After 16 long years, the Cougars got their first taste of playoff baseball last night and they did not disappoint. With a 5-1 win over the Air Force Falcons, the Cougs secured their first win in the playoffs and moved on to round three. 

WSU got on the board early in the first inning when redshirt freshman Matt Priest shot a single up the middle to score the opening run. It was followed quickly by senior Ryan Skjonsby, who cleaned the table with a triple to make it 3-0. 

Then, in the second, senior Gavin Roy got his second home run of the year to make it 5-0 early in the postseason matchup. 

From then on, it was starting pitching that carried WSU to the finish line. Redshirt sophomore Nick Lewis got the start for WSU and he proved why he was recently awarded Mountain West Pitcher of the Year. 

Lewis went 8 ⅔ innings, allowing only one run on seven hits, two walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts. The award-winning lefty was scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, when he gave up his first run of the ball game off a bunt single with two outs. 

Lewis finished the game with 124 pitches, the most of any outing of his career. That, coupled with the Cougs 11 hits, Skjonsby’s triple and Roy’s home allowed WSU to coast past the Falcons in the tournament bout. 

The Cougars now take on San Diego State University at 1:05 pm today at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, for round three of the MWC tournament.