SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Washington State used a six-run eighth inning to post a 10-6 victory over Santa Clara Sunday, splitting the series 2-2.
Freshmen led the way for the Cougars (2-6) as designated hitter
Kyle Manzardo recorded four hit and drove in three runs while fellow freshman third baseman and high school teammate
Kodie Kolden added three hits and three RBI. Freshman
Tyson Guerrero came off the bench to play centerfield in the seventh, singled and walked and came in to close things out in the ninth.
Senior catcher
Rob Teel singled home the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning.
In the second inning, Manzardo got the inning going by punching a two-strike pitch the other way down the left field line for a double and later came home on
Garrett Gouldsmith's RBI-single into right centerfield for a 1-0 advantage.
In the bottom half of the inning, Santa Clara used a leadoff double, a balk and a squeeze bunt to even things at 1-1. Later in the inning, the Broncos took a 2-1 lead with a two-out RBI-single through the right side.
In the third inning, Sinatro pulled a single to right field and later scored on Manzardo's opposite field RBI-double into left centerfield that tied the game at two. In the bottom of the inning, SCU opened the inning back-to-back home runs to left field for a 4-2 advantage.
In the fourth inning, the Cougars loaded the bases with one out but Santa Clara ended the threat with a 4-6-3 double play. WSU put one on the board in the fifth inning as Sinatro was hit by a pitch and
Andres Alvarez singled to right before Manzardo brought home Sinatro with a sacrifice fly to right field. SCU limited the inning by getting a pair of flyouts, stranding a pair of runners and preserving a 4-3 advantage.
In the seventh,
Collin Montez pulled a one-out double just inside the first base bag and down the right field line for a double. A walk and a wild pitch put runners on second and third for Kolden who singled back up the middle to score Montez but the second runner was thrown out by the shortstop who had made a diving stop deep up the middle and fired home to get the second runner and kept it 4-4.
Santa Clara opened their half of the seventh with a solo homer to left, their third solo shot of the game for a 5-4 advantage.
In the eighth, Plew led off with walk and Guerrero followed with a two-strike single into center after taking over in centerfield for Sinatro who was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh. Alvarez followed with a bunt that Santa Clara couldn't make a play on, loading the bases with nobody out. Manzardo stepped in a pulled a single through the right side for a game-tying RBI-single and Teel delivered a go-ahead two-run single to left field for a 7-5 advantage. One batter later, Kolden doubled off the third base bag that scored two and
Brody Barnum followed with a one-out squeeze bunt for a 10-5 Cougar lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Santa Clara used a pair of singles around a wild pitch to push one run across, cutting the WSU lead to 10-6.
In the ninth, the first two SCU hitters singled and the Cougars called in centerfielder
Tyson Guerrero to pitch with runners on the corners and nobody out. The freshman lefthander clinched the win and his first career save by getting a popout, a strikeout and a fly out.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Gouldsmith's RBI-single in the 2
nd gave him a hit in all 4 games of the series
Danny Sinatro singled in the 3
rd inning, extending his on-base streak to 7 straight games
Manzardo recorded a season high 4 hits and 3 RBI
Kodie Kolden recorded a season high 3 hits and 3 RBI
Alvarez singled in the 5
th to extend his hitting streak to 5 straight games
Connor Barison struck out the only batter he faced in the 7
th
Davis Baillie struck out both batters he faced to end the 7
th, earned the win
Dillon Plew walked in the 8
th, has reached base in all 8 games
Tyson Guerrero singled in the 8
th for his first career hit, struck out 1 in the 9
th for 1
st career save
Hayden Rosenkrantz starter, ND, 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 1 BB
NEXT UP
The Cougars will return to Pullman for a four-game series with Nevada beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.
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