NORTHEASTERN (6-5) at WASHINGTON STATE (4-8)
Bailey-Brayton Field (3,500) | March 10-13
Thursday, 4 p.m. | Friday, 4 p.m. | Saturday, 2 p.m. | Sunday, 1 p.m.
COUGARS CONTINUE HOMESTAND AGAINST NORTHEASTERN
Washington State continues its eight-game homestand with a four-game series against Northeastern University (Mass.) beginning Thursday at 4 p.m. Friday's game is set for 4 p.m., Saturday is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch and Sunday's finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
FOLLOW ALONG
Cougar baseball fans can follow all the season's action on the Washington State baseball official twitter page @CougBaseball, instagram page @Coug_Baseball and wsucougars.com. Links to live stats and radio streams will be available at the baseball schedule page on wsucougars.com. Every Cougar home game will be webstreamed through Pac-12.org.
COMING UP
WSU opens Pac-12 Conference play next weekend at UCLA, ranked No. 14 by Baseball America.
LAST WEEKEND
Washington State opened its 2016 home schedule hosting Utah Valley for a four-game series. UVU took three of the four games. WSU took Friday's game 10-1 behind an impressive pitching performance from freshman starter Ryan Ward (5 IP, 8 K, 1 ER) and reliever Ryan Walker (4 IP, 6 K, SV).
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the series with a 4-8 mark and opens Pac-12 play next weekend at UCLA under first-year head coach Marty Lees. Offensively the Cougars are led by Trek Stemp who leads the conference in hits (20), tied for second in stolen bases (4), tied for third in runs (11) and fifth in the conference in batting average (.408). Patrick McGrath owns a .395 batting average with two homers and a team-best 12 RBI, fifth in the Pac-12. As a team, the Cougars lead the league in stolen bases (20), tied for lead in home runs (7) and are fifth in batting average (.287). Last season, Washington State posted a 29-27 record including 11-19 in the Pac-12. WSU returns 13 letterwinners off of last year's club led by two-time All-Pac-12 pitcher Ian Hamilton who has made the move from reliever to starter this season.
COUGAR QUICK HITS
• WSU head coach Marty Lees is in his first season with the Cougars
• Lees and pitching coach Dan Spencer were assistants on Oregon State's National Championship teams (2006-07)
• Assistant coach Jim Horner played for the Cougars (1993-96), earned All-Pac-10 honors at catcher in 1996
• RHP Ian Hamilton owns the WSU record with 28 career saves, two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection
• Hamilton was named to the 2016 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List
• UTL Trek Stemp started the season with an 11-game hitting streak, pinch-hit Sunday and flew out to left
• Catcher Stefan Van Horn's first two hits of his career were both were home runs
• Van Horn is tied for the Pac-12 lead with three home runs
• Four Cougars are tied for second in the Pac-12 with stolen bases (Stemp, Frost, Shirer, Chapman)
• WSU leads the Pac-12 Conference in SB (20-26), tied for the lead in HR (7) and fifth in batting average (.287)
• WSU returns 15 letterwinners from the 2015 club and has welcomed in 14 newcomers including 12 freshmen
ABOUT NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern University enters the week with a 6-5 overall record after taking two of three against Cornell in Florida where they also played the Boston Red Sox. NU opened the season splitting a four-game series at No. 30 Oklahoma. Keith Kelly leads the club with a .324 batting average among the regulars. Starting pitcher Aaron Civale owns a 1.61 ERA in three starts, striking out 10 in 22.1 innings. Head coach Mike Glavine, the younger brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, is in his second season with the Huskies.
STEMP'S HOT START CONTINUES
Utility man Trek Stemp has started the 2016 season on fire, leading the Pac-12 Conference in hits (20), tied for second in stolen bases (4), tied for third in runs scored (11) and is fifth in hitting (.408). The Kennewick, Wash. native recorded hits in each of the first 11 games before entering Sunday's game in the ninth as a pinch-hitter and flying out. Stemp redshirted last season but hasn't missed a beat, recording five multiple-hit games including a pair of 4-hit performances. He has started five games in centerfield and five at second base.
FRESHMEN ARMS MAKE THEIR DEBUTS
WSU has seen eight pitchers make their debuts in the first three weekends including six true freshmen. Starters Parker McFadden and Ryan Ward have improved each time out during their three starts. McFadden, a 20th-round draft selection by the Seattle Mariners last June, picked up his first career win after striking our four and allowing two earned runs over 4.1 innings in the 14-3 victory over Prairie View A&M. Ward, the Oregon Player of the Year last season, has been just as impressive, striking out six at Texas State in his first career start and picked up his first career win last weekend, striking out eight and allowing just one earned run in a five-inning start against Utah Valley. Freshman relievers Davis Baillie, Kevin Calderhead and Chandler Greenfield each have not allowed a run in a combined 11 appearances.
COUGARS RALLY LATE AT TEXAS STATE TO GET MARTY LEES FIRST WIN
Washington State rallied with two runs in the ninth inning and scored two more in the tenth inning to beat Texas State 9-8 in 10 innings in the final game of a season-opening four-game series in San Marcos, Texas, also giving first-year Cougar Head Coach Marty Lees his first career win. Down four runs to start the seventh inning, the Cougars scored twice in the seventh and two more in the ninth to send the game extra innings. In the tenth, Stefan Van Horn, who entered the game in the eighth, launched a solo homer high over the left field fence on the first pitch he saw, his second straight game with a home run. Jack Strunc, who also entered the game in the eighth, followed with a double down the left field line and later came around to score on Derek Chapman's sacrifice fly to left field which proved to be the game winner. In the bottom half of the tenth, Texas State opened the inning with a double and RBI single. The next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt and was called safe at first to put runners on first and second with nobody out. The Bobcats bunted both runners up a base and WSU intentionally walked the next hitter to load the bases with one out. Sophomore lefthander Scotty Sunitsch came up big for the Cougars striking out the final two hitters, both looking, to seal up the win.
HAMILTON GARNERS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Junior pitcher Ian Hamilton was named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Second Team by Collegiate Baseball, one of two Pac-12 Conference pitchers placed on the first or second team, appearing as a reliever. He was also rated No. 44 among the Top-100 college prospects by Baseball America prior to the season. In 2015, Hamilton repeated as a member of the All-Pac-12 Conference team after finishing the year with a 1.67 ERA in 43 innings and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 13 saves. His total ranked him tied for 16th nationally as he became WSU's all-time leader with 28. The Vancouver, Wash. native earned Freshman All-America honors as a freshman in 2014 after setting a school record with 15 saves and posted a 2.70 ERA.
COUGAR BULLPEN RETURNS COUPLE FAMILIAR FACES
In addition to Hamilton, the Cougars return three members of the pitching staff who were major contributors last season. Junior lefthander Layne Bruner closed out the 2015 season allowing just one earned run and one hit over his final seven appearances (5 2/3 IP). Sophomore lefthander Scotty Sunitsch made 24 appearances last year including a pair of starts and finished the season with 26 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings. Sophomore righty Ryan Walker produced an impressive freshman campaign in 2015, posting a 2.72 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .221 average over 25 appearances including seven starts. Walker earned a spot in the rotation over the final month, earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in early May after scattering four hits and striking out 12 and holding opponents to a .105 batting average over a combined 11 2/3 innings in two starts against Washington, and Arizona including a career-best seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings.
COUGARS 2016 SIGNING CLASS
Washington State signed eight players to National Letters of Intent to join the program in 2016, first-year head coach Marty Lees announced Nov. 19. The class features four junior college players and four players who hail from the state of Washington.
NAME POS B/T HT WT HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL)
Cody Anderson LHP L/L 6-6 200 Marysville, Wash. (Marysville-Pilchuck HS/Bellevue CC)
A.J. Block LHP L/L 6-5 190 Bellevue, Wash. (Newport HS)
Peter Hutzal INF L/R 5-11 175 Calgary, Alberta (Bishop Carroll HS)
Cory Meyer C R/R 5-10 180 Pocatello, Idaho (Highland HS/Spokane Falls CC)
Dillon Plew INF L/R 6-3 180 Kennewick, Wash. (Kennewick HS)
Joe Rosenstein RHP R/R 6-6 215 Arvada, Colo. (Arvada HS/Siena/Lamar CC)
James Rudkin 1B R/R 6-0 200 Plano, Texas (Plano East HS/McLennan JC)
James Sinatro INF L/R 5-10 165 Sammamish, Wash. (Skyline HS)
FIVE COUGARS SELECTED in 2015 MLB Draft
Washington State baseball had five players selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft. Pitcher Sam Triece was selected in the tenth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Infielder Ian Sagdal was selected in the 16th round by the Washington Nationals. Pitcher Joe Pistorese was selected in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners. Catcher P.J. Jones was selected in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners and reliever Matt Bower was selected in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros. All five signed professional contracts.