Cougar Diamond Notes

Feb. 4, 2000

Ray Hattenburg owns the Aggies: Hattenburg upped his WSU career batting average to .354 (179x505) in his Cougar career with a 3-for-5 game against the Texas A&M Aggies Friday. Not only is the 1999 All-Pac-10 selection a proven hitter on the diamond, but he is also a proven Aggie killer. In four career games against A&M, the switch-hitting Hattenburg is 6-for-9 (.667) with four runs scored and a triple.

Ryan Smith triples his way through New Mexico: Next to the inside-the-park home run, the triple is the rarest hit in the game. But for some reason, when WSU senior catcher Ryan Smith visits the state of New Mexico, they come easily. Smith hit a triple off the base of the left field wall Friday and connected on two in a Feb. 14 game last year vs. New Mexico State. Three of Smith's four career triples have come in the state of New Mexico.

WSU vs. ranked opponents: In 1999 the Cougars struggled against nationally ranked opponents, with a 1-10 record. Although the Cougs nearly beat No. 1 Florida State and No. 3 Stanford, the team could only muster a win over No.22 USC on March 27. The last time the Cougs had beaten a team ranked in the top 20 was over cross-state rival Washington on April 4, 1998. The Cougs last win over a non-conference opponent was a 17-12 triumphant over then No. 6 ranked Arizona State when they were in the now defunct Pac-8 South.

Did You Know Russ Swan was an Aggie: The Cougars main connection to the Aggies was the fact that current WSU pitching coach Russ Swan played two years for A&M. As a junior in 1985 Swan was 3-0 on the mound and in 1986 he pitched 40.1 innings and struck out 43 hitters.

Stefan Bailie comes out of the gates strong: It hasn't taken redshirt freshman Stefan Bailie long to get used to the comforts of college pitching. Through two games the Cougars starting first baseman is hitting at a .444 (4x9) clip with a run scored.

Knight's debut a success: Junior transfer Mike Knight wasted no time getting his first hit in a WSU Cougar uniform. Knight, a transfer from Laney College in Calif., was 2-for-4 with a run-scoring double.

Runnin' Wild: Last year the Cougar baseball squad attempted only 69 steals and were successful on 48 tries. This year Steve Farrington's squad is runnin' wild with a plethora of speed in the lineup. Ray Hattenburg leads WSU with two steals, and Shawn Stevenson and Jordan Nilsen each having one.

The debut of the Gray Sleeveless: The Cougars made their debut in their new gray sleeveless jerseys and will most likely be wearing them more as they upset No. 19 Texas A&M.

Grove has surgery on hand: Jason Grove, the Cougars All-American outfielder/pitcher, was absent from the lineup Friday and did not even make the trip to Albuquerque with the team. Grove, who is a career .359 hitter with 30 home runs in his two-year WSU career, will be out of the lineup for 3-6 weeks after having surgery on his right hand. The hammate bone in his right hand was broken during batting practice before the first game at LCSC. The injury is similar to one endured by Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. two years ago. Griffey broke the same bone and was out of the M's lineup from June 20-July 13. After the injury Griffey hit .361 with 11 homers in July, .277 in August, and .300 in Sept.

Meldahl tough against ranked opponents: Todd Meldahl has a flair for the dramatic in his Cougar career. Several time in his three years in a Cougar uniform has he faced nationally ranked opponents and faired well. The most recent being Friday's win over No. 19 Texas A&M in which he struck out seven and allowed only two runs in 7.2 innings. Meldahl pitched well enough to earn wins against No. 1 Florida State, No. 3 Stanford and Arizona State.

Almost making the Aggies rewrite the record books: Meldahl had a shutout going into the eighth inning before giving up a pair of runs. If the shutout would have remained, it would have been the first for A&M since the 1995 season against Texas Tech.

Washington State University Athletics

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