WSU baseball (12-19) defeated then-ranked No. 9 Arizona (22-10) in two out of three games this weekend in Tucson, Ariz. This is the Cougs’ first series win against a conference opponent in 2022 and gave the Wildcats their second conference series loss of the season.

The Cougs are now 4-11 in conference play and 11th place in the conference. This series win comes after winning one of three games against the Utah Utes and a 12-0 loss against then-ranked No. 15 Gonzaga. 

Game 1:

The first game of the series was a run-fest for the Cougs, winning 11-5. WSU scored their 11 runs on 14 hits while the Wildcats’ five runs came on seven hits. 

Arizona struck first in the bottom of the first on a grand slam blast to take an early 4-0 lead. WSU answered with five runs in the top of the third to take a 5-4 lead. Kyle Russell had a two-RBI single in the inning with help from Jake Meyer and Jacob McKeon. The Cougs answered their third inning success with three more runs in the fourth inning, 8-4. Meyer earned another RBI single to increase WSU’s lead. With the final pitch, the Cougs pulled off the 11-5 upset.

Game 2:

The second game of the series was a nail-biter the whole way through, with the Cougs taking the lead in the top of the ninth, 6-5. The Cougs held on to the lead for the win. 

Chase Grillo earned his first win of the season for WSU. The Wildcats pitcher was Holden Christian, who earned his second loss of the season with his record now 2-2. The Cougs scored their six runs on 10 hits. Arizona scored their five runs on nine hits.

The first run of the game came in the top of the second inning, with Collin Montez scoring to lead the game 1-0. The Cougs doubled their lead in the third off an unearned run from Kodie Kolden, 2-0. The Wildcats came alive in the fourth inning, scoring five runs and taking the lead on three RBI singles and WSU errors, 5-2.

WSU answered in the top of the fifth with two runs, bringing the deficit down to one run. WSU tied the game 5-5 in the eighth after some sloppy Arizona defense. In the top of the ninth, the Cougs took the lead off an RBI single from Russell to lead the game 6-5. The pitching came up clutch in the bottom of the ninth, and WSU clinched their first series win against a conference opponent this season.

Game 3:

The third and final game in the series was a rough one for WSU, failing to cross home plate until the eighth inning. WSU fell to the Wildcats 5-2 to end the away series in Arizona. WSU had McKabe Cottrell on the mound, who picked up his sixth loss of the season. Cottrell’s record sits at 1-6. Chandler Murphy earned his first pitching win for Arizona. WSU scored their two runs on eight hits. The Wildcats’ five runs came on nine hits.

The first run of the game came from Arizona in the second inning. The next runs came from the Wildcats in the bottom of the fourth to stretch their lead, 4-0. Their fifth run came off a solo homer in the fifth to end their scoring day.

WSU may have lost the last game in the series, but getting a series win against a top-10 team is sure to give WSU confidence that they will look to build on in their next series. 

The next time WSU plays will be against the California Golden Bears. The Cougs take the field at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday in Pullman.