College baseball roundup: Cougars pounce on Utes for 14-5 victory

Washington State took an early three-run lead, fell behind in the fifth inning, then poured it on in the late innings to defeat Utah 14-5 on Thursday in a Pac-12 game in Pullman.

The Cougars led 3-0 entering the fourth inning but the Utes scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Washington State responded with a four-run fifth inning, four more in the seventh and three in the eighth.

JJ Hancock hit a two-run home run in the fifth and a two-run double in the eighth for the Cougars (16-31-1, 8-19-1 Pac-12). James Rudkin, Blake Clanton, Justin Harrer also hit home runs for WSU.

Ryan Walker (4-3) threw three scoreless innings to earn the win, his 13th career relief victory to tie the school record.

Utah dropped to 14-39 overall and 6-22 in league play.

The series continues at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Washington 7, (3) Stanford 0: Levi Jordan hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Huskies went on to defeat the first-place Cardinal in a Pac-12 series opener in Seattle.

Joe Wainhouse hit his 15th home run of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning. In the eighth, Jonathan Schiffer hit a two-run single and Mason Cerrillo followed with a RBI single to close out the scoring.

Lucas Knowles (4-3), Alex Hardy and Joe DeMers (2nd save) combined for the shutout.

CC Spokane 4, Linn-Benton 3: Aaron Fritts cracked a two-run home run in the first inning and the Sasquatch went on to the upset win in the first round of the NWAC championships in Longview, Washington.

The Sasquatch (36-14) advance to the winner’s bracket semifinals on Friday at 7:35 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s late game between Lower Columbia and Everett. Linn-Benton (42-3), which had its 30-game winning streak snapped, will play the loser between Lower Columbia and Everett.