After a sweep of their five-game home stand, Portland snapped the Cougs win streak in a one-run game where 80% of the runs were scored in the first three innings. 

WSU baseball (15-9, 5-4 Pac-12) lost to Portland (14-8, 3-0 WCC) by a final score of 3-2. After their two-run second inning, WSU managed just three hits, the offense looking flightless due to the Pilots pitching. 

Portland got the win during what has been a daunting non-conference schedule. Including the Cougs, they’ve taken down San Diego State twice in three tries, USC, Omaha, Creighton, Maryland and Oregon, while also playing against Oregon State with another game against Oregon, Oregon State, Washington (twice) and WSU once again still on the schedule. 

That tough experience has already shown dividends, with Portland holding a winning record through 22 games. 

Against WSU, Kaden Segel worked around a two-run second inning to finish pitching 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, three walks and striking out five. 

On the opposite side, WSU started Kevin Haynes on the bump, but just one week removed from an extended week of baseball and a three-game weekend set against UW on the schedule, they only stretched him out for 3.0 innings. 

The Pilots got a run early as a two-out single spiraled after a wild pitch put him in scoring position and he scored on an error. After giving up a walk and single to load the bases, he got out of the inning without any more damage after striking out Brady Bean on a 1-2 count. 

Going down 1-0, the Cougs got their first and only lead of the game in the top of the second. Griffen Sotomayor walked on a 3-2 count to start the inning, followed by back-to-back singles, a hit by a pitch and a walk to score both runs for Wazzu before recording the first out.

Unable to capitalize on the no-out, bases-loaded situation, Max Hartman and Kyle Russell both struck out and Casen Taggart got out on a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Back-to-back scoreless half-innings followed, but Portland tied up the game in Haynes last inning of work. With two doubles in the inning, the Pilots tied the game at 2-2, where the score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh. 

A leadoff double by Jake Holcraft became an even higher-leverage situation once Duke Brotherton entered from the bullpen, as he allowed Holcraft to reach third base on a one-out wild pitch. 

Christian Cooney hit a sacrifice fly, giving Portland the go-ahead and eventual winning run. 

WSU tallied just five hits as a unit and in line with the theme of 80%, Will Cresswell tallied four of those base knocks, a career-high for the catcher. 

While the lineup surrounding Cresswell generally struggled, Hartman had the worst night in the leadoff spot. Earning the dreaded golden sombrero, he struck out in all four of his trips to the plate, culminating in the lefty getting pinch-hit for in the top of the ninth inning by Jacob Morrow. 

Next up for the Cougs is a three-game set with UW. Starting at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, the Cougs take on their bitter rivals in Seattle with the series ending Saturday.