COLORADO SPRINGS (Interstat) — Washington State erupted for 14 runs on 17 hits to defeat Air Force 14-4 in an afternoon game Saturday at Falcon Baseball Field, extending the Cougars’ winning streak to two games and improving their record to 27-23 overall. The Falcons dropped to 23-24.

The decisive moment came in the top of the first inning, when Washington State sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs. Griffin Smith led off with a single, advanced to second on a bunt single by Gavin Roy and then scored on a double to right field by Max Hartman. After a walk to Chase Priest, Ryan Skjonsby singled to left center and drove in Roy and Hartman. Austin Ben followed with a double to left center that scored Priest, giving the Cougars a 4-0 lead before Air Force recorded its third out.

That burst proved more than enough for starting pitcher Griffin Smith, who delivered his second consecutive dominant performance. Smith threw six innings, allowing no hits and two earned runs while striking out six batters. He had thrown a six-inning shutout against Fresno State on May 2, yielding three hits and no earned runs with five strikeouts. On Saturday, Smith worked around defensive miscues that led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the first and one more unearned run in the third. He retired the side in order in the second, fourth and fifth innings, stifling the Falcons after the early errors.

Washington State added three runs in the second inning. Smith walked, Roy walked, and Hartman bunted for a single to load the bases. Priest’s sacrifice fly scored Smith, and Dustin Robinson singled to center to drive in Roy and Hartman, extending the lead to 7-2. The Cougars tacked on three more in the fourth, keyed by a two-run single from Skjonsby that scored Priest and Robinson, making it 10-3. A solo run in the fifth on Roy’s double to left field that scored Macleod pushed the lead to 11-3, and three runs in the sixth capped the scoring. Ben doubled, Northrop doubled him home, Smith doubled to drive in Northrop, and Hartman singled to score Smith.

Offensively, four Washington State hitters produced multiple hits. Gavin Roy went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored and an RBI. Hartman finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in. Robinson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Trevor Smith went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Skjonsby drove in four runs on two hits, including the key two-run single in the first. Ollie Obenour added two hits and an RBI.

Air Force scratched across its four runs on seven hits. Christian Taylor doubled to deep center in the sixth inning to drive in Garrish for the Falcons’ final run. The Falcons used three pitchers, with starter Dillinger failing to record an out before being replaced by Estridge. Easton Miller pitched 1 1/3 innings for Air Force, allowing one hit and no earned runs with one strikeout.

The game marked the second straight win for Washington State over Air Force, following an 11-2 victory Friday. The two teams are scheduled to conclude the series Sunday.

Scott Rienguette relieved Smith in the seventh inning and retired the side on two strikeouts, preserving the 10-run margin.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Air Force 6, Washington State 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Air Force with a 54.90 percent probability to win.