Cougar baseball stepped onto brand new turf at Bailey-Brayton Field, and blew out Central Washington University 23-5, in a 12-inning exhibition game held Saturday as part of Cougar Baseball Alumni Weekend.

WSU racked up 24 hits, scattering the ball to all fields throughout the game.

After scoring three runs in both the first and second inning, the Cougs took a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning.  Then, they sent 10 men to the plate and scored eight times to take a comfortable 14-1 lead.

WSU senior outfielder Blake Clanton provided the Cougars’ offensive spark after he hit a ball off the wall. It was misplayed, allowing Clanton to come all the way around for an inside-the-park grand slam.

Five more insurance runs in the seventh inning, and one more in the eighth, gave the Cougs a substantial lead. Junior infielder Andres Alvarez collected three hits and was a home run shy of the cycle. Sophomore infielder Dillon Plew recorded three hits and muscled a two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning.

Senior left-handed pitcher Cody Anderson started on the mound and allowed one run on two hits in his two innings of work. Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Davis Baillie struck out four in two scoreless innings of work, touching 94 miles per hour on the radar gun. Fellow redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Isaac Mullins struck out the side in his inning of work.

The exhibition was the first opportunity for fans to see the 2018 squad, and the 16 new players added to WSU’s roster since the end of the 2017 season.

One of the new additions, redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Collin Maier, struck out four batters in his two innings of relief.

The Cougars finished 2017 with a 24-29 record, and were forced to replace the contributions of former infielder Shane Matheny. In addition to being an above average defender, Matheny led the Cougars on offense with a .309 batting average and .408 on base percentage in 2017. He signed with the San Francisco Giants after being drafted in the 23rd round.

Left-handed pitcher Trenton Dupre was the lone senior to graduate in the spring.

During Saturday’s scrimmage, Plew, who played second base in 2017, moved over to fill in at third. Junior outfielder Justin Harrer, who played mostly left field in 2017, started the game at second base.

On the defensive side, both teams struggled to play a clean game, combining to commit 12 errors. WSU had five while the Wildcats flopped seven.

The Cougars play their final fall scrimmage at 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in Spokane against Gonzaga.