WSU baseball scored six runs in the ninth inning but could not dig themselves out of an early hole in a 9-6 loss to No. 3 Stanford University on Saturday.

WSU (15-30-1) senior left-handed pitcher Scotty Sunitsch entered the game with a 2.95 ERA, among the leaders in the Pac-12.

The Cardinal (42-8) wasted no time getting to Sunitsch. A leadoff double followed by a sacrifice bunt and three straight singles gave Stanford a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Stanford scored three more runs on three doubles in the bottom of the second to take a 4-0 lead.

A walk, a single and a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning made it a 7-0 lead foe the Cardinal. Sunitsch ended his evening allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in four and one-third innings of work.

Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Collin Maier took over for Sunitsch in the fifth. Maier gave up two runs on four hits in the sixth inning as Stanford extended their lead to 9-0.

Cougar pitchers held Stanford in check after the sixth inning, allowing only two base runners in the final three innings.

The Cougars had just three hits entering the ninth inning. Freshman right-handed pitcher Brody Barnum leadoff the inning with a double and later scored on a groundout by junior first baseman Wyatt Segle.

Senior outfielder Derek Chapman was walked, junior infielder Andres Alvarez singled and sophomore infielder Dillon Plew was walked to load the bases.

Senior first baseman James Rudkin drew a walk to score another run before senior outfielder Blake Clanton cleared the bases with a triple.

A single by Barnum brought home the sixth run but he was thrown out at second to end the game and give the Cardinal a 9-6 victory.

The series finale is set to start at noon Sunday. The game can also be seen live on Pac-12 Networks.