Returning home to the snow from a two-week stint in California, the WSU baseball team accomplished what it set out to do in practice, sweeping Stephen F. Austin to push its record to 6-4.

The Cougars came from behind to win in all three games and combined to throw the program’s first no-hitter since 1985 in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader.

Game one

Redshirt junior and left-hander Damon Jones threw a career-best six innings to pace the Cougars past SFA 4-2 in the series opener on Friday.

The Lumberjacks (4-9) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. After retiring the first two batters, Jones allowed three consecutive singles to the middle of the Lumberjacks’ order to push a run across the plate.

“I didn’t really feel like they were hard hit balls,” WSU Head Coach Marty Lees said. “Couple grounders. A bloop. Maybe something he really can’t control.”

Jones settled in after the first inning, striking out three on four hits and three walks over his six-plus innings of work.

The southpaw erased baserunners throughout the game. Jones faced the minimum from the second through the sixth inning, inducing a double play in the fourth inning and picking off three runners during this stretch.

Jones attributed his efficiency on the mound to his defense, helping him keep his pitch count down and work deep into the game.

The Cougars’ bats were quiet early on. A double play in the first inning and a baserunner caught stealing in the second thwarted any scoring chances.

However, WSU evened the score at one in the third inning. A bloop single and stolen base from junior outfielder J.J. Hancock set up sacrifice flies from sophomore infielder Andres Alvarez and junior outfielder Derek Chapman to score Hancock.

The Cougars took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth after a single by junior first baseman James Rudkin and a double by Hancock allowed Alvarez to bring Rudkin in on a fielder’s choice ground out.

Jones exited the game in the seventh inning after walking the leadoff batter, and SFA tied the game with a double into left centerfield off the first pitch thrown by junior right-hander Joe Rosenstein.

Rosenstein walked the next batter before generating a three-pitch pop-out to the third hitter he faced. With one out and two baserunners on, Lees brought in junior right-hander Colby Nealy, who induced an inning-ending double play to keep the score even.

A two-out walk and stolen base by Hancock, followed by a walk from Alvarez set up Chapman’s go-ahead, two-run double off the right field wall to give the Cougars the lead for good. Chapman had three of the team’s four RBI’s in the game.

Lees caleld on junior left-hander Scotty Sunitsch, who leads the Pac-12 in saves with four, to pitch the ninth.

After Sunitsch issued a leadoff walk, junior James Rudkin ranged deep into foul territory to make an over-the-shoulder catch along the right field fence and made a strong throw to second to double up the runner trying to advance. Sunitsch then struck out the next batter looking on a slider to secure the win.

Game two

The Cougars grabbed their fifth win of the season in the first game of Sunday’s rescheduled doubleheader with another come-from-behind effort.

In all six wins this season, WSU has found itself behind on the scoreboard to begin each game. In Sunday’s 10-5 win, SFA opened the floodgates in the top of the third with a five-run inning to chase WSU junior right-hander Ryan Walker from the game.

Despite a rough top of the third in the field, WSU chipped away at the lead almost immediately. Led by freshman infielder Dillon Plew’s 2-3, two-walk effort, the Cougars scored runs in six straight innings, punctuated by Hancock’s solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. Hancock’s dinger was the first of his career and put the Cougars up 7-5 entering the final third of the game.

Assistant Coach Jim Horner said that the key to securing yet another come-from-behind victory was to simply get on base and get hits. True to the coach’s words, the Cougars racked up 10 hits and 11 walks in the game while only striking out nine times.

The Cougars’ bullpen stabilized the game for the offense, as senior left-hander Trenton Dupre, sophomore right-hander Parker McFadden and Nealy combined for six-and-two thiwrds scoreless innings.

Dupre earned the win as the Cougars cruised to a comfortable victory following a rough third inning.

Game three

Four pitchers combined to make history in the second half of Sunday’s doubleheader, throwing a no-hitter in a 7-3 win to sweep the Lumberjacks.

Junior left-hander Cody Anderson, Rosenstein, freshman left-hander Isaac Mullins and Sunitsch combined to keep SFA hitless, with all of the Lumberjacks’ runs coming unearned.

“Tremendous job by the staff,” Lees said. “They didn’t get a lot of help from the defense, but it was very impressive by the pitchers.”

In the first inning, Anderson faced a sticky situation, as two of the Lumberjacks’ first three hitters reached base on errors. Senior SFA outfielder Zac Michener drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to put the Lumberjacks in front 1-0.

The Cougars struck back in the bottom of the third when a double from Matheny and an ensuing error from SFA allowed Plew to score all the way from first to even the score.

One inning later, WSU took the lead on a walk by Plew and tacked on two more runs off a single from Matheny.

The Lumberjacks came within a run in the top of the sixth after an RBI groundout drove in a walked batter and SFA senior infielder Tyler Kendrick, who was let on by an error from Chapman, came across the plate on a second RBI groundout.

Anderson exited the game after six innings, throwing a season-high 94 pitches, and was replaced by Rosenstein. The Colorado native posted one-and-one-third scoreless innings with one strikeout against three walks to keep the Cougars lead intact.

Mullens came on in the eighth inning with the Cougars up 7-3 and retired the final two batters of the frame on five pitches.

Sunitsch then faced the minimum in the ninth, using a six-four-three double play to end the game and seal the no-hitter.

WSU continues its two-week homestand on Thursday with a 4 p.m. game against Utah Valley.