Washington State University Athletics
Washington State Hosts USC For Weekend Series
April 21, 2016 | Baseball
USC at WASHINGTON STATE
Pullman, Wash. | Bailey-Brayton Field (3,500)
Friday, 3 p.m. | Saturday, 2 p.m. | Sunday, 1 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE HOSTS USC FOR WEEKEND SERIES
Washington State (12-21, 5-10 Pac-12) closes out its eight-game homestand hosting the University of Southern California (16-19, 5-7 Pac-12) for a three-game Pac-12 Conference series beginning Friday at 3 p.m.
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
The Cougars will travel to face the University of Oregon in Eugene next weekend.
COUGAR QUICK HITS
TEAM
• WSU leads the Pac-12 Conference in SB (47-61)
• WSU returned 14 letterwinners from the 2015 club and welcomed in 14 newcomers including 12 freshmen
INDIVIDUAL
• 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 as an OF in 1996
• RHP Ian Hamilton owns the WSU record with 28 career saves, third-most among active pitchers in the NCAA
• Hamilton named to 2016 Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection
• UTL Trek Stemp opened the season with an 11-game hit streak, added a 12-game streak
• Stemp enters the weekend second in the Pac-12 in hitting (.390), 1st in hits (53), 119th in on-base pct. (.432)
• Stemp has hit safely in 30 of the 33 games played this season
• Derek Chapman and Trek Stemp are tied for second in the Pac-12 in steals (9)
• RHP Ryan Walker is eighth in the Pac-12 with a 2.19 ERA, tied for third in batting average against (.185)
• In Pac-12 play, Scotty Sunitsch is second in the league in batting average against (.151)
STEMP NAMED PAC-12 CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Washington State second baseman Trek Stemp was named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, conference commissioner Larry Scott announced Monday. Stemp helped WSU to a series win against No. 10 Oregon State over the weekend after going 9-for-14 (.692), recording multiple hits in all three games including four in the series finale. The Kennewick, Wash. native slugged .769, scored four runs and drove in two. In last Thursday's opener, Stemp tallied three hits and scored a run before registering two hits and a run scored in the game two win. In the rubber game, Stemp recorded four hits, his third 4-hit game of the season, and also scored twice and drove in two runs. It is the first career Pac-12 weekly accolade for Stemp and the first of the season for the Cougars.
TUESDAY'S RECAP
WSU dropped a 7-4 nonconference contest to Gonzaga University at Bailey-Brayton Field Tuesday evening. The Cougars matched Gonzaga with 10 hits but committed three errors. WSU owned a 3-2 lead in the sixth but the Bulldogs pushed three runs across in the sixth and added to more in the seventh to earn the win. Redshirt-junior Trek Stemp added two more hits and scored twice while freshman catcher Ty Johnson and sophomore third baseman Shane Matheny each recorded two hits.
LAST WEEKEND
Washington State won the final two games of its home series against No. 10 Oregon State to take the series. The Cougars dropped game one 12-3 but received a solid starting pitching performance form Ian Hamilton to take game two 7-5 and the offense came alive to win the finale 8-3. It was WSU's first series win against OSU since 2010 and first series win against a Top-10 team since 2012.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters Friday with a 12-21 overall record including a 5-10 mark in Pac-12 Conference play under first-year head coach Marty Lees. Last weekend, the Cougars took two from No. 10 Oregon State in Pullman and dropped a 6-4 nonconference matchup to Gonzaga Tuesday. Offensively the Cougars are led by Trek Stemp who is second in the Pac-12 in batting average (.390), first in hits (53) and tied for second in stolen bases (9). Patrick McGrath owns team-best 21 RBI and three players shared the team-lead with three homers (Frost, Hatten, Van Horn). The Cougars lead the league in stolen bases (47).
ABOUT USC
USC enters the weekend series with a 16-19 overall record including a 5-7 mark in conference play after falling in all three contests at Oregon last weekend. Tuesday, USC beat Long Beach State. Offensively, the Trojans are led by David Oppenheim's .371 average and Adalberto Carrillo's seven homers. Head coach Dan Hubbs is in his fourth season with the Trojans.
STEMP AMONG PAC-12 LEADING HITTERS
Utility man Trek Stemp started the 2016 season on fire and hasn't let up, entering the weekend second in the Pac-12 Conference in batting average (.390), first in hits (53) and tied for second in stolen bases (9). The Kennewick, Wash. native recorded hits in the first 11 games before losing the hit streak with a pinch-hit fly out March 6. He followed that with a hit in 12 straight games and is currently on a seven-game streak. He owns a hit in 30 of the 33 games this season and is coming off an incredible weekend, hitting .692 in the series against No. 10 Oregon State, upping his average 33 points. Stemp redshirted last season but hasn't missed a beat since his return, recording 14 multiple-hit games including three 4-hit performances. He has started seven games in centerfield and 25 at second base.
HAMILTON ADJUSTS TO STARTING ROLE
Right-hander Ian Hamilton has pitched well after making the move from closer to starter this season. His 1-7 record doesn't reflect his effectiveness but the junior owns a 4.39 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 53.1 innings, all team-bests. Hamilton has also been on the wrong end of close ball games and the offense had scored a combined nine runs in his first seven starts before scoring nine in the win over Arizona State to give him his first win of the year. Against No. 10 Oregon State last Friday, Hamilton took a no-hitter into the seventh before allowing two hits. Hamilton was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection as a reliever, setting the school record with 28 career saves.
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.
CONLEY OPENS SEASON AT MARLINS NO. 3 STARTER
Former Washington State Cougar lefthanded pitcher Adam Conley, a second-round pick by the Marlins in 2011, is in his second season in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins. Conley opened the year as the No. 3 starter and will start Sunday at the San Francisco Giants. In his last start, Tuesday Conley struck out eight but allowed four earned runs in 6.2 innings to the Nationals. Last season with the Marlins, making his debut in June and went on to make 11 starts and posted a 4-1 record with a .376 ERA in 67 innings.
FRESHMEN COUGS IN THE MIX
Washington State has seen 14 newcomers make their Cougar debuts and contribute this season including 11 freshmen. Utility man Mason Cerrillo has also settled in with the arrival of league play with a .324 batting average against Pac-12 pitching highlighted by the go-ahead two-run single in the 10th inning win at Stanford, a three-hit performance in a win over Arizona State and a go-ahead grand slam against No. 10 Oregon State last Friday. On the mound, nine pitchers have made their debuts this year including seven true freshmen. Starter Parker McFadden, a 20th-round draft selection by the Seattle Mariners last June, picked up his first career win after striking our four against Prairie View A&M and later struck out six, allowed two earned runs in six innings to pick up the win over Northeastern. Fellow freshman starter Ryan Ward, the Oregon Player of the Year last season, has also pitched well in his first year, striking out six at Texas State in his first career start and picked up his first career win after striking out eight and allowing just one earned run in a five-inning start against Utah Valley.
WALKER LEADING COUGAR BULLPEN
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Walker has excelled out of the bullpen this season, owning a team-best and eighth-lowest in the Pac-12 ERA (2.19) and third-best opponent batting average (.185). He has recorded five wins (tied for fourth in the Pac-12) and three saves (tied for 10th in the Pac-12) in 11 appearances this season, all out of the pen. The Arlington, Wash. native picked up a win after pitching five innings of one-hit ball to earn a win over Houston Baptist, earned his first career save after striking out six in four innings against Utah Valley and another win after going 5.1 innings out of the bullpen against Northeastern. Walker earned the win at Stanford after not allowing an earned run in four relief innings, surrendering just one hit while striking out three and picked up the save against Arizona State with four scoreless innings. At Arizona, Walker added another win with 3.2 innings while allowing one hit and striking out five. Last week against No. 10 Oregon State, he earned the win with three innings of relief and came back the next day to pitch the final two innings to earn the save. In Pac-12 play, sophomore righty Colby Nealy hasn't allowed an earned run in seven appearances and sophomore lefthander Scotty Sunitsch owns the second-best batting average against (.151).
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. 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. Lefthander Scotty Sunitsch came up big for the Cougars striking out the final two hitters to seal up the win.
COUGAR BULLPEN RETURNS COUPLE FAMILIAR FACES
For WSU pitching, just 40 percent of the innings and 19 starts return from last year's staff. 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 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 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 innings in two starts against Washington, and Arizona including a career-best seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings.
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.
COUGARS 2016 SIGNING CLASS
Washington State have 11 players signed to National Letters of Intent to join the program in 2016.
NAME POS B/T HT WT HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL)
Andres Alvarez SS R/R 5-10 160 San Diego, Calif. (San Ysidro HS/Trinidad State JC)
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)
Ryan Ramsower 3B R/R 6-0 190 Tucson, Ariz. (Salpointe Catholic HS/Pima CC)
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)
Danny Sinatro INF L/R 5-10 165 Sammamish, Wash. (Skyline HS)
Cal Waterman C R/R 6-2 205 Bend, Ore. (Summit HS)
ABOUT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH / PITCHING COACH DAN SPENCER
In his first official move as head baseball coach, Marty Lees named Dan Spencer as the Cougars' associate head coach. Spencer will oversee WSU's pitching staff and reunites with Lees as the two spent four seasons together at Oregon State, winning back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007. Spencer coached three seasons with the New Mexico Lobos after serving the previous four years as the head coach of Texas Tech, compiling a 115-112 record. Before joining Texas Tech for the 2008 season, Spencer spent 11 seasons at Oregon State as the Beavers hitting coach (1997-2003) and pitching coach (2004-2007). He began his head coaching career at Green River Community College (1992-96) in Auburn, Wash. In 1992 and 1994 he was named the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Coach of the Year. A native of Vancouver, Wash., Spencer received his bachelor's degree in history from Portland State University in 1990. He and his wife, Susie, have three children: Wade, Logan, and Elizabeth.
ABOUT ASSISTANT COACH JIM HORNER
Marty Lees filled out his coaching staff hiring former WSU catcher and minor league manager Jim Horner as an assistant coach in June. Horner, a first-team All-Pacific-10 catcher for the Cougars in 1996, jumped at the opportunity to return to the Palouse after managing the Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate Jackson Generals (Tenn.) for the 2014 season and the first half of the 2015 campaign. Horner owns seven-plus years of managerial experience, serving as the skipper of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Seattle – Low-A) from 2006-07 before managing the High Desert Mavericks (Seattle - High-A) from 2008-10 and 2013. In 2009, he was named California League Manager of the Year and Seattle Mariners Staff Member of the Year after guiding the Mavericks to South Division first and second half titles. From 2011-12, Horner coached two seasons at Texas Tech as the hitting coach under then head coach Dan Spencer. Horner joined the coaching ranks immediately after completing a nine-year professional playing career, all with the Mariners' organization. He was a catcher in the Seattle farm system from 1996-2004. In 2000, Horner reached the Triple-A level with the Tacoma Rainiers. Horner played at Washington State for coaches Bobo Brayton (1993-94) and Steve Farrington (1995-96). The Twin Falls, Idaho native earned first-team All-Pac-10 Conference honors as a senior after leading the Cougars with a .332 batting average. Horner was also named the Pacific-10 Conference Medal Winner for Washington State as WSU's top male student-athlete and received all-academic honors while earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Jim and his wife, Katie, have four children: daughters, Madison and Reagan, and sons, Jackson and Tyler.
