The Cougars won their first game of the season in an upset win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Friday.
In their first matchup since 2018, WSU was locked in to start their season on Friday the 13th. In a 8-4 ball-game it seemed that the Cougars couldn’t do much wrong in the south.
The discipline in the field was there for the Cougars who didn’t have any errors on the night. Along with focused contact hitting kept getting the Cougs slashing their way on base with no hockey masks needed.
The pitching matchup of the aces was between Luke Meyers for WSU and Tyler Fay for Alabama. Meyers last year had a 5.27 ERA with Fay at a 4.69 ERA.
To start the game, outfielder Trevor Smith got the contact going with an infield single towards third base which set up the rest of the inning. Outfielder Max Hartman got on base by being hit by a pitch. Dustin Robinson, out of the DH spot, would get the scoring going with his single into left field to score both runners.The first inning for WSU signaled how the rest of the game would be.
The first score for Alabama came in the bottom of the second when outfielder Peyton Steele hit a double down the infield line where infielder Justin Osterhouse scored.
WSU in the top of the third inning kept to their strategy with another single from Smith, who then stole second base. Smith, the freshman, ended up with two hits, a walk, and two runs in his first game with WSU. With another advance from Smith on an infield out, Hartman got another single down the right field line where the cougars took a two run lead with Smith’s run coming in from third.
Hartman was another elite performer, who seemed to be playing angry to start his year. The senior from Alberta Canada never missed base with three hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch. The cherry on top for it all: a solo home-run and a double.
To start the top of the fourth, infielder Matt Priest drew a walk to set up a Ryan Skjonsby nuke into right field to grab himself two RBIs and a four run lead for the Cougars. The fire power was on full display all night long for the Cougars who wound up with 10 hits.
The next inning, the Cougars kept it going, and Hartman got himself his home run with two outs in the inning. To follow it up, the Cougars got on base with balls in the field and an error from Alabama’s infielder Justin Lebron to set up another run. This time it came from a Priest double down the infield line.
The bottom of the fifth was when it seemed like Alabama was gonna get themselves back in the game. Gavin Derr came into the game for Meyers in the bottom of the fourth who had only given up the one run. But Derr in the fifth could not get it going. He only got one pitch in the zone for a strike giving up three walks with zero outs. To come in and fix the messy situation, Rylan Haider was put in where he secured three clutch strikeouts but one walk to only allow one run to Alabama’s infielder Jason Torres. Three runners were left stranded for Alabama after they got there with zero outs.
In the top of the seventh inning the Cougars got another insurance run making the lead 8-2 after a fielder’s choice from Priests brought in Hartman to score the last run of the game for WSU.
To finish out the game, the Cougars put in relief pitcher Scott Rienguette who went on to pitch the eight and ninth inning. The eighth went smooth, but in the ninth inning Lebron, similar to an NBA legend of the same name, showed off immense power and hit a two run home run to bring the game closer.
Even with the pressure building in the game, Nathan Chote for WSU trusted Rienguette and he locked back in, ending the game with two straight strikeouts and a four run Cougar win against the Crimson Tide.
With the 8-4 victory in Tuscaloosa, it is the first win for WSU against the Tide with their last and only series coming in 2018 when Alabama got the series sweep.
Meyers for WSU gets his first victory of the season, ending the night with four hits and three walks allowed but only one earned run.
The next game for the WSU baseball team is the second game of the series at 10 a.m. Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
