Block Strikes Out 10 as Cougars Pull Away Late

Saturday, March 7

Pullman, WA

4:05 PM

Washington State University

8-6

Niagara

5-7

Niagara

Washington State

March 07, 2020 | Baseball

Box Score WSU-Niagara BOX 3 Highlights Brian Green Postgame Jack Smith Postgame

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

PULLMAN, Wash. – Senior lefthander A.J. Block struck out 10 for the third straight start and the Cougars tallied 12 hits in a 10-4 victory over Niagara at Bailey-Brayton Field Saturday. The start of the game was postponed three hours after wet conditions in the morning.

Washington State recorded its third straight win over the Purple Eagles after Jack Smith and Kyle Manzardo each collected four hits and scored three times. Smith and Tyler Lasch each drove in two runs in support of Block who matched a career-high in strikeouts and allowed four runs in 6.2 innings.

In the first, the Cougars were able to push three runs across as Smith brought home Brady Hill with an RBI-single through the right side and WSU added two more on a Collin Montez RBI-groundout and a Niagara passed pall.

Block worked around a couple jams in the early innings before Niagara pushed a run across in the fourth on a failed rundown by the Cougars. In the fifth, Smith started the inning with a single up the middle, Manzardo then pulled a double down the right field line and Montez worked a walk to load the bases. Justin Van De Brake brought a run home with sacrifice fly to left field and Preston Clifford added an RBI-groundout to push the lead to 5-1. WSU added a run in the sixth on Smith's RBI-single through the left side that scored Gianni Tomasi who singled to start the inning.

Niagara chased Block with a two-out single in the seventh and added two more runs on a two-run single off the Cougar bullpen. Washington State scored a run on a Niagara throwing error in the seventh and pulled away with three more runs in the eighth highlighted by a two-run single from Lasch that saw a third run come across on Niagara's sixth error of the game.

Cougar reliever Brody Barnum worked the final 2.1 innings to close things out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Manzardo singled in the 1^st inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games
Manzardo recorded his 3^rd career 4-hit game
Smith recorded a career-high 4 hits

NEXT UP
The series wraps up Sunday at 1:05 p.m.