SALT LAKE CITY – Senior Sam Triece threw six shutout innings and Jack Strunc drove in two during a key sixth inning as Washington State defeated Utah 6-1 to take the series Sunday at Smith's Field.

Triece was masterful throughout his outing as he allowed just a second-inning single to Wade Gulden. For the afternoon Triece (3-0) struck out seven, did not walk a batter and did not allow a runner past second as he picked up his third win in his last four outings.

Washington State (23-19, 7-11) opened the scoring in the fourth as Ben Roberts singled to left the came home one out later on Wes Hatton's RBI double. The lead moved to 3-0 in the sixth as the Cougars loaded the bases with a one-out single and pair of two-out walks, ending the day for Utah (14-25, 6-12) starter Jayson Rose. Bret Helton came on and was greeted by Strunc, who lined a 0-2 pitch to left, scoring Shane Matheny and Brennon Kaleiwahea. The two runs gave WSU some breathing room and was more than enough offense for the day.

The Cougars added two more in the seventh as Cooper Elliott led off with a walk and scored on Ian Sagdal's triple to right-center. Roberts followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Sagdal and pushing the lead to 5-0. WSU added a run in the eighth as Derek Chapman doubled down the line in left, scoring Strunc to close out the Cougars' scoring.

Ian Hamilton came on for Triece in the seventh and worked two scoreless innings, surrendering one hit while striking out one. Matt Bower worked the ninth for WSU and allowed three hits, the first a one-out double by Cody Scaggari and the last an RBI single from AJ Young, scoring Scaggari for Utah's only run. Bower induced Cole Taylor into a game-ending double play to secure WSU's third-straight Pac-12 series victory.

Rose (3-4) suffered the loss as he allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

The Cougars conclude the four-game road trip with a nonconference game Monday night against Washington in Seattle. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.

--wsucougars.com--