PULLMAN, Wash. (April 30, 2022) – Washington State starting pitcher
Grant Taylor worked seven innings as the Cougars evened the series with a 4-2 win over USC at Bailey-Brayton Field Saturday evening.
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Taylor recorded a career-high eight strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on five hits in seven innings to earn the win. WSU (18-23, 8-15 Pac-12) collected 10 hits led by a three-hit effort from
Justin Van De Brake along with two-hit games from
Bryce Matthews and
Jacob McKeon.
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Matthews and Van De Brake each drove in a run for the Cougars who scored twice in the second, received a Van De Brake go-ahead RBI-single in the fifth and added a Matthews RBI-singled in the eighth. Reliever
Caden Kaelber retired all five batters he faced to earn his fourth save of the season
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USC dropped to 21-19 overall and 6-14 in conference play.
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KEY MOMENTS OF THE GAME
In the first inning, USC loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch and scored on a two-out balk call.
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In the second, WSU answered with a pair runs as the USC first baseman fielded a ground ball and threw home but the throw was low and
Justin Van De Brake touched the plate.
Kyle Russell followed with an RBI-groundout to give WSU a 2-1 lead. USC evened things up with a solo homer to left field in the third inning.
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In the fifth, Smith won an 11-pitch battle with a two-out single through the left side, McKeon followed with a single to right field and Van De Brake followed with a two-out single back up the middle to score Smith for the go-ahead run.
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Taylor settled in after the early USC runs and retired the last nine hitters he faced, ending the sixth and seventh innings with strikeouts.
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In the eighth, USC put runners on first and second with out against the WSU bullpen but releiver
Caden Kaelber entered the game and ended the threat with a pair of flyouts. WSU added a run in the bottom of the inning after a walk, a fielding error and a two-out RBI-single through the left side by Matthews for a 4-2 lead.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bryce Matthews doubled in the 1
st inning to extend his hitting streak to 7 games
McKeon extended his hitting streak to 9 games and on-base streak to 13 games
WSU has collected double-digit hits for the 7
th straight game
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NEXT UP
The series wraps up Sunday at 12:05 p.m. on Pac-12 Washington.
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