March 15, 2006
Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. - Washington State starting pitcher Wayne Daman held the Lafayette bats in check, surrendering just five hits in a 10-2 win on Wednesday in the third round of the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic at Fresno State.
The Leopards did not get to Daman (5-0) until the seventh inning when Lafayette put together three straight hits to score their first run of the game. Daman allowed just five hits in eight innings and struck out seven while walking two.
Washington State (17-4) touched up Lafayette starter Ted Gjeldum for a run in the top of the second. With runners on first and second, Jim Murphy, ripped a sinking liner to centerfield where James Conrad made a sliding stop on one hop. Conrad kept the ball in front of him and threw to second for the second out of the inning. Gjeldum struck out the final batter to end the frame.
Lafayette was two feet short of taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Kevin Leasure reached base when was hit by an 0-2 pitch. With two outs in the inning, Frank Cortazar stared at a 2-0 count following a mound visit by the Washington State coach coaching staff. Cortazar pulled the next offering from Daman deep to right where Jared Prince made a leaping catch and robbed Cortazar of a two-run home run.
The Cougars tacked on a run in the top of the third and two more in the fourth. Prince's single through the left side of the diamond handed WSU a 2-0 lead in the third. In the next inning, the Cougars were aided by a Lafayette error. The Leopards did cut down a runner at the plate, but two others came plateward when Simi Reynolds smoked a double off the first base bag with two outs in the frame. Both runs were unearned.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Leopards put runners on first and second when Leasure singled and Tom Ambrosole reached on an error. Daman and Washington State found their way out of trouble, by enticing Lafayette into a 1-6-3 doubleplay.
In the top of the fifth, Travis Coulter struck out swinging, but reached safely after a high throw to first from catcher Dave Drechsel on a wild third strike. Freshman firstbaseman Chris Luick, who was making his second start of the season, made an acrobatic catch on the throw. He swiped the bag, but a close call put Coulter on safely before Prince (3-for-4, 3 RBI) put a ball over the wall into the rightfield pavilion that gave Washington State a 6-0 advantage.
Cortazar again came up just short of a round-tripper in the bottom of the seventh. He drove a ball deep to the rightfield fence where it hit off the wall near the .370 mark. An infield hit by Luick (2-for-4) brought Drechsel to the plate. His fly ball to right was not deep enough to score Cortazar, but Dan Bierce's single through the left side did the job and put Lafayette on the board, 8-1.
Lafayette added a run in their final at-bat. Singles by Ambrosole and Luick made the final 10-2. The play seemingly ended after Luick's single, but the Washington State third baseman threw the ball away when trying to get it back to the pitcher and allowed Ambrosole to score.
Gjeldum (1-2) pitched into the sixth, but was lifted for Jason Morytko after giving up a lead-off double. Gjeldum allowed six runs (three earned) on eight hits, struck out three and walked two. Morytko finished off the sixth and pitched the seventh. He surrendered two runs in the seventh and gave up a pair of doubles. Nick Tucker tossed a scoreless eighth, but was hit for two runs in the ninth.
Lafayette will play a doubleheader on Thursday, facing Gonzaga (12-9) at 10 a.m. (Pacific) followed by a make-up game vs. Bucknell (4-7) scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (Pacific).
