WSU baseball (8-6-0, 1-2-0 Pac-12) dropped the game and series against Utah (10-4-0, 2-1-0 Pac-12), giving up five extra-base hits and losing by a score of 7-6 Sunday afternoon.
Spencer Jones got the start for the Cougs, the left-handed senior from Salt Lake City seeing his first Pac-12 action of the year against his home state, sporting a 6.32 ERA and 1-1 record. Utah started right-handed senior transfer Brett Porthan, 1-0 so far in his Ute career with a 2.75 ERA.
It was lightly raining at game time, but there was no delay in the scoring with shortstop Core Jackson bunting his way on base in the top of the first before being driven in by a D. Digiorno double. Initially the inning ended when Jackson was gunned down at home, but upon review he was called safe and the run scored.
Jones got the strikeout to flip the inning, putting the Cougs back on offense just as the rain started to subside. They were not down for long, as Kyle Russell walked and Alan Shilby put them both in scoring position.
Catcher Jacob Morrow lined a two-out single that brought both runners in, and the Cougs led 2-1. Following him in the order were first baseman Joey Kramer and third baseman Cole Cramer, whose single and double respectively brought in another run.
The Cougs loaded the bases before the end of the inning, but stranded all three when second baseman Crew Parke struck out looking. They only had three runs to show for it, but the Cougs had batted almost all the way around in the first inning.
Two-way right fielder/left-handed pitcher TJ Clarkson was up first in the second, and managed a walk. He was driven to third by left fielder Dakota Duffalo’s single, but was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice bunt for the second out of the inning.
Leadoff hitter Jackson came back up and went back down with a ball hit straight to the first baseman, ending Utah’s half of the inning. WSU’s leadoff hitter and shortstop Max Hartman was up to start the Cougs’ half of the inning, bunting his way to first.
Flyouts by Russell and Shilby and a swinging strikeout by designated hitter Casen Taggart left Hartman stranded despite his steal of second. The second inning ended with no new runs, the score still 3-1.
It did not stay there for long, though, as outfielder Kai Roberts drove the third pitch of the inning to deep left to make it 3-2. Jones managed two outs in a row but hit the fourth batter he faced, putting him on base.
Clarkson’s second at-bat of the game saw him swinging hard at an 0-2 pitch, knocking it nearly into the tennis court parking lot next door for a pair of runs. The two-homer, three-run top of the third ended with a strikeout and with Utah leading the game 4-3.
Morrow scored again in his second chance, hitting a ball toward the scoreboard that just got out to tie the game up at 4-4. In just the third inning he already had two hits and three RBIs. Kramer drove one past the shortstop for a single, but was out on a fielder’s choice when Cramer hit it much slower to the same spot.
Cramer stole second, and made it home for the lead off a two-out Parke single. Hartman flew out to end the inning, with the Cougs now back in the lead at 5-4. Jones worked his second scoreless inning of the game, this time without anyone getting on base.
Utah switched pitchers early when right-handed pitcher Randon Hostert checked in for Porthan in the bottom of the first. He struck Russell out looking to start the bottom of the fourth. Shipley followed that with a single, but ended up stranded after two flyouts.
Jones pitched a scoreless fifth, his third in the game and second in a row. It was his last, and he was replaced by RHP Duke Brotherton to start the sixth, his fourth appearance and second non-starting appearance.
He started his first inning of work with two outs but walked the third batter. That runner, Duffalo, was thrown out stealing to end the inning during the next at-bat.
Three flyouts ended the Cougs half of the sixth with haste, and Brotherton was back on the mound for the seventh inning. A close call at first was reviewed and went in Utah’s favor again, putting nine-hole hitter Bruer Webster on first base with the top of the order coming up.
Jackson flew out perfectly into Nate Swarts’ glove in center field for the first out. The second out of the inning almost came when Webster was tagged out stealing second, but a review went in the Ute’s favor yet again.
That came to bite the Cougs when Roberts singled for his third hit of the day and drove Webster in for the first run in three innings, tying it at 5-5. Karson Bodily pinch-hit for Antillon but struck out looking, and Digiorno grounded out on the next at-bat.
Shibley flew out, and right-handed hitter Ely Kennel did too when he pinch-hit for the left-handed Taggart. Morrow struck out swinging to end the seventh inning tied.
Clarkson walked to start the eighth and was driven in by yet another pinch hitter, Kaden Carpenter, who replaced Landon Frei. Carpenter’s one-out triple broke the tie, made it 6-5 in favor of Utah and got Brotherton pulled for RHP and closer Chase Grillo.
Grillo gave up a bloop single immediately to Duffalo, scoring Carpenter from third and growing the Utah lead to two runs. Grillo locked down the rest of the inning, with Jackson flying out and Roberts striking out swinging. Scoreless in their last four innings, the Cougs needed two runs in two innings to avoid a series loss to Utah.
They got the first run they needed when Kramer hammered it to dead center on the second pitch of the inning. That home run got Hostert pulled for RHP Jaden Harris and cut the lead down to just one run.
Cramer struck out swinging, Swarts flew out and Parke grounded out, leaving the Cougs with only three outs left to score a run.
First, though, they needed to get three outs of their own. Grillo started the inning against the fourth three-hole hitter of the game for Utah, catcher Jack Kleveno, and struck him out looking.
Digiorno flew out for the second out and third baseman Michael Davinni grounded out for the third one. If the Cougs did not manage to score, the game was over.
Up one run in the bottom of the ninth, Utah put in LHP Micah Ashman. Pinch hitting for the Cougs was Griffen Sotomayor, filling left-handed Hartman’s spot with a righty hitter.
It was for naught, though, as Sotomayor grounded it to the shortstop. Up came Russel, hitless so far, grounding out as well.
With one out left, Shibley stepped up. He was batting .500 on the game with a pair of hits, but he grounded out early in his last at-bat to end the game.
The final score was 7-6, Utah taking the lead in the eighth inning. Brotherton was credited with the loss, giving up the RBI triple that gave the Utes the lead in the eighth. He now sits a 1-1 on the season.
Hostert got the win, his second of the season. He pitched four innings in the middle of the game and gave up only one run. Ashman was credited with the save, pitching a scoreless final inning for his fourth of the year.
“The goal was to win the series and so we didn’t win the series so we’re not real happy. But you know, as far as the competitiveness and how we played, I’m most proud of the effort of our guys,” WSU head coach Nathan Choate said.
With the loss, WSU falls to 1-2-0 in-conference. They play next at UC Riverside Wednesday night, followed by a series at UCLA. The game against Riverside starts at 6:30 Wednesday and will be televised by ESPN+.
