.

Choate transferred to the University of Washington for the 2013-2014 school year after spending two years at Tacoma Community College. As a Husky Choate has pitched 27.2 innings in 19 mound appearances, has a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 2.60, with 24 strikeouts and 13 base-on-balls.

During the summer of 2013 Choate pitched for the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League, leading the team with a 0.50 ERA in 15 games and recording a 1-1 record with five saves. The Knights won the 2013 West Coast League Championship.

— By Doug Petrowski