BSB: Cougs fall a run short against Arizona in rubber game
Washington State had a couple late-inning rallies turned away in a 6-5 defeat to No. 8 Arizona in the rubber game of a 3-game Pac-12 series at Bailey-Brayton Field Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars had evened the series with a 9-3 win Saturday before UA claimed the 2-1 series with Sunday's one-run victory.
WSU (15-14, 2-7 Pac-12) received two-hit games from sophomore leftfielder Justin Harrer and junior right fielder J.J. Hancock, while Harrer and junior first baseman James Rudkin each drove in two runs.
“We were very competitive the whole day,” WSU coach Marty Lees said. “We competed, we battled and made some great defensive plays. We executed a lot of things on offense.”
Arizona (23-8, 7-5 Pac-12) broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the fifth and rebuffed a pair of late Cougar rallies including the eighth inning when WSU had runners on second and third with nobody out and were unable to get a run across.
In the second inning, Arizona took advantage of three walks to score a pair of runs, both with two outs for a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats added another run in the fourth with a two-out double down the left field line.
WSU starter Cody Anderson allowed three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks in 4.0 innings pitched. He got a no-decision, though, as the Cougars fought back to tie the game after his stint.
“He left a couple of pitches up, he gave them a little more than he usually does,” WSU coach Marty Lees said. “He had a good first inning.”
The Washington State offense got going in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Dillon Plew was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Shane Matheny later walked and both runners moved up on a Cory Meyer groundout.
With runners on second and third with two outs, Rudkin singled into centerfield to score two runs and cut the Arizona lead to 3-2. Hancock followed with a single through the right side, pinch-hitter Jon Burghardt drew a walk. Rudkin was able to score on the play as ball four went to the backstop, tying the game at 3-3.
The Cougars loaded the bases later in the inning but the Arizona bullpen ended the threat with a ground ball to the third baseman who stepped on the bag for the final out.
The Wildcats put three runs on the board in the fifth inning for a 6-3 advantage after the Cougars issued three walks, two wild pitches and a passed ball in the inning.
Reliever Joe Rosenstein replaced Anderson on the mound at the start of the top of the fifth, but was yanked after issuing three walks and allowing a hit without recording an out.
Scotty Sunitsch came and hurled 3.2 effective innings, yielding just two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
“He was more under control and more aggressive with his pitches,” Lees said. “He did a good job coming in. They scored three runs (in the fifth) but it could have been a lot worse. He made some pitches and got some outs.”
The Cougars came back in the seventh as freshman centerfielder Danny Sinatro singled back up the middle on the first pitch he saw to start the inning. Sophomore shortstop Andres Alvarez drew a walk and Plew bunted both runners up a base. With runners on second and third, Harrer jumped on the first pitch for a two-run double to left field, scoring Sinatro and Alvarez and cutting the Arizona lead to one, 6-5.
Washington State put two runners on in the eighth as Rudkin led off with a walk and Hancock followed with a double to left-center in which Rudkin just beat the tag at third base.
With runners on second and third and nobody out, the Wildcat bullpen came up big, getting pair of strikeouts and ending the inning with a groundout to preserve the one-run lead.
In the ninth, Arizona put the first two hitters on but a pair nice defensive plays by the Cougars kept the deficit at 6-5 game. Rudkin made the defensive play of the day in the inning, charging a bunt from first on an Arizona squeeze play and flipping the ball with his glove to Meyer at the plate to tag out the runner trying to score from third.
Matheny lined a single into right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Arizona got the final out on a fielder's choice groundout to second, sealing the 6-5 win.
Cougar reliever Joe Rosenstein suffered the loss while Arizona reliever Cameron Ming picked up the win after 4.0 innings of work and Tylor Megill recorded the save.
UP NEXT: The Cougars travel to Tempe, Ariz. for a 3-game Pac-12 series against Arizona State beginning Thursday, April 14.
