After a blowout loss in the first game of the series, the Cougars clawed their way back in game two against Cal State Fullerton. 

Senior Jason Monda hit a two-out single in the top of the 11th inning that drove in two runs, giving the Cougars a 9-7 upset victory on Saturday afternoon over the No. 1 team in the nation. It was Monda’s only hit of the game, but it made the difference in a nail-biter that almost got away from the Cougars. 

“Monda wasn’t swinging the bat the way he wanted to early in the ballgame, but he came up big in the end,” Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut said. 

WSU took an early lead in the second inning only to fall behind 3-1 after surrendering an RBI single and two more unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Cougars came roaring back in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly from designated hitter P.J. Jones and a 2-RBI double from right fielder Yale Rosen, who went 3 for 4 on the day. 

Two runs scored on a single from catcher Collin Slaybaugh in the top of the 6th, and another run scored on an RBI single by third baseman Nick Tanielu. At this point, the Cougars’ lead had swelled to four, with the score at 7-3. Tanielu had a career-high four hits on Saturday. 

Sophomore pitcher Justin Garza of the Titans could not finish the sixth inning, allowing nine hits and the seven runs, only four of which were earned. 

The game was far from over, though. The Titans scored two runs in the bottom of the 6th, one in the seventh and one in the eighth to knot the score at 7-7. Reliever Koby Gauna threw 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Titans, and struck out seven hitters. He was credited with the loss as the Cougars loaded the bases against him in the 11th and finally forced him out of the game. 

Willie Kuhl, who was the fourth reliever of the game for Cal State Fullerton, gave up the game-winning hit to Monda. 

Freshman Ian Hamilton earned the win for the Cougars after pitching three innings of shutout relief. 

“Hamilton is not your typical freshman and he hasn’t been since he showed up on campus,” Marbut said. “He has a calmness about him and he has stuff to go with it.”

The Cougars finish up their series against the Titans with a game on Sunday that starts at 1 p.m.