Not only did the Washington State baseball team beat rivals Washington, sophomore right-hander Ian Hamilton also secured his WSU-record 25th career save in the 3-0 win on Monday night.

Hamilton struck out three and gave up only one hit in his appearance in the ninth inning, securing the non-conference win over the Huskies. But he was not the only Cougar pitcher who had a nice outing.

Freshman Ryan Walker, sophomore Layne Bruner and senior Sean Hartnett all combined to allow only two hits through the first eight innings.

Walker started the game for WSU and went 4.2 innings, giving up two hits while striking out five. UW had a hard time generating offense and could not record a hit against Bruner or Hartnett over their 3.1 innings of work.

The Cougar offense took the lead in the third inning thanks to a walk, a double, and an RBI fielder’s choice to send senior catcher P.J. Jones home. WSU extended its lead in the seventh due in large part to some aggressive play by senior infielder Ian Sagdal.

The East Wenatchee native started things off with a walk, stole second and third, then came home on an RBI single by freshman infielder Shane Matheny. Matheny recorded the last run of the evening on  an infield single by Jones, putting the score at 3-0.

WSU won its third shutout game of the year and has now won 12 of its last 16 since winning the series on the road against Cal. Although this was a non-conference game, the Huskies’ roster is still full of Pac-12 talent, meaning the Cougars are continuing to compete at the highest level.

With only five series left this season, four of which are against conference opponents, the Cougars will need to continue their winning ways to help improve their postseason chances. But with the momentum they have built up in the month of April, the team is in a position to make a strong push at the end of the season.

The Cougars will return home to face Arizona in a three-game series starting on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

Reporting by Steffen Stroup