Washington State University Athletics
Griffin Smith Fires Gem, WSU Evens Series at San Jose State
April 03, 2026 | Baseball
SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 3, 2026) – Senior righthander Griffin Smith worked into the ninth inning before Scott Rienguette recorded the final two outs to close out a 5-3 victory at San Jose State Friday afternoon.
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Smith allowed just one solo homer in the seventh and retired the first hitter he faced in the ninth before giving way to Rienguette who notched his third save after recording the final two outs. Smith earned the win after scattering six hits, allowed three earned runs, struck out two and did not issue a walk. The senior from Appleton, Wisc. Attached hitters and was efficient with his pitch count throughout the afternoon, needing 10 or fewer pitches to get through an inning six times and retired eight straight at one point during the middle innings.
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WSU backed Smith with a four-run second inning highlighted by a Alexandre Giguere RBI-triple and a two-run single from Matt Priest before Ryan Skjonsby delivered an RBI-single in the eighth inning. SJSU scored twice in the ninth before Ringuette ended the game with a popout to Gavin Roy at second base.
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Giguere recorded a pair of hits along with a stolen base while Priest drove in two runs.
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Washington State improved to 13-16 overall and 6-5 in Mountain West play while SJSU dropped to 13-17 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
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KEY MOMENTS OF THE GAME
The Cougars struck for four runs in the second inning as Giguere tripled past the SJSU centerfielder to score Ryan Skjonsby and later scored on Dustin Robinson's sacrifice fly. A couple batters later, Priest bounced a two-run singled back up the middle for a 4-0 advantage.
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Smith ended the fourth inning with a 6-4-3 double play and closed a scoreless fifth with a strikeout while retiring eight straight hitters at one point. The Spartans got on the board with a leadoff solo homer in the seventh before retiring the next three hitters on seven pitches.
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Skjonsby singled home a run in the eighth inning to push the lead to 5-1. In the ninth, Smith gave way to Rienguette after a pair of one-out doubles who worked around a single and sealed up the win with a flyout and game-ending popout.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Gavin Roy walked in the 1st to extend his on-base streak to 16 games
Ryan Skjonsby walked in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 12 games
Kyler Northrop singled in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 11 games and hitting streak to 5 games
Matt Priest singled in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 7 games
Rienguette earned his 3rd save of the season
Ollie Obenour had his 11-game on-base streak snapped
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ON DECK
The series wraps up Saturday at 11:35 a.m.
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Smith allowed just one solo homer in the seventh and retired the first hitter he faced in the ninth before giving way to Rienguette who notched his third save after recording the final two outs. Smith earned the win after scattering six hits, allowed three earned runs, struck out two and did not issue a walk. The senior from Appleton, Wisc. Attached hitters and was efficient with his pitch count throughout the afternoon, needing 10 or fewer pitches to get through an inning six times and retired eight straight at one point during the middle innings.
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WSU backed Smith with a four-run second inning highlighted by a Alexandre Giguere RBI-triple and a two-run single from Matt Priest before Ryan Skjonsby delivered an RBI-single in the eighth inning. SJSU scored twice in the ninth before Ringuette ended the game with a popout to Gavin Roy at second base.
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Giguere recorded a pair of hits along with a stolen base while Priest drove in two runs.
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Washington State improved to 13-16 overall and 6-5 in Mountain West play while SJSU dropped to 13-17 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
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KEY MOMENTS OF THE GAME
The Cougars struck for four runs in the second inning as Giguere tripled past the SJSU centerfielder to score Ryan Skjonsby and later scored on Dustin Robinson's sacrifice fly. A couple batters later, Priest bounced a two-run singled back up the middle for a 4-0 advantage.
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Smith ended the fourth inning with a 6-4-3 double play and closed a scoreless fifth with a strikeout while retiring eight straight hitters at one point. The Spartans got on the board with a leadoff solo homer in the seventh before retiring the next three hitters on seven pitches.
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Skjonsby singled home a run in the eighth inning to push the lead to 5-1. In the ninth, Smith gave way to Rienguette after a pair of one-out doubles who worked around a single and sealed up the win with a flyout and game-ending popout.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Gavin Roy walked in the 1st to extend his on-base streak to 16 games
Ryan Skjonsby walked in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 12 games
Kyler Northrop singled in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 11 games and hitting streak to 5 games
Matt Priest singled in the 2nd to extend his on-base streak to 7 games
Rienguette earned his 3rd save of the season
Ollie Obenour had his 11-game on-base streak snapped
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ON DECK
The series wraps up Saturday at 11:35 a.m.
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Players Mentioned
WSU Baseball: Highlights at San Jose State | 4/4/26
Saturday, April 04
WSU Baseball: "Proud" | Nathan Choate/Dustin Robinson/Luke Meyers San Jose State Postgame | 4/4/26
Saturday, April 04
WSU Baseball: "The Art of Pitching" | Nathan Choate/Griffin Smith San Jose State Postgame | 4/3/26
Saturday, April 04
WSU Baseball: "Put Ourselves in a Hole" | Nathan Choate San Jose State Postgame | 4/2/26
Friday, April 03



















