PORLTAND, Ore. – Chad Stevens hit a three-run home run in the first inning, but the Portland Pilots could not overcome their errors as they fell to the Washington State Cougars 6-4 at Joe Etzel Field.

Peter Allegro was handed the loss after the Cougars scored a run to take the lead in the fifth inning. It was, however, the only run Allegro allowed in three innings of work. The sophomore also had four strikeouts on the day.

Stevens's performance stood out offensively for Portland, but two other Pilots racked up multiple hits on the day. Briley Knight went 2-for-3 and walked once while Ben Patacsil added two hits, including a double. Jake Holcroft had an RBI double in the sixth inning as well and was 1-for-5 at the plate.

Both teams got to scoring early with three runs each in the first. Tristan Peterson bombed the three-run homer for the Cougars to take the early lead, but the Pilots responded in the bottom of the inning. After Ben Patacsil and Jake Tsukada made their way on base, Chad Stevens took the first pitch from Bryce Moyle and hit a moonshot over the left-center wall. The dinger tied it up at 3-3.

Washington State took back the lead in the fifth inning. Kyle Manzardo stepped up to the plate and hit his sixth home run of the season over the right field wall to make it 4-3. The Cougars padded that lead with a sacrifice fly from Jake Meyer in the top of the sixth to make it 5-3 Washington State.

Portland started to cut back into the lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth. Jake Holcroft hit a line drive to left field that brought in Christian Cooney to make it only 5-4 Washington State. But a litany of errors in the top of the eighth hurt Portland. After an error and a passed ball got him to third, Jake Meyer made it home on yet another passed ball and put the Cougars back in front by two.

The Pilots had a chance to tie it up in the final inning. With runners on first and third, Spencer Shipman stepped up to the plate as the pinch hitter. He tried to hit a chopper through the gap at right field, but the Cougars pounced on it and got Shipman out at first. The Pilots lost 6-4.

Next up, the Pilots will head to Stockton, Calif. this weekend to officially open WCC play against the Pacific Tigers. They will play Friday, March 19, through Sunday, March 21. The first pitch for the Friday matchup is set for 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PortlandPilots.com.