LOS ANGELES – Washington State saw its eighth-inning lead slip away in an 8-5 defeat to No. 14 UCLA at Jackie Robinson Field Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cougars held a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning but UCLA scored four times in the frame and held off WSU's ninth-inning rally for the second straight day. Washington State (4-11, 0-2 Pac-12) received three hits from third baseman Dillon Plew and home runs from Justin Harrer and Blake Clanton. UCLA improved to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play despite allowing 12 Cougar hits and committing two errors.
 
In the second inning, UCLA took a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to left field. On the play, the leftfielder Justin Harrer fired to second in time to get the Bruin baserunner who was trying to tag up from first base.
 
The Cougars answered in the third inning, using five hits to score five runs. Jack Smith and Cal Waterman started the inning with singles to left field and were bunted up a base by Mason De La Cruz. Andres Alvarez scored Smith with a sacrifice fly down the right field line that UCLA made a nice catch in foul territory for the second out. Harrer stepped in and hammered the first pitch he saw over the batter's eye in centerfield, his second straight day with a home run. Clanton followed by pulling a homer high over the right field wall for his third homer of the season and a 5-1 Cougar lead.
 
UCLA came right back with a two-run homer in their half of the third to cut the Cougar lead to 5-3 and added another run in fifth for make a it a one-run game, 5-4.
 
Cougar freshman reliever Hayden Rosenkrantz worked a pair of scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth innings before giving way to senior Ryan Walker who started the seventh.
 
Walker ended the seventh with a double play but ran into trouble in the eighth. UCLA opened the inning with a base hit to left center and a walk. The next batter pulled a pitch down the third base line, just past a diving third baseman Dillon Plew for an RBI-double that tied the game 5-5. The next batter was hit by a pitch to load the bases and UCLA took the lead with an RBI-single to centerfield for a 6-5 lead and followed with a two-run single that was poked just past the diving first baseman James Rudkin for an 8-5 advantage.
 
In the ninth, Waterman started the inning by reaching on an error and pinch-hitter Collin Montez chopped a single over the first baseman to set runners up on first and second. Alvarez stepped in and line a pitch deep to left field that the Bruin leftfielder made a leaping catch just in front of the wall to rob Alvarez of extra bases. Plew then lined out to the first baseman who stepped on first for the game-ending double play.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Washington State hit back-to-back home runs for the first time since Hancock and Harrer did so at Long Beach State last season
Jack Smith recorded 2 hits, has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games
Justin Harrer has now hit four home runs in his three seasons against UCLA, two this series
Blake Clanton hit his team-leading 3^rd home run of the season
Mason De La Cruz singled off the pitcher in the 4^th inning for his first career hit
Starter Scotty Sunitsch went 4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, made his 75^th career appearance, tied for 4^th-most in WSU history
Dillion Plew recorded three hits, his second 3-hit game of the season
 
NEXT UP
The series with No. 14 UCLA wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m.