Coming off a tough road trip in Phoenix, the Cougs carried the momentum over from their win against Seattle University into the weekend series vs Arizona, winning two of three.

WSU won the series against Arizona in Tuscon last season but had not beaten them in Pullman in over a decade. The Cougs made quick work of the series, capturing the win in the first two games before dropping game three.

The Cougs improved to 7-10 in Pac-12 Conference play and 11-4 at home. Neither squad moved up or down in the Pac-12 standings, however, WSU is still eighth and Arizona ninth.

The win is big for the program, but the team has not discussed the streak at all, said head coach Brian Green.

“Those are really nice things to put out on social media and they’re important, it just shows the growth of the program, but more importantly for us, let’s see if we can make a run and get back to .500 in league,” Green said.

The Cougars trailed following the top of the first inning in each of the wins but responded in the home frame each time. In game one, WSU trailed 3-2, before a Kyle Russell RBI groundout gave the Cougs a 4-3 lead.

Sophomore third baseman Cam Magee delivered the big blow in game one with a two-out, bases-loaded two-RBI double to give the Cougs a 6-3 lead that the bullpen would hold until the end. The bullpen ultimately was the story of the game, Green said.

“It was just one of those hard-fought baseball games for us, and it was a gritty effort by the guys, we didn’t have a lot going,” Green said. “The bullpen enabled us to separate, they did a great job, Cam {Liss} and Connor {Wilford} were outstanding.”

In game two after going down 3-0 the Cougs tied it at three in the first with three RBI singles. In the third inning, sophomore second baseman Elijah Hainline launched a 454-foot nuke into left field to make it 4-3 Cougs. It was the first of two homers for him in the series, and the longest homerun this season for WSU.

The Cougs exploded for five runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-4 lead and extended it to 11-6 in the seventh.

The Wildcats made a push in the ninth but WSU closer Chase Grillo came in to strike out the last Arizona batter and clinch an 11-8 Cougar win and series win.

The story of game two was offense, as the Cougs recorded 16 hits, the most for them in a game in Pac-12 play so far. Green said the lineup is much deeper following some mid-week adjustments.

“We used Seattle to do that, and we told our team that ‘Hey, we’re going to do some much different looks here,’” Green said. “We’ve got some athleticism, we got into a little bit of a funk offensively so we really wanted to spread it out, put some guys who can run and bunt basically every two or three hitters. We’ve been a lot more active {this series} on the bases and with the short game and just trying to put the pressure on.”

In game two, junior first baseman Sam Brown hit for three legs of the cycle, only missing a home run and senior first basemen/designated hitter Jacob McKeon recorded four hits including his first triple of the season.

The offenses confidence is high and the trust is there as well, McKeon said.

“There’s just a lot more confidence in us honestly, especially just knowing that we’re not really out of it. And then going off that with our bullpen, we have a lot of trust and faith in them to hold it down and let us work,” McKeon said.

Game three started with a 4-1 Cougs lead, but the Wildcats’ elite offense that had been kept down through two games erupted for 12 runs in the seventh and eighth innings leading to a 14-8 Arizona win.

Still, it was a successful weekend for the Cougs as they prepare for more revenge as they head to Spokane Tuesday to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs who bested the Cougs 12-7, March 21 in Spokane.

The Cougs will be back at Bailey-Brayton Field for more non-Conference action next Friday-Saturday to take on Santa Clara. The next Pac-12 matchup is April 28–30 against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.