The bottom third of the Cougs order went a combined 6-for-10 while the top third went 1-for-12 as the Cougs rode a dominant day from Cole Cramer to beat Grand Canyon 6-4.
The win for WSU (18-17, 7-11 Pac-12) snapped a five-game losing streak and brought the Cougs back over .500 on the year. GCU (20-17, 11-4 WAC) had won two straight games heading into the contest, including a win over a ranked Arizona team.
Cole Cramer led the Cougs offensively, hitting in the No. 7 hole and finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. With the top of the order struggling, especially Max Hartman in the leadoff spot and a returning Kyle Russell combined to go 0-for-8, Cramer’s hot bat led the Cougs to the win.
WSU fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning and after the frame, head coach Nathan Choate used a combination of seven different relief pitchers to pitch the final 7.0 innings, giving up one run, striking out eight and limiting base runners.
Cramer’s home run came in the top of the fourth inning. A three-run shot down the left field line tied the game.
Falling behind once again, the Cougs scored their final three runs in the top of the sixth to take their first lead of the game, a lead they eventually maintained.
Casen Taggart and Joey Kramer started the inning with a strikeout and groundout. All with two outs, WSU rallied behind Alan Shibley’s single. Will Cresswell and Cramer singled, with Cramer’s knock driving in the inning’s first run.
Then the Cougs became magnets to the ball. Nate Swarts getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases, and both Crew Parke and Hartman got hit by pitches to drive in the game’s final two runs. Throughout the win, WSU got hit on five separate occasions, the most of any game this year.
Duke Brotherton entered to start the eighth inning and in throwing a clean 2.0 innings, he his first save both the season and his WSU career.
WSU has one day off and stays on the road for a weekend series against the ranked Arizona Wildcats. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, the Cougs and Wildcats will battle it out in a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona.
