The WSU baseball team took two of three from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) this weekend in Los Angeles.

Redshirt junior left-hander Damon Jones got the start for the Cougars in the series opener on Friday night and limited LMU to two runs on four hits in his four innings pitched.

In the bottom of the second, the Lions were able to push across the first two runs of the game without a ball leaving the infield. A leadoff bloop single followed by a bunt hit and another infield single loaded the bases with nobody out. Jones walked in the first run and the Lions scored again on a fielder’s choice to take a 2-0 lead.

Despite allowing just the two runs, command continued to be an issue for Jones, who walked four and needed 82 pitches to get through four innings.

The Cougars answered in the top of the third when redshirt junior outfielder Dugan Shirer drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a balk. Sophomore outfielder Justin Harrer moved Shirer to third with a single and sophomore catcher Cory Meyer plated him with a hit.

WSU continued to add on in the fourth inning when junior infielder Shane Matheny started the top of the inning with a double down the line, and eventually came around to tie the game at 2-2 on a sacrifice fly ball by sophomore infielder Andres Alvarez.

In the fifth inning, the Cougars took advantage of a few mistakes by the Lions to take the lead.

After a leadoff walk by junior outfielder Blake Clanton, Meyer lined a ball off the third baseman’s glove to put runners at the corners. Junior infielder Ryan Ramsower laid down a sac bunt to the pitcher who threw the ball over the head of the first baseman, allowing Clanton to score and putting runners on second and third. A groundout by Matheny followed by a single from Alvarez gave the Cougars a 5-2 lead.

The Cougars added another run in the top of the eighth on a double by Harrer that scored Clanton from first, giving them a 6-3 lead.

WSU took that lead into the bottom of the eighth, when things got dicey. A walk, hit-by-pitch and a single loaded the bases for the Lions with one out in their half of the inning. Head Coach Marty Lees called on junior reliever Scotty Sunitsch to get out of the jam.

The lefthander came in and got a flyout and a strikeout to escape the bases loaded situation. He completed the five out save with a perfect ninth inning, striking out two to secure the 6-3 win for the Cougars.

The Cougars played a solid game all around, racking up ten hits and seven walks, and committing no errors on defense.

The second game of the series did not go as well for the Cougars.

Junior right-hander Ryan Walker, appeared in his second start of the season and allowed 10 runs on 13 hits and three walks in his four innings of work.

LMU racked up 20 hits to push across 18 runs in a game that got lopsided quickly. The Lions had an 8-1 lead going into the fifth and scored in all but two innings.

The Cougars did not help themselves out defensively either, committing five errors that led to four unearned runs.

If there was any redeeming factor from Saturday’s game, it was that WSU manufactured five runs on four hits and seven walks. But their effort offensively fell well short, as the Cougars dropped the second game of the series 18-5.

Junior left-hander Cody Anderson got the start on Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in 4.1 innings.

A single and a pair of doubles by the Lions opened the scoring in the bottom of the second as LMU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.

The Lions added to their lead in the fifth inning when senior left-hander Trenton Dupre replaced Anderson after a one out walk. Dupre immediately got the second out of the inning, but a stolen base, a single and a double off the wall extended LMU’s lead to 4-0 after five innings of play.

The Cougars answered back quickly. In the top of the sixth, Harrer doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Meyer. Singles by Clanton and junior first baseman James Rudkin loaded the bases and freshman first baseman Jon Burghardt cleared them with the help of a throwing error, tying the game at four.

In the bottom of the eighth with a runner on first, freshman catcher Cal Waterman thwarted a stolen base attempt with a perfect throw to end the inning, allowing WSU to take a tie game to the top of the ninth.

Alvarez and junior outfielder Derek Chapman led off the top of the ninth with infield singles. They advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, which set up Ramsower to lay down a squeeze bunt that scored Alvarez and Chapman after a misplay by the LMU defense. Harrer plated Ramsower with his second double of the game to give WSU a 7-4 lead.

Junior left-hander Scotty Sunitsch came on to close out the ninth. After giving up a walk and a single, he sat the next three down in order without giving up a run, and WSU held on to win 7-4.

All three of the Cougars’ victories this year have been comeback victories.

The series finale takes place at 1 p.m. today. A live stream of today’s game is available on wsucougars.com.