WASHINGTON STATE at ARIZONA
Tucson, Ariz. | Hi Corbett Field (9,500) | April 8-10
Friday, 6 p.m. | Saturday, 6 p.m. | Sunday, 1 p.m.
COUGARS HEAD TO ARIZONA FOR PAC-12 WEEKEND SERIES
Washington State (9-17, 2-7 Pac-12) resumes Pac-12 Conference play with a weekend series at the University of Arizona (18-11, 3-6 Pac-12) in Tucson. First pitch for Friday and Saturday is set for 6 p.m. and Sunday's finale is set for 1 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 host Oregon State next week beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. Friday's game will be at 4 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks and Saturday's finale is set for Noon.
THIS WEEK
Washington State dropped an 8-0 nonconference matchup at Gonzaga University Tuesday. WSU picked up five hits and the Bulldogs collected eight hits and took advantage of two Cougar errors to score twice in the second and five more in the fifth to take the first of three meetings this season.
LAST WEEKEND
Washington State dropped a Pac-12 series 2-1 to Arizona State in Pullman. The Sun Devils took Thursday's opener 10-1, the Cougars got Ian Hamilton his first win with a 9-3 victory in game two but ASU ended the weekend with an 18-3 win Saturday.
COUGAR QUICK HITS
TEAM
• WSU leads the Pac-12 Conference in SB (37-49) and tied for sixth in home runs (12)
• WSU pitching is fifth in the Pac-12 in batting average against (.251)
• 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 and just finished another 12-game streak
• Stemp has hit safely in 23 of the 26 games this season
• Derek Chapman leads the Pac-12 in steals (8), Stemp and Dugar are tied for fourth with seven
• In Pac-12 play, UTL Mason Cerrillo is 10th in the Pac-12 with a .393 batting average
• In Pac-12 play, 1B Patrick McGrath is tied for fourth in the league with four doubles
• In Pac-12 play, LHP Trenton Dupre leads the Pac-12 with a 1.00 ERA in four appearances
• In Pac-12 play, Dupre (.129) and RHP Ryan Walker (.139) are No. 1 and No. 2 in batting average against
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the week with a 9-17 overall record including a 2-7 mark in Pac-12 Conference play under first-year head coach Marty Lees. Offensively the Cougars are led by Trek Stemp who is second in the Pac-12 in hits (38), tied for fourth in stolen bases (7) and sixth in batting average (.362). Patrick McGrath, who missed five games with a shoulder injury (March 6-13), owns a .342 batting average and a team-best 18 RBI. The Cougars lead the league in stolen bases (37). 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.
ABOUT ARIZONA
Arizona enters the weekend with an 18-11 record including a 3-6 Pac-12 mark after dropping all three contests at Utah last weekend. The Wildcats followed with an 11-5 win at BYU Monday. Arizona leads the all-time series 36-23 against Washington State after taking last year's series 2-1 in Pullman. The Cougars took the last series played in Tucson, 2-1 in 2014. The Wildcats, the Pac-12 second -leading hitting team (.297), are led by Zach Gibbons .360 batting average and Ryan Aguilar's five homers and 24 RBI. Head coach Jay Johnson is in his first season at Arizona.
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 hits (38), tied for fourth in stolen bases (7) and sixth in hitting (.362). 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 game before going 0-4 last Saturday against Arizona State. He owns a hit in 23 of the 26 games this season. Stemp redshirted last season but hasn't missed a beat since his return, recording ten multiple-hit games including a pair of 4-hit performances. He has started eight games in centerfield and 18 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 1-6 record doesn't reflect his effectiveness but the junior owns a 4.07 ERA, is tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with 38 strikeouts and has walked just eight in 42 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 last Friday's win over Arizona State to give him his first win of the year. Hamilton was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection as a reliever, setting the school record with 28 career saves.
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 .393 batting average against Pac-12 pitching including a seven-game hit streak highlighted the go-ahead two-run single in the 10th inning win at Stanford and a three-hit performance in last Friday's win over Arizona State. Shortstop Justin Harrer has started to heat up in Pac-12 play, hitting his first career homer at UCLA before posting a .455 (5-11) batting average at Stanford. 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.
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.
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. Walker as excelled out of the pen this season, owning a team-low 1.91 ERA and the fourth-best opponent batting average (.180) in the Pac-12. He owns three wins and two saves in eight appearances this season. 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 of work against Utah Valley and added 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 last Friday against Arizona State with four scoreless innings.
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, begins his second season in the big league season with the Miami Marlins this week. Conley will open the year as the No. 3 starter and will start Thursday at Washington after a solid spring training where he posted a 1.86 ERA in three starts. Conley finished 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.
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)
Danny 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.
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.
