The WSU Cougars did not receive a warm welcome on Thursday night when they  arrived at PK Park to play the No. 10 Oregon Ducks. 

In the first game of a three-game set, the Ducks pounded the Cougars relentlessly. When the ninth inning ended, the scoreboard read 11-1, ending the game which began as a blowout and stayed that way. 

The Ducks tagged WSU starter Joe Pistorese for four runs in the first inning and two in the second. Staked to a 6-0 lead early in the game, junior Tommy Thorpe of Oregon went to work. Thorpe threw seven shutout innings, striking out eight and walking two. The Cougars only mustered two hits against Thorpe. 

Meanwhile, the Oregon offense kept rolling against Pistorese. The Ducks added two runs in the fourth inning against the junior pitcher. Pistorese’s night was a short one as he did not go out for the fifth inning. Sophomore Jacob Schroeder replaced him on the mound and promptly gave up the other three Oregon runs over the course of the next two innings. Freshman Layne Bruner finished the night with two innings of one-hit ball. 

The Ducks received contributions from the top of their lineup to the bottom, but the middle of the order shone brightest.  

Freshman A.J. Balta went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and a home run, and sophomore Mitchell Tolman knocked in two runs with a 2 for 3 night at the plate. Senior Tyler Baumgartner walked twice and scored three times. 

One run did cross the plate for the Cougars in Thursday’s game, but it came far too late to make a difference. In the top of the eighth inning, which was the first inning for freshman Cooper Stiles in relief of Thorpe, the Cougars found a way to get on the board. Redshirt junior Trace Tam Sing was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, and after two singles, he scored on a sacrifice fly from redshirt sophomore Ben Roberts. 

The second game of the series begins tonight at 6 p.m.