With their 14-4 mercy-rule win over San Diego State University, WSU is officially the Mountain West baseball champion of 2026. The Cougs went 3-1 overall in the weekend tournament and their championship win punched their ticket to regionals in Eugene, Oregon.

The championship bout versus the Aztecs may have been a blowout, but it began as a boxing match. Redshirt freshman Matt Priest broke the ice for WSU in the first with a double to right field that scored senior Gavin Roy. That was quickly followed by junior Dustin Robinson driving in senior Max Hartman on a fielder’s choice. 

The Aztecs responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame, with junior Jake Jackson crushing a ball to deep left field for a solo home run. Soon after that, true freshman Max Farrell smoked a double to straight-away center to tie up the game 2-2. 

 The Cougs and Aztecs exchanged blows up until the fourth inning. With the game tied 3-3, WSU starting pitcher Griffin Smith walked the leadoff man, prompting head coach Nathan Choate to bring in freshman right-hander Ryan Falke out of the pen. 

Falke’s outing was short and sweet, allowing one run to score via a wild pitch. So, Choate called in junior Scott Rienguette to try and take hold of the reins. 

And take hold he did. Rienguette struck out the next two batters and got the Cougs out of a bases-loaded jam. Rienguette would inevitably carry the Cougs across the finish line, giving up no runs and keeping the Aztecs stuck at four runs of production. 

The Cougs, on the other hand, were not as stagnant. They tallied 11 runs in the remaining three innings, powering their way to a mercy-rule finish. 

WSU tagged two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and seven in the seventh. That came off an explosion of hits for the Cougs, consisting of three doubles, two sac-flies and one three-run home run off the barrel of Hartman. 

With an inning ending double play in the bottom of the seventh, the Cougs dogpilled the mound at Sloan Park, and celebrated their first Mountain West championship in program history. They now have secured a spot at the Eugene Regional with an opportunity to make it to Omaha for the College World Series. 

The Cougs take on Oregon State in game one of the regional tournament at 12 p.m on May 29 at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon.