Cougs Double Up Aztecs

College baseball

Washington State third baseman Ray Hattenburg went 3 for 5 with a two-run home run and three RBIs to lead the Cougars to a 6-3 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs on Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

WSU starter Reggie Rivard and SDSU ace Ben Julianel were locked in a scoreless duel through the first four innings, but in the end neither one stuck around long enough to pick up a decision.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard first with a two-out, three-run rally in the top of the fifth inning. WSU ripped five straight singles in the rally to take a 3-0 lead.

The Aztecs cut the lead to 3-2 on a run-scoring double by Edgar Gonzalez and back-to-back bunt singles by Rory Shortell and Andy Litteral to chase WSU starter Reggie Rivard. Matt O’Brien came in and squelched the rally with three straight outs.

San Diego State knotted the score at 3-3 in the sixth, but the Cougs retook the lead in the seventh when Justin Williams scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Hattenburg’s two-run home run in the ninth provided the Cougars with some insurance runs.

WSU improves to 5-9 on the season, while SDSU falls to 10-8.

Barry Matthews drove in four runs with a pair of home runs to propel the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a 10-5 non-conference victory over the Washington Huskies at Husky Ballpark in Seattle on Sunday.

The win gave the Bulldogs a split in the four game series with Huskies.

Jared Hertz’s two-run double in the fifth inning gave the Bulldogs (5-3) a 6-5 lead and Matthews added a three-run homer in the sixth to pad the lead.

Gonzaga reliever Sean Lichter (1-0) pitched the final 6-2/3 innings to pick up the win. He gave up just three hits and no runs while fanning eight.

Ed Erickson homered and drove in three runs for Washington (3-6).

Gonzaga opens its home season next weekend as the Bulldogs host Pepperdine University in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams.

The three-game series at August/A.R.T. Stadium will start with a 2:30 p.m. single game on Friday followed by an 11:00 a.m. double-header on Saturday.

The Whitman College Tournament was canceled because of rain.

Whitworth was to have played a conference counter game against Whitman in the tourney. That game will be made up in Walla Walla on March 25.