Box Score  
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Washington State dropped the opening game of a three-game Pac-12 Conference series 12-3 at USC Friday evening.
 
The Cougars (10-6, 0-1 Pac-12) received two-hit games from Shane Matheny, Cory Meyer and James Rudkin, including a pair of doubles by Rudkin. USC (11-6, 1-0 Pac-12) used 14 hits and took advantage of four WSU errors to take the opening game of conference play for both teams. Redshirt-junior starter Damon Jones suffered the loss after allowing 10 runs but just three earned in 4.2 innings. For the Trojans, righthander Chris Clarke struck out seven in seven innings, allowing three runs.
 
Matheny extended his hitting streak to nine games with a first-inning ground ball single back up the middle. He then stole second and later moved to third on a wild pitch but was stranded after a nice diving play by the Trojans ended the inning.
 
In the second, Rudkin doubled to right centerfield with one out in the second inning and came around to score after the right fielder dropped a fly ball off the bat of Andres Alvarez with two outs, giving WSU a 1-0 advantage.
 
In the third, USC loaded the bases with two outs and used a three-run triple to right center field with two outs to take a 3-1 lead.
 
Washington State answered in the fourth as Rudkin doubled in his second straight at-bat, driving a ball the opposite way down the right field line. One batter later, Alvarez came through with a two-out RBI-hit, bouncing a single back up the middle to score Rudkin and cut the Trojan lead to 3-2.
 
USC came right back with three runs in their half of the fourth, taking advantage of two Cougar errors in the inning to push the lead to 6-2. The Trojans scored four more in the fifth, all with two outs after an error extended the inning and USC built a 10-2 advantage.
 
Matheny later tripled to right centerfield and scored on a Cory Meyer double to right field in the seventh.
 
The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. Righthander Ryan Walker will start on the mound for the Cougars.
 
GAME NOTES… Shane Matheny owns a nine-game hitting streak…James Rudkin has reached base in 13 straight games.