The Cougars played magician over the weekend with an array of tricks from pitching to hitting that led WSU to a 3-1 series win over UC Riverside.

The home opener for the Cougars (7-5) on Thursday was an offensive clinic. Led by senior infielder Ian Sagdal, freshman infielder Shane Matheny and freshman outfielder Wes Hatten, the Cougars put together 11 runs on 14 hits in tow to an 11-3 win.

Sagdal stood out as he went 3-3 with a triple, double, walk, was hit by a pitch and drove in five runs.

Hatten recorded his first career home run as a Cougar in the fourth inning. He ended the day going 1-3 with a home run and two RBIs.

One of the unsung heroes from the first game of the series was senior starting pitcher Sean Hartnett (2-1). He pitched a solid game, going six innings while only giving up three runs and recording six strike-outs. After the game, Hartnett acknowledged that there was still work to be done.

“I did some good things,” Hartnett said. “I feel like there’s some stuff I could’ve done better, but you know I got my job done.”

The second game of the series was a different story, where pitching was front and center.

The Cougars’ senior starting pitcher Joe Pistorese (1-1) was looking to regain his form from last season, as he has struggled so far this season. He came back with a strong start against UC Riverside (6-7) where he went seven complete innings of no run ball and struck out five in a winning effort.

“Fantastic,” said Head Coach Donnie Marbut regarding Pistorese’s outing. “Seventy pitches in seven innings. He was in control. He was phenomenal tonight.”

While pitching dominated this ballgame, it was the hitting of sophomore outfielder Cameron Frost that won the game for the Cougars. In the sixth inning, Frost laced a double to drive in the game’s first run. Then in the eighth inning, he hit a single which drove in his second RBI.

With a three-run lead going into the top of the ninth, the Cougars brought in their star closer, sophomore Ian Hamilton, to close out the game. He gave up one hit, but then got through the rest of the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season, helping the Cougars top UC Riverside 3-0.

The Saturday matchup was not a good one for the Cougars. UCR came out swinging early and was able to put together four runs in five innings. However, the Cougars were not able to match UCR’s output as they were only able to score one run throughout the game. Marbut said they played lethargically.

“We didn’t do hot the entire game,” Marbut said. “We didn’t feel involved in the game for six or seven innings and we didn’t put anything together offensively.”

While the Cougars had a dreadful night at the plate, there were some stellar defensive plays made throughout the game. Sagdal worked a double play in two consecutive innings to push the Cougars out of tough innings.

“Had to do anything that would rile up our team,” Sagdal said. “We came out pretty flat today so anything that would get the team morale up and get something going in the dugout.” The Cougars lost the third game of the series to UC Riverside by a score of 4-1.

The fourth game of the series was unlike any of the games before it. In the first inning, UCR had three errors which led to the Cougars scoring five runs, although none of them were earned. Neither team could plate another run until the sixth inning, when UC Riverside plated three of them. In the seventh, UC Riverside was able to score two more runs to tie the game at five apiece.

The Cougars managed to get a run in the seventh to retake the lead. Hamilton entered the game in the eighth inning to go for a six-out save. He got through both innings scoreless to secure the victory for the Cougs, giving himself his fifth save of the season and giving the Cougars a series win over UC Riverside.

“I didn’t see any panic, which was good,” Marbut said. “(Riverside) came back in the sixth with a three-spot then out up two. They were close to taking a lead, but our guys just didn’t panic.”

Cougar starting pitcher Layne Bruner was expected to only get through the line-up once, but ended up going 4.1 innings while getting five strikeouts, five walks and no earned runs.

Bruner did not get off to a fast start, throwing 33 pitches in the first inning, but was able to settle down and pitch three more innings.

“I was trying to be too fine the first inning,” Bruner said. “I didn’t let my defense work. As the game went on, I threw more strikes and gave the defense a chance to work behind me.”

The Cougars improved their record to 7-5 on the season with the series win over UC Riverside. Their next series will be against Sacred Heart starting Thursday at Bailey-Brayton Field.