WSU Baseball (15-9, 3-6) got back to winning ways Wednesday after defeating Linfield 9-1. 

This is the Cougs’ first win since March 17 where they defeated the Oregon Ducks 7-1.

After scoring a run in the first, the Cougs got off to a slow start against Linfield but turned on the jets in the fifth and sixth inning to help them en route to victory. 

Spencer Jones picked up his first pitching win on the season after pitching two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out two batters in the start. 

Jones was one of seven WSU pitchers to take the mound in the game. The pitchers combined for nine hits with one earned run and zero walks combined for the Coug pitchers. Connor Barison was the pitcher who allowed the lone run in the game. 

On offense, the Cougs combined for 13 hits for their nine runs. They only struck out three times and walked four.

Of the 13 hits from the Cougs both Cam Magee and Kyle Russell had three each. Magee went 3-5 with two RBIs and a run scored while Russell went 3-4 with three RBIs and a homer. Sam Brown also had two hits and a homer in the game. 

Scoring Plays:

1st Inning: 1 WSU Run

In the bottom of the first inning, the Cougs got on the board with one run. Magee started with a leadoff single, he would then get out as Russell reached on a fielder’s choice. Brown then singled to put Russell on third after he used his speed to reach base from first. Jacob McKeon then picked up the RBI after a sac fly, which scored Russell. 

4th Inning: 1 WSU Run

The bottom of the fourth saw Elijah Hainline hit a solo homer to extend the Cougs lead to two. This was Hainline’s fifth home run on the season and his 19th RBI. 

5th Inning: 2 WSU Runs 

The fifth inning saw Russell and Brown go back-to-back with solo homers to extend WSU’s lead to four. Russell hit his first homer and Brown hit his seventh homer, six of which have been in Pullman. 

6th Inning: 1 Linfield Run, 3 WSU Runs

Linfield scored their lone run in the game in the top of the sixth inning after they scored on a bases loaded fielder’s choice which cut the lead to three. 

The bottom of the inning saw the Cougs score three runs to take the 7-1 lead. Magee picked up a two RBI single in the inning and Russell picked up an RBI single to give him two RBIs on the day so far. 

8th Inning: 2 WSU Runs

In the bottom of the eighth inning the Cougs put the finishing touches on the game, scoring two runs to extend their lead to eight after finishing the game winning 9-1. Jake Harvey hit a solo homer in the inning which was followed by an RBI double by Russell to give him a team-leading three RBIs in the game. 

The Cougs will take on the UCLA Bruins or a three-game series starting Friday. The Cougs then host BYU for one game on Monday. First pitch against the Bruins Friday is set for 6 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field.