BSB: Cougs win rubber game, series at Oregon
Washington State went to Eugene, Ore. and won a series over nationally ranked Oregon on the road, the second time they've accomplished the feat in April. The Cougars won at Arizona in early April. WSU improved to 16-22 overall, 7-14 in the Pac-12. Here's a synopsis of each of the games in Eugene:
Game 3 (Sunday): WSU scored twice in the eighth inning, twice in the ninth inning and used a base-loaded walk in the tenth to beat No. 10 Oregon 8-7 in ten innings at PK Park Sunday afternoon and clinched their first series in Eugene since 2012. WSU notches its second road series win over a Top-10 team in the last three weeks after taking two of three at No. 9 Arizona two weekends ago.
The Cougars received three-hit games from Jack Smith and Justin Van De Brake while Jacob McKeon homered for the third straight game. Reliever Duke Brotherton earned the win with three scoreless innings in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings and Caden Kaelber picked up his third save of the season with a scoreless tenth.
Game 2 (Saturday): Washington State hit a season-high four home runs and the bullpen buckled down to seal up a 10-8 win and even the series. WSU got a career-high four hits from Jacob McKeon, three hits and three runs scored from Jack Smith, while McKeon, Bryce Matthews, Kyle Russell and Collin Montez each hit home runs.
McKeon and Matthews both homered for the second straight game. Dakota Hawkins earned the win with 3.1 innings of relief while Chase Grillo picked up the save after recording the final four outs. WSU jumped out to an 8-1 lead after four innings and held off Oregon, the Pac-12’s top hitting team.
Game 1 (Friday): Washington State starting pitcher Cole McMillan struck out a career-high 10 and worked into the seventh inning but No. 10 Oregon rallied with five runs in the ninth and used a walkoff RBI single in the tenth inning to take the series-opener 8-7 at PK Park. WSU hit three home runs and built a 7-0 lead after five innings but Oregon tied the game with five runs in the ninth inning before hitting the walkoff base-hit in the tenth.
Jake Meyer, Bryce Matthews and Jacob McKeon each homered for the Cougars while Matthews, McKeon and Kyle Russell each collected two hits. McMillan kept the Pac-12’s top offense off balance all night, working 6.2 innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts, one walk and allowed two earned runs.
NEXT UP: The Cougars host Gonzaga Tuesday at 6 p.m.
