The Portland Pilots rushed out to an early lead and never looked back as they beat the Washington State Cougars at Pullman 10-6. The win puts the Pilots above .500 at 22-21 this season.

Jacob Dobmeier earned his first win of the season in the start. He pitched four innings for the Pilots, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out three. Eli Morse and Peter Allegro came out of the bullpen for Portland. Morse went three innings and allowed three runs, while Allegro did well to shut down the Cougars at the end. He pitched two hitless innings for the Pilots and struck out two.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders for Portland. They had 10 runs off 15 hits and took advantage of several errors by Washington State. Seven Pilots recorded multiple hits on the day. Chad Stevens hit his seventh home run of the season while going 2-for-5 at the plate while Gabe Skoro impressed with a 2-for-4 day. Skoro also had a double and two RBI's.

The Pilots got going early with two runs in the top of the first. Stevens took the first pitch from Dakota Hawkins and launched it right over the left field wall to start the Pilots off with a leadoff homer. After Jake Holcroft got himself on base with a single and advanced to second off the Ben Patacsil groundout, Sam Brown brought Holcroft home off a liner that got through to center field. The Pilots led 2-0 after one.

Portland added to their lead in a big way in the second inning. The Pilots scored four runs, starting with an RBI double from Skoro. Holcroft and Stevens also brought in runs with RBI hits. Skoro made his way home off the failed pickoff attempt by Grant Taylor.

Washington State responded in the bottom of the inning. Gunner Gouldsmith snuck a single through the right side that brought home one runner, then the Cougars built off that lead by scoring off a wild pitch from Dobmeier. That made it 6-2 Portland after a hectic first two innings.

WSU's Nate Swarts cut Portland's lead to three with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. But the Pilots gave themselves some security by adding another run in fifth. Skoro hit a liner to left field that brought home Jake Tsukada, making it 7-3 Portland.

The Cougars continued to put the pressure on the Pilots in the bottom of the sixth. They drove in two runs off a homer from Kodie Kolden, cutting Portland's lead to two. The Cougars had the chance for more, but an excellent diving catch from Tsukada stranded three Washington State runners and kept it at 7-5 in Portland's favor.

Washington State continued to put the pressure on the Pilots. Jacob McKeon had an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh that cut Portland's lead to one.

But the Pilots were finally able to create some separation in the top of the eighth. Briley Knight made it 8-6 Portland with a single up the middle, then Brett Gillis did hit a similar ball to drive in two runs and give Portland a four-run lead. Allegro and company retired six straight batters for the Cougars in the final two innings to help the Pilots hold onto the win.

Next up, the Pilots will play their final home WCC series of the year against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They'll get started with the opener on Friday, May 14 at 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stat and video options.