PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State put runners on first and second in ninth inning but No. 8 Stanford turned away the rally to post a 5-3 victory at Bailey-Brayton Field Friday afternoon.
 
The Cougars (24-28, 10-19 Pac-12) put runners on with one out in the ninth but the Cardinal (39-14, 20-9 Pac) ended the game with a strikeout and groundout. Sophomore shortstop Andres Alvarez led WSU with three hits and a run scored while junior third baseman Shane Matheny tallied two hits and drove in a run. Junior designated hitter Cory Meyer and freshman catch Cal Waterman each singled in a run in the sixth.
 
WSU redshirt-junior starter Damon Jones was impressive against the nation's eighth-ranked team, going a career-best 6.1 innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out two.  
 
Washington State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and Alvarez led off with an infield single to second base. Freshman second baseman Dillon Plew followed with a sacrifice bunt that Stanford threw wide to first to put runners on first and second. Matheny delivered a single to center after squaring around to bunt to score Alvarez from second.
 
Stanford took advantage of a couple infield singles and an error, evening things up at 1-1 with a two-out single to left field. Jones settled in and posted zeros over the next four innings, allowing just a single in the fourth inning before exiting after issuing a one-out walk in the seventh.
 
In the sixth, Matheny led off the inning with a single to centerfield and was bunted to second by James Rudkin. One batter later, Meyer delivered a two-out single back up the middle to score Matheny for a 2-1 lead. Junior left fielder Blake Clanton followed with a single to centerfield and Waterman pushed the Cougar lead to 3-1 with a single to left, scoring Meyer from second.
 
Stanford made their move in the seventh, scoring four runs after the one-out walk. Stanford singled to put two runners on and a wild pitch moved both runners up before a double to left centerfield scored both runners, tying the game at 3-3. The next batter doubled down the left field line which was followed an RBI-single for 5-3 Stanford lead.
 
WSU received one-out singles through the left side by Alvarez and Plew in the ninth. Cardinal closer Colton Hock ended the rally with a strike out and a ground out.
 
The series wraps up Saturday at 1 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
 
GAME NOTES…Alvarez recorded his team-best sixth 3-hit game of the season…Alvarez and Matheny each recorded their 17^th multiple-hit game of the season, tying Justin Harrer for the team high…Scotty Sunitsch made his 28^th appearance of the season, tying for eighth-most in WSU history…Sunitsch also made his 71^st career appearance, moving into a tie for eighth-most in school history.