The Cougs secured a series win against Fresno State this Saturday in high scoring fashion as they unload a season-high 17 runs to end the game after seven innings. They started off hot, scoring seven runs in the first inning with a pair of both singles and doubles, along with a sacrifice fly from freshman outfielder Trevor Smith to cap off the first.
Moving on to the second inning, sophomore infielder Ollie Obenour hit a single to left field to continue Wazzu’s hot start. Right after Obenour was junior catcher Cam Macleod, who crushed a three-run home run over the left field wall, tallying his total to five RBI’s in the game. With Macleod’s bomb, he pushed the Cougs lead to double digits as they already led over Fresno State 11-0.
WSU Outfielder Max Hartman celebrating after making a home run against Fresno State University baseball, May 2, 2026.
With a quick RBI single in the bottom of the fourth by Smith to bring in Obenour, the Cougs tagged on another five runs in the fifth inning, starting off with a solo home run from senior outfielder Max Hartman. After Hartman’s homer, senior infielder Ryan Skjonsby and freshman infielder Dane Chavez both hit RBI doubles, with Skjonsby bringing in one and Chavez scoring two. Macleod ended the scoring with a RBI groundout, bringing his RBI count to six.
This was the last time the Cougs scored any more runs, bringing their total to a season-high 17 runs with 17 hits from the lineup, as well as every starting player getting at least one hit. With a dominating performance offensively, WSU mercied Fresno State after seven innings.
As the Coug’s offense was the main headline this game, senior starting pitcher Griffin Smith’s scoreless outing fell under the radar as he almost threw all seven innings. Smith threw six scoreless innings with only three hits and one walk allowed, meanwhile striking out five batters on great efficiency.
With a tremendous outing, junior right-handed pitcher Erik Rodriguez came out of the bullpen to close out this game, securing a win for Smith, along with another conference series win for the Cougs.
“I thought he did a really good job. Sometimes in a game like that, it’s hard to stay focused,” head coach Nathan Choate said about Griffin Smith. “I thought his pitch count was really good. He threw a lot of strikes and his tempo was great.”
Macleod’s performance led the Cougs with six RBI’s off two hits and one sacrifice, along with redshirt freshman outfielder Matt Priest recording three hits and Obenour having three RBI’s off three hits. Nine out of the 13 total Cougs that went up to the plate scored an RBI against the Bulldogs.
“I’ve just been working on kind of seeing it deeper a little bit and adjusting to more pitches, and it’s worked well,” Macleod said.
With this series win, this puts WSU in a great position within the Mountain West Conference. WSU is looking out for a clean sweep as they face Fresno State for game three Sunday at Bailey-Brayton Field.
