A ninth-inning hit off the bat of University of Oregon senior infielder Kyle Kasser looked like it might fall into shallow left field before WSU senior outfielder Derek Chapman came sliding in to preserve a no-hitter by senior left-handed pitcher Scotty Sunitsch.

Then Sunitsch got the next two batters to strike out, completing the no-hitter, before being mobbed on the mound by his teammates as the Cougars (8-17, 3-8) defeated the Ducks (18-12, 5-7) 7-0 Sunday in Eugene.

Sunitsch walked two batters and hit two batters during his nine innings of work, striking out a career-best nine batters. The no-hitter is the 25th in WSU history.

Sunday’s performance wasn’t the first no-hitter Sunitsch was a part of at WSU. He also worked a scoreless ninth inning to complete a combined no-hitter against Stephen F. Austin State University last year.

Sunitsch exclusively worked out of the bullpen in 2017, making 28 appearances all in relief. He has made seven starts for the Cougars in 2018 and lowered his ERA to 2.49.

The Cougars got out to a three-run lead in the fifth inning. Singles by senior outfielder Blake Clanton and freshman infielder Mason De La Cruz set up junior infielder Andres Alvarez for an RBI single up the middle.

Sophomore infielder Dillon Plew immediately followed with a two-run triple to centerfield to make it a 3-0 game.

The Cougars put the game out of reach in the seventh inning with four more runs. Alvarez singled, Plew walked and junior infielder Justin Harrer reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases with two outs.

A walk by senior outfielder JJ Hancock brought in a run while keeping the bases loaded. Junior catcher Robert Teel cleared the bases with a double to left field to make it a 7-0 game.

WSU is now 4-3 since beginning the season 4-14, and the Cougars outscored the Ducks 10-6 in the three-game series despite only winning once.

WSU returns home to face University of California, Berkeley, 5 p.m. Friday at Bailey-Brayton Field.