WSU fans were on the edge of their seats all weekend, and for good reason. After trading a pair of 13-2 blowout wins with the UNLV Rebels, the payoff matchup came down to the wire.
WSU got out to a 7-1 lead before they coughed up seven unanswered runs going into the seventh. Down by a tally, the Cougs clutched up late, scoring one in the seventh and securing the go-ahead run from a Ryan Skjonsby home run in the ninth.
Now third place in the Mountain West Conference, they have just three series left in the year. In the thrilling three-game set, WSU showed flashes of what they are capable of in conference play.
So, what did we see from the come-back Cougs in Vegas…
Ryan Skjonsby is boiling hot
What exactly can you say… the man has been hot. In the series against UNLV, Skjonsby totaled six hits, five RBIs, one double and two home runs.
WSU First Baseman Ryan Skjonsby makes a hit against Gardner-Webb University, April 11, 2026.
This gives him a .545 average on the weekend, and extends his hitting streak to nine games. Looking at the overall statsheet, Skjonsby is really jumping off the page.
The junior first baseman is now first for OPS (.952), first for home runs (6), first for RBIs (35), second for average (.341), second for on-base percentage (0.441) and third for slugging (0.511).
Skjonsby is spearheading this Cougar offense and he picked a perfect time to turn up. With only a few conference series on the horizon, a red-hot bat is exactly what the Cougs need.
Nick Lewis and August Richie: the one-two combo
In game one, the Rebels ran into a brick wall. That wall was Nick Lewis and August Richie combining for 7 ⅔ innings of one-run baseball.
Lewis did much of the heavy lifting, going seven innings in his start. Then, it was Richie closing out the game with a groundout and flyout in the ninth.
However, the weekend was not over for Richie, who got the call in game three and slammed the door on UNLV. The Cougs handed Richie the reins in the sixth and he did not flinch.
Richie capped off his weekend with 3 ⅓ innings of scoreless baseball off just three hits and two strikeouts. securing his first win of the year. That triple inning performance also gives him five straight games without an earned run.
For Lewis, he set a career high for strikeouts in game one, whiffing nine batters. He has also posted a sub 2.00 ERA in his past two starts, showing how locked in the lefty is as of late.
Mix in the fact that Richie is coming off a Mountain West Pitcher of the Week performance, and has eight scoreless appearances on the season, you get a duo that could be lethal for the Cougs.
Perhaps Lewis and Richie are the one-two punch that the Cougs need to knock out their conference foes and snatch a top spot in the division.
Wait, the Cougs are good at what now?
What was WSU’s biggest Achilles heel last season?… pitching. Often, it felt like the Cougs couldn’t buy their way out of a game. But, the script may have flipped this year.
15 games into the conference slate and the Cougs hold the second best ERA in conference play (6.23). They are also fifth for opponent batting average (.309), fifth for hit by pitches (19), sixth for earned runs (90) and dead last for walks allowed (49).
WSU pitcher Griffin Smith warming up against University of Nevada, March 28, 2026.
Does it help that the WSU’s defense has been lockdown in conference play? Probably. Does it help that their starters are going six to eight innings consistently? Absolutely.
The WSU relief men have been seldom leaned on this year, but when they have, they have delivered. Richie is just one example of the relief pitching clutching up for the Cougs.
The biggest knock I put on WSU going into this year was the pitching. But, more than halfway through the conference schedule, that worry may already be quelled.
Pitching is what sets college programs apart. If the Cougs have found the special sauce in the bullpen, then they could be set for an upset in the Mountain West.
