May 16, 2000

Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Junior left fielder Justin Williams went 3-for-4 and hit a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a six-run rally and give the Washington State Cougar baseball team a thrilling 14-11 non-conference win over the Lewis-Clark State Warriors Tuesday evening at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

The win pushed the Cougars season record to 18-35 and finished the year 2-2 against the Warriors. The NAIA No. 1 LCSC Warriors, who only has one game left in the regular season before hosting the NAIA World Series, fell to 52-12.

The dramatic ending started in the bottom of the ninth with the Cougs trailing 11-8. After WSU held an 8-3 lead after six innings, LCSC exploded for seven runs in the seventh and a single tally in the eighth to build an 11-8 advantage. Freshman catcher Jon Baeder started the Cougar rally in the bottom of the ninth with a single to right field. Sophomore center fielder Evan Hecker followed with a sharp single down the right field line and then a bunt base hit by senior Shawn Stevenson loaded the bases.

Facing the exact situation in which he struck out against the same pitcher (Wes Hutchison) one week earlier in Lewiston, WSU's leading hitter Ray Hattenburg made redemption out of his strikeout with his second bases loaded single of the game. Baeder scored easily on Hattenburg's single and Hecker brought the Cougs to within one when he scored on a throwing error by LCSC center fielder Jason Ellison.

After a nice play by Hutchison to force Stevenson out at home, Williams stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. With a 2-0 count the Spokane, Wash., native and North Central High product belted a fastball over the center field fence for his second career home run to give the Cougs their second walk-off win in the last week. Before an 8-7 win over Cal State-Northridge last Friday in which Jordan Nilsen hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, the Cougs hadn't hit a game-ending home run since April 18, 1998 when Steve Curran beat the Washington Huskies with a two-run blast.

"I was just looking for something to drive and I had a good count on the pitcher and put it over the fence. I am still shaking from all the excitement," said Williams after he hit his game-winning grand slam. "We battled tonight and got a big win and that can say a lot for a team that hasn't had the best of seasons."

Before the dramatics in the ninth, the Cougars seemingly seemed to have the win under their belt while riding the solid pitching of freshman Nick Kenyon. Kenyon allowed only three runs in the first five innings, but tired to end up giving up three more in the top of the sixth. Regardless, the South Kitsap High grad turned in a gutsy performance in which he scattered nine hits in a career-high six-plus innings pitched.

WSU jumped to the 8-3 lead by manufacturing runs and coming up with clutch hits. The Cougar lineup, despite leaving 12 men on base, contributed six infield hits and two sacrifices. Hattenburg added a two-run single in the four-run fifth to help pad the WSU lead.

In the seventh the Warriors came back with a surge of seven runs off of five hits. After a leadoff walk to Kurt Koshelnik, LCSC rattled of four consecutive singles. Designated hitter Brandon O'Leary plated two runs with a single to left field and right fielder Ray Vodegel added two more with a sharp single up the middle.

The come-from-behind victory made a winner of relief pitcher Zach Fisher, also a product of South Kitsap High School, who threw three solid innings while allowing only one earned run. Fisher improved to 3-4 with the win, ending a streak of three consecutive losses. Hutchison took the loss for LCSC by giving up six runs in 1.2 innings to fall to 2-2 in 2000.

Hattenburg added his team-leading 23rd multiple-hit game by going 3-for-6 with three RBI. His three-hit game (ninth of the year) raised his team-leading batting average to .348. Williams, who hit the Cougs' first grand slam of the year since Jon Baeder's slam Feb. 13 against Gonzaga, finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and scored two runs. Baeder added two hits in his only at-bats to raise his batting average over the .200 (.212) mark for the first time this year. Stevenson and Hecker also added two hits apiece for WSU.

The Cougars will conclude the 105th season of Washington State baseball this weekend with a three-game series against Pac-10 rival Oregon State at Bailey-Brayton Field. The series will consist of games Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Senior Day on Sunday.

LCSC  210  000  710 -  11  14  3
WSU   102  041  006 -  14  15  3
Anthony Ferrari, Nick Stelzner (4), Mike Chavez (6), Wes Hutchison (8), and J.R. Diaz.
Nick Kenyon, Donny Davis (7), Zach Fisher (7), and Ryan Smith, Jon Baeder.
W - Fisher (3-4),L - Hutchison (2-2), S - None, HR - Williams (2).
T - 3:02, A - 281.
CSUN Hits - Strankman 2, Brown 3, O'Leary, Woods 4, Kline, Vodegel 3.
WSU Hits - Hecker 2, Stevenson 2, Hattenburg 3, Bailie, Perreira, Gates, Williams 3, Baeder 2.