PULLMAN, Wash. – Derek Jones collected three hits and Ian Sagdal drove in three runs to lead Washington State past Northern Colorado 7-3 in nonconference baseball at Bailey-Brayton Field, Sunday.
With the victory, the Cougars (7-3) took the rubber match in three-game series and closed their homestand with a 6-1 mark.
"We scored in multiple innings and kept pressure on their arms," Washington State Head Coach Donnie Marbut said. "We were a lot more aggressive offensively today and that was good to see."
Northern Colorado (1-6) tallied two runs in the second against Cougar starter Tanner Chleborad before the Cougars tied the game with a single run in both the second and the third.
In the home half of the second, Adam Nelubowich walked to open the inning and Collin Slaybaugh was hit by a pitch. Tommy Richards moved both runners up with a sacrifice and a ground out by Sagdal scored Nelubowich. In the third, Derek Jones doubled with two outs and Nelubowich followed with a single to tie the game 2-2.
The Bears regained the lead with a run in the fourth, but Washington State rallied for three runs in the fifth. Taylor Ard led off with a double and took third on a single by Jones. Nelubowich delivered his second RBI-single of the day, sending Jones to third and tying the game 3-3. Slaybaugh reached on a fielder's choice as Jones came home with the go-ahead run and two batters later, Sagdal singled to plate Slaybaugh.
Sagal added an RBI-single in the seventh and Ard capped the scoring with a run-scoring single in the eighth.
Four Cougar relievers combined to blank the Bears on three hits over the final-five innings. The first of those bullpem hurlers was Joe Pistorese (1-0) who pitched three innings to earn the victory.
Washington State opens a three-game series, Friday at UNLV. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
