Washington State, boosted by its Spokane talent, upsets 11th-ranked Gonzaga

PULLMAN – Powered by Spokane products, Washington State knocked off Spokane’s team.

Infielder Elijah Hainline, a standout true freshman out of Mead High, tallied two RBI knocks in the clutch while three WSU relievers, all Eastern Washington natives, held No. 11 Gonzaga’s bats in check during a 6-5 Cougar win Tuesday night at Bailey-Brayton Field.

“Great motivation to come out and play against the team that I grew up watching,” Hainline said.

Hainline sent a two-run, two-out double to center field to put WSU (17-22) up one in the fifth. He again broke a tie with an RBI single in the seventh. The Zags (26-12) evened it up in the eighth before Cougar slugger Jacob McKeon, the Pac-12’s reigning player of the week, lined an RBI single to right field to fashion the final tally.

Spokane native pitchers McKabe Cottrell (Freeman High) and Cam Liss (Ferris), and Pasco’s Caden Kaelber – who, like the others, also formerly attended Spokane Falls Community College – combined for eight strikeouts against no walks and three runs across the final six innings. Two Gonzaga batters reached in the ninth before Kaelber closed the door, earning his first win of the year in the process.

“They kept us in the game,” WSU coach Brian Green said of his pitchers. “Gonzaga’s a great program. That’s a great win for us.”

The Cougars tallied a double-digit hit total for the fifth consecutive game. The Bulldogs, one of the nation’s top pitching teams, couldn’t hold down a resurgent WSU offense, which recorded 37 hits in a series win over No. 10 Oregon last weekend and has shown major signs of improvement since falling 12-0 on the road against the Zags in a four-hit clunker April 5.

“I think the guys are playing pretty fearlessly,” Green said. “It’s pretty cool when you feel it in the dugout – somebody scores and we come right back. Our competitive spirit has been really good for about three weeks now.”

The Zags struck first in the second inning, loading the bases with no outs. A two-run single from Enzo Apodaca, who went 3 of 4 on the day, was all the Bulldogs got in the frame.

Infielder Tyler Rando belted a solo home run in the fifth and two-way freshman Cade McGee, also Gonzaga’s starter on the mound, added an RBI bloop single in the seventh.

WSU’s lineup threatened more consistently and at least one Cougar batter reached base in every inning. Veteran outfielder Collin Montez registered an RBI hit in the second and catcher Will Cresswell recorded a sacrifice fly RBI in the fourth.

“Credit to WSU. They put pressure on us every inning,” Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf said. “We just came up one or two hits short.”

WSU remains on the Palouse for its next six games, a homestand that continues Friday evening versus Southern Cal. The Zags begin a seven-game homestand Friday against Loyola Marymount.