March 21, 2000
Box Score
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Senior Ray Hattenburg was 3-for-5 and junior Jason Grove hit his first home run of the year coming off injury to help lead the Washington State Cougar baseball team to its fourth straight win with a 11-7 victory over non-conference rival Lewis-Clark State Tuesday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field.
The win pulled WSU to within one game of the .500 mark at 12-13 and have now won five of their last six games. The LCSC Warriors saw its 18-game winning streak come to an end, but still boast a record of 23-4 in 2000. The Warriors are currently ranked No. 1 in the NAIA rankings that were released this week.
WSU starter Donny Davis (Richmond, Calif.) was shaky in his second start of 2000 and recorded the no-decision. Sophomore Sean Donlin (Woodinville, Wash.) picked up the win out of the bullpen, despite allowing four hits and three runs in his only inning of pitching. The Cougars got a big outing out of senior Les McTavish (Slave Lake, Alberta), as the right-hander provided three innings of three-hit, scoreless ball. Matt O'Brien (Seattle, Wash.) slammed the door on the Warriors in the ninth to pick up his third save and second in as many games.
LCSC starter Mike Chavez was roughed up in his outing, allowing five runs to cross the plate in three innings. Chavez picked up the no-decision as the Warriors tied the game in the fifth frame. Reliever Anthony Ferrari absorbed the loss, giving up three runs in his two-inning appearance.
WSU started the scoring with a single tally in the first, and then added two runs in each the second and third innings. With the Cougs holding a commanding 5-1 lead after four innings, LCSC pulled right back into the game with four runs in the fifth. After a leadoff double and a walk, second baseman Yoshi Kimura provided the big blow with a three-run home run. The Warriors pulled on the very next at-bat when University of Washington transfer Kyle Woods hit a solo home run.
Not to be outdone in the slugfest, the Cougars answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to forge into a 8-5 lead. Redshirt freshman Stefan Bailie (Mesa, Wash.) led the inning off his team-leading sixth homer of the year. Consecutive singles from Hattenburg (Spokane, Wash.) and Wes Falkenborg (Redmond, Wash.) set the table for senior Jordan Nilsen who plated both runners with a double to left field.
LCSC pulled back to within one run in the top of the sixth with Gil Pierce's two-run home run providing the damage. Leading by one, WSU answered with a two-out, run-scoring single by Hattenburg. The Cougs extended their lead to 11-7 in the bottom of the seventh. Preseason All-American Grove pinch-hit and drove a ball over the left field fence for his first homer of the year.
LCSC tried to rally in the late innings, but McTavish held the Warrior bats in check by not allowing a hit until his third inning of relief pitching. O'Brien slammed the door on the Cougar win with a perfect ninth inning. The senior lefty continues to dominate in late-inning situations, as he is now 5-0 on the year with three saves and a 1.80 ERA. He has also not given up a run in his last 8.1 innings of pitching.
Hattenburg led the Cougs with his eighth multiple-hit game of the year and upped his season batting average to .327 by going 3-for-5. Bookie Gates, Bailie and Nilsen also chipped in two hits apiece for the Cougs as they recorded the most hits they have had in a game since Feb. 13 (Gonzaga). Defensively the Cougars were solid with only one error, but even more importantly they turned five double plays which tied a school record.
The Cougars will look to continue its four-game winning streak this weekend with a three-game Pac-10 series against No. 20 USC. The Cougars are currently sitting atop the Pac-10 standings with a 2-1 record. The conference series will start with a 7 p.m. game Friday night at Dedeaux Field on the USC campus.
LCSC 010 042 000 - 7 13 3
WSU 122 031 20x - 11 15 1
Mike Chavez, Anthony Ferrari (4), David Aguilar (6), Kyle Correa (7),
Wes Hutchinson (8), and Gabe Boruff, Gil Pierce.
Donny Davis, Sean Donlin (5), Les McTavish (6), Matt O'Brien (9), and
Ryan Smith, Jon Baeder (8).
W - Donlin (1-0),L - Ferrari (0-1), S - O'Brien (3).
HR - Woods (3), Pierce (1), Kimura (4) Bailie (6), Grove (1).
T - 3:01, A - 519.
LCSC Hits - Woods 3, Strankman, Koshelnik, Ellison 3, Brown, Boruff, Pierce, Kimura 2.
WSU Hits - Bailie 2, Hattenburg 3, Falkenborg, Curran 2, Gates 2, Nilsen 2, Knight, Grove.
E - Koshelnik (5), Kline (6), Chavez, Stevenson (6_.
2B - Ellison (15), Brown (7), Bailie (6), Gates (3), Nilsen (6).
c-o-u-g-s
Copy by Jeff R. Evans
WSU Sports Information
