Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Washington State Cougars used three home runs to power past the Portland Pilots 6-5 in a non-conference baseball game played on Tuesday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots, who had a pair of homers, drop their fourth straight and are now 31-13 with eight games remaining.
Senior 1B C.J. Cullen had Portland’s second home run, which came with the bases empty and the Pilots trailing by two in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cullen’s fourth long fly of the season made it a 6-5 game heading to the ninth.
But Portland couldn’t come up with any ninth-inning magic this time as WSU (26-17) reliever Paris Shewey retired the Pilots in order to seal the win for his second save of the year. He got the final out when he struck out freshman Brian Frattali swinging. Frattali’s K actually goes against the original batter Kris Kauppila, who had to leave with an 0-2 count after injuring himself on a foul ball.
Connor Lambert (3-1) gets this win after pitching 3.0 scoreless innings of relief. He struck out two, didn’t walk a batter and allowed just one hit.
Portland starter Chris Johnson (3-2) is saddled with the loss after getting charged with all six Wazzu runs. Johnson had decent stuff, but the Cougars made the most of their hits, as three of the six hits against the freshman right-hander left the yard. Johnson did strike out three.
Washington State’s first homer came in the top of the first inning, courtesy Michael Webber. With one out and a runner on first, Webber’s blast cleared the fence just inside the right-field foul pole to make it an early 2-0 game.
The Pilots responded with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. After a lead-off double by senior C Rocky Gale, junior 2B Riley Henricks connected for his fifth home run of the season, tying the game at 2-2.
Wazzu quickly answered with a solo home run in the third to re-claim the lead.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, the Pilots took their first lead in 21 innings when Kauppila hit a two-out, two run double down the right-field line that made it 4-3 in Portland’s favor.
The lead was short-lived as the Cougars scored three in the top of the fifth. Shea Vucinich tied it with a solo home run, Cody Bartlett gave WSU the lead with an RBI double and Brett Jacobs added a little insurance with an RBI single.
UP out-hit Washington State 9-7 and neither team committed an error. Kauppila, Gale and freshman Nick Armenta each had two hits for Portland.
Rusty Shellhorn started on the hill for Washington State, lasting 4.0 innings. He gave up four earned runs on six hits and a walk.
Senior Ed Wakefield, freshman J.R. Bunda and junior Chris Dennis also pitched for the Pilots. Bunda was sharp, tossing 3.0 scoreless and hitless innings. He also struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.
The Pilots, who are 11-4 in the West Coast Conference, next head to the Bay Area for a three-game series against the San Francisco Dons (24-24, 7-7 WCC) this weekend. The first game is set for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, while first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
