BSB: Cougs take series opener at Loyola Marymount
LOS ANGELES – Junior reliever Scotty Sunitsch recorded the final five outs and escaped an eighth-inning bases-loaded jam to preserve a 6-3 series-opening Washington State win over Loyola Marymount Friday evening.
The left-handed Sunitsch entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and enduced a popup and strikeout before striking out two more hitters in the ninth inning to earn the save.
The Cougars (2-2) recorded 10 hits as Justin Harrer, Shane Matheny and Andres Alvarez each recorded two hits. Matheny recorded two doubles and Alvarez drove in two runs.
Six Cougar pitchers combined to strike out 11 LMU (2-3) hitters.
The Cougars put together a threat in the second as Ryan Ramsower earned a one-out walk and Matheny hammered the first pitch he saw into the right centerfield gap to put runners on second and third. LMU starter Blake Redman got a pair of groundouts to end the threat and keep the Cougars off the board.
In the bottom half of the second, the Lions opened the inning with a single to left, a bunt hit and another infield single to load the bases with nobody out. LMU scored one run on a bases loaded walk and another on a fielder's choice to take a 2-0 lead.
Dugan Shirer opened the third drawing a walk and was later balked to second before moving to third on Harrer's hard-hit infield single that was knocked down by the third baseman to keep Shirer from scoring. Cory Meyer stepped in and muscled a ball the opposite way to right field to score Shirer and cut the LMU lead to 2-1.
Washington State evened things up in the fourth as Matheny opened the inning with an opposite field bloop double down the left field line and James Rudkin followed with a line drive single to right field. Alvarez stepped in and battled before driving the tenth pitch of the at-bat to right field for a sacrifice fly to score Matheny to make it 2-2.
WSU starter Damon Jones settled in and posted scoreless third and fourth innings before giving way to the bullpen. The junior lefthander struck out two and worked around four walks in four innings of work.
Blake Clanton opened the fifth inning by earning a walk and moved to third on Meyer's line drive to third that went off the glove of the third baseman to put runners on the corners. Ryan Ramsower laid down a sacrifice bunt but the LMU pitcher's throw to first sailed high and went down the line allowing Clanton to score while Meyer moved up to third and Ramsower to second. Matheny then brought home Meyer with a high-hoping groundout to first base for a 4-2 Cougar lead.
Alvarez came up big again, this time lining a two-out pitch into left field to score Ramsower for a 5-2 WSU advantage. The Cougars loaded the bases with two outs but LMU ended the threat with a strikeout.
LMU got a run back in their half of the fifth, using a bloop double to left, a stolen base and a groundout to cut the Cougar lead to 5-3 before right-handed reliever Colby Nealy ended the inning with his second strikeout. The Lions threatened again in the sixth, putting runners on first and second with a single to left and bunt single to third with one out. WSU called upon lefthanded reliever Trenton Dupre who ended the rally with a strikeout and a fly out to keep the 5-3 advantage.
The Cougars added another in the eighth as Clanton got things going with a hard-hit single through the right side for his first career hit. Harrer followed with a double into the left centerfield gap to score Clanton and push the WSU lead to three.
LMU put together a rally in their half of the eighth off the Cougar bullpen, using a walk, a hit-by-pitch and one-out single to load the bases. WSU called upon the lefthander Sunitsch who came up big, enducing a popout and an inning-ending strikeout to preserve the three-run lead.
In the ninth, he hit the leadoff hitter but got a fly out and pair strikeouts, both looking, to seal up the Cougar win. Nealy earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief, striking out three.
The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m.
