Huskies Explode for 14 Runs to Even Series with WSU
PULLMAN, Wash. -- The Washington Huskies came alive on offense, putting up 14 runs on Friday afternoon to secure a win and even things up with Washington State in the Boeing Apple Cup Series.
Tyson Guerrero set the tone on the mound for UW and the offense had his back, giving him plenty of run support to help him pick up his third win of the season. Guerrero pushed himself to a season-high 111 pitches through 5.2 innings of work. Despite giving up 4 runs, Guerrero induced a pair of big double-plays to help keep the Cougars from having a chance to make a comeback.
The Huskies got on the board right away, started by Will Simpson reaching on an error. After Christian Jones doubled him to third, Michael Brown drove him in on an RBI groundout to make it 1-0.
WSU had an answer in the third inning, using three consecutive singles to tie the game at 1-1. Guerrero got the number three hitter to ground into a 5-4-3 double play, but another single would make it 2-1 in favor of the Cougars.
A day after an 8-run inning spelled the demise of UW, the Huskies would return the favor in the fourth with a big inning of their own. They would send nine batters to the plate before the first out was recorded and put 6 runs on the board.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Braiden Ward hit a line drive right back up the middle and off the leg of the WSU pitcher to score Michael Snyder from third. Michael Petrie then singled through the left side to score Ramon Bramasco and Noah Hsue. Back-to-back-to-back singles by Preston Viltz, Will Simpson and Christian Jones would make it a 7-2 advantage for UW.
The Cougars would load the bases with no outs themselves in the bottom half, but Guerrero got a double-play and fly out to get out of the inning allowing just one run.
Simpson would give Guerrero more cushion in the fifth when he singled into center field to score Petrie and Viltz and make it 9-3 in favor of the Huskies. A Braiden Ward RBI double in the sixth would put the team in double-digits and make it a 10-3 game. And while the Cougars would get another run back in the home half of the sixth, UW put the game out of reach for good in the seventh.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Michael Snyder lifted a high fly ball into right field that took the fielder back to the warning track where the ball would ultimately be dropped, scoring all three runs and putting Snyder on third. Ramon Bramasco added an RBI single for good measure and the Huskies took a 14-4 lead.
Six different UW hitters in Preston Viltz, Will Simpson, Christian Jones, Ramon Bramasco, Braiden Ward and Michael Petrie all had multiple hits, with Viltz scoring a team-high three runs and Simpson having a team-best three RBIs as well.
Ward stole another two bases, bringing his season total to 34, which leads the Pac-12 by six with one game remaining.
The series finale will be Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., with the Huskies looking to end the season with two straight series wins in the Pac-12.