College baseball: Collin Montez leads Washington State past Portland

PORTLAND – Collin Montez clobbered a three-run homer, and five Washington State relievers combined for 6⅓ innings with no earned runs in a 6-4 nonconference baseball win over Portland on Wednesday.

Montez, who finished 2 for 4, spotted the Cougars (10-2) a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with his blast to right field. Portland’s Chad Stevens hit a three-run shot in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game.

Kyle Manzardo’s solo homer in the fifth gave WSU a 4-3 edge, and Jake Meyer’s run-scoring sacrifice fly in the sixth boosted the lead to 5-3.

Jake Holcroft pulled the Pilots (7-8) within 5-4 with an RBI double, but Meyer scored an insurance run in the eighth for WSU to provide the final margin.

Winner Will Sierra (1-1) struck out seven in three innings of relief. Dakota Hawkins pitched 1⅔ innings to earn his first save.

WSU travels to Corvallis, Oregon, for a three-game series against Oregon State beginning Friday.