SALT LAKE CITY (April 9, 2021) – Washington State collected 15 hits in a 12-7 series-opening win over Utah at Smith's Ballpark Friday evening.
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Five Cougars recorded multiple-hit games led by three-hit performances from senior third baseman
Jack Smith and freshman second baseman
Kyle Russell to helped WSU claim its third straight win and improved to 15-10 overall and 3-7 in Pac-12 Conference play.
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Playing in his first conference game, Russell recorded a career-high three hits, scored twice and drove in three runs including a two-run double. Senior right fielder
Collin Montez doubled and tripled and scored twice while redshirt-junior catcher
Jake Meyer scored three times. Cougar junior starting pitcher
Brandon White improved to 4-2 after working six innings and struck out five.
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Washington State scored in five straight innings beginning with a three-run third, added three more in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and pulled away with three runs in the seventh. The Utes dropped to 7-16 overall and 3-7 in league play.
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KEY MOMENTS OF THE GAME
The Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out in the second but Utah kept them off the board with a strikeout and inning-ending double play. In the third, WSU put runners on the corners with nobody out before left fielder
Jacob McKeon brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, Montez followed with an RBI-triple down the right field line and the lead grew to 3-0 as
Tristan Peterson brought Montez home with a sacrifice fly to right field.
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WSU put up another three runs in the fourth inning for a 6-0 lead as Meyer doubled to right-centerfield and one batter later, Russell brought him home with an RBI-single to right field, senior shortstop
Kodie Kolden followed with a long RBI-triple to centerfield and then scored on a
Kyle Manzardo sacrifice fly to left field.
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In the bottom of the fourth, Utah put runners on first and third with nobody out but White kept them off the scoreboard with a shallow fly out to left field before ending the inning with a 6-4-3 groundball double play.
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WSU opened up an 8-0 lead in the fifth inning as Russell pulled the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a two-out two-run double. The Utes put two runs on the board with a two-run double in their half of the fifth and the Cougars answered with a run on a Peterson RBI-single to centerfield but the Utes came right back with two more runs on a two-out bloop double into centerfield.
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The Cougars pulled away with three runs in the seventh after loading the bases as two runs came home on a fielder's choice ground ball that was thrown away by the Utes on the play and Manzardo later drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to left field that pushed the lead to 12-4.
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Utah scored a run on a Cougar error in the seventh and later loaded the bases but reliever
Michael Newstrom ended the threat with a groundout to first base.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jacob McKeon walked in the 1
st inning to extend his on-base streak to 13 games
Collin Montez tripled in the 3
rd inning, his 2
nd straight game with a triple
Jake Meyer matched a career-high with 3 hits
Reliever
Michael Newstrom made his Pac-12-leading 16
th appearance of the season
Kyle Manzardo drove in 2 runs to push his team-leading RBI total to 31
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NEXT UP
The series continues Saturday at 3 p.m. (PT).
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