PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State junior pitcher Ian Hamilton recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in a 5-3 series-opening loss to Northeastern at Bailey-Brayton Field Thursday.
Cameron Frost, Weston Hatten and Dugan Shirer each collected two hits for Cougars (4-9) who received an impressive performance from starting pitcher Ian Hamilton. The Vancouver, Wash. native allowed four runs, just one earned, and scattered seven hits over a career-best 6.2 innings. WSU recorded 10 hits but left 10 men on base and committed four errors.
Northeastern (7-5), who owns a pair of wins at No. 30 Oklahoma earlier this season, took advantage of two 2-out Cougar errors to scored three runs in the first inning.
WSU countered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the opening frame. Trek Stemp led off with a walk, Derek Chapman singled to right field and one batter later, Frost singled home Stemp and Hatten followed with a RBI base-hit that scored Chapman. The Cougars tied things up as Frost came around to score on an error.
Northeastern took a 4-3 lead in the fourth with a solo homer before things got a little crazy in the Cougars half of the inning. Stefan Van Horn led off with single through the left side and Shane Matheny pulled a line-drive single to right field before Shirer earned a walk to load the bases. Stemp stepped and line a pitch back up the middle towards a diving NU second baseman. The runners had to freeze on the line drive and umpires ruled no catch. The second baseman flipped to the shortstop at second for the force out and then on to first base to get Stemp at first. The Cougar baserunner who started the play at second ran to third where another Cougar baserunner was standing who thought the ball was caught. In the midst of this confusion, the Northeastern first baseman ran over to third and tagged both runners. The umpire called out the Cougar who started at second base, giving NU a triple play.
Following the fourth-inning homer, Hamilton settled in and dominated. He retired the final two hitters to end the fourth, struck out the side in the fifth, recorded two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 sixth and got two quick outs to start the seventh. The Huskies loaded the bases with consecutive infield singles and a walk to chase Hamilton. Reliever Trenton Dupre ended the inning with a groundout.
While Hamilton dealt, the Cougar offense continued to put runners on base but could not get a run across. WSU stranded two runners in the fifth, left a runner on second to end the sixth and saw two more left on second and third to end the seventh. Northeastern added another run in the ninth on a throwing error.
GAME NOTES…Dugan Shirer extended his hitting streak to six games and stole his team-leading fifth base…the series continues Friday at 4 p.m.
