WSU baseball (19-12, 5-9) got back on track Wednesday as they defeated Seattle U 11-2. 

Seattle U struck first, scoring one run in the bottom of the second, however, a five-run third inning for the Cougs closed the game early while they finished the game scoring runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. 

“Took advantage of the free bases,” head coach Brian Green said postgame in regards to the Coug players being walked and hit by pitches in the game. 

Sam Brown was hitless in the game but picked up an RBI walk and scored a run. Cam Magee and Kyle Russell each had three RBIs to lead the Cougs. 

Russell has been on fire this last month, the Seattle U game was no different. He had two hits in five at-bats for three RBIs and scored two runs. Magee helped the scoring with his three RBIs on two hits and two walks. 

Andrew Baughn picked up his fourth win of the season for the Cougs after he pitched 1.1 innings where he allowed one hit and struck out a batter for no runs in his action. 

Starting pitcher Spencer Jones went three innings where he allowed three hits for one run and a walk. He would also strike out four batters. 

“The guys were just coming in and throwing strikes, they were aggressive, they were getting ahead of hitters,” Green said. 

Scoring Innings: 

Second Inning: 1 Seattle U run

Seattle U got on the board in the bottom of the second inning as they picked up an RBI single to take the early lead. The hit advanced a runner to third but was stranded as Seattle U failed to bring him home. 

Third Inning: 5 WSU runs 

The lead for Seattle U did not last an inning as the Cougs quickly scored five runs to take a 5-1 lead. Brown walked with the bases loaded to score Elijah Hainline to tie the game at one. Russell would then score Jonah Advincula as he picked up the RBI as Brown was forced out at second with the bases loaded. 

The next batter was Jake Harvey, who scored Jacob McKeon with an RBI single as he bunted to reach base. Cam Magee scored the final run in the inning as he picked up an RBI single which scored Russell. 

“Elijah was down in the nine with three hits, Cam, we pushed him down,” Green said. 

Fourth Inning: 2 WSU runs and 1 Seattle U run

The Cougs four-run lead extended to six in the next inning as they tagged on two more runs to lead 7-1 after their offensive efforts in the fourth. The Cougs scored their first run in the inning due to a throwing error from Seattle U which scored Advincula. Russell then picked up the RBI single which scored Brown to take the 7-1 lead. 

Seattle U got one run back in the bottom of the fourth as they picked up a fielder’s choice RBI, which cut the lead to five after four innings. 

Sixth Inning: 2 WSU runs 

The Cougs tagged two more runs in the top of the sixth the take the 9-2 lead in the later half of the game. Magee picked up the RBI single and was followed by Greg Fuchs who picked up an RBI single of his own. 

Seventh Inning: 1 WSU run

WSU kept the scoring streak alive in the seventh as they added one more run thanks to Russell being hit by a pitch, which scored Advincula, his third score of the game. 

Eighth Inning: 1 WSU run 

The final score of the game came by way of Advincula in the top of the eighth inning as he picked up the sac-fly which scored Max Hartman. The Cougs closed out the ninth inning and win the game 11-2. 

The next time the Cougs take the field is Friday as they host the Arizona Wildcats for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field. 

After the Wildcat series the Cougs move down to Spokane to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs for a one-game series before heading back into non-conference play for a total of five games before resuming Pac-12 play.