What a difference a week can make.

As recently as last Tuesday, the Cougars were in the midst of a nine-game losing streak with seven of the nine games against Pac-12 foes. They had dropped to the bottom of the standings and things weren’t looking any better with a road series at No. 12 California looming on the horizon.

Against all odds, WSU rolled into Berkley and took two out of three by riding its strong pitching staff. The Cougars held Cal to just two runs on eight hits after the first two games, including a complete game shutout by senior Joe Pistorese before faltering in the finale when reliever Matt Bower got the start. The Cougars added a 4-2 win over Gonzaga on Tuesday with a strong outing from freshman Scotty Sunitsch, who twirled five innings of one run ball.

That’s not to say that the offense hasn’t pulled its weight. The cumulative batting average of just .231 over their last four games isn’t eye-popping, but timely hitting has kept the Cougars in the win column.

Sophomore Cameron Frost, the team leader in RBI, had a big two run home run in the first game of the series against Cal to propel the offense. In the Gonzaga game on Tuesday, junior Patrick McGrath hit a pinch-hit three run homerun in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference in a 4-2 Cougar win.

The Cougars now have the opportunity to ride their hot streak at home with their next seven games being played at Bailey-Brayton Field. Even though just three of the games will be against Pac-12 opponents, this home stand should give WSU a chance to get a confidence boost before heading out on the road to face Utah and UW.

If the Cougars can win the weekend against UW, they could really roll with a four-game series against 8-24 San Jose State on the horizon.

The Cougars still have a lot of work to do, mainly on the offensive side, to climb out of the Pac-12’s cellar. But this last stretch of games have certainly shown that the Cougs are capable of competing and winning conference games. Now they have to keep their winning ways going with the University of Washington in town.