COUGARS HOST No. 8 STANFORD FOR FINAL HOME SERIES
Washington State (24-26, 10-17 Pac-12) hosts No. 8 Stanford (37-14, 18-9 Pac-12) to close out the regular season. The series begins Thursday at 6 p.m., continues Friday at 4 p.m. and wraps up Saturday at 1 p.m., all on the Pac-12 Network.

SENIOR TRENTON DUPRE SET FOR SATURDAY FINALE
The Cougars' lone senior, lefthanded pitcher Trenton Dupre will be recognized prior to Saturday's season-finale against Stanford. Dupre enters the weekend with 48 career appearances.

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.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, WSU saw its streak of four-straight conference series wins come to an end after dropping all three at No. 1 Oregon State. The Cougars nearly pulled the upset Friday before OSU rallied with a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth to win 4-3.

ON DECK
The NCAA Selection Show is set for Monday, May 28 at 9 a.m. (PT) on ESPNU.

MIKE KINKADE SELECTED TO WSU ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
Mike Kinkade was among the six individuals and one team selected to the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame Tuesday. Kinkade was a four-year letterwinner from 1992-95, setting WSU career records for hits (304), runs (230) and doubles (75). As a junior,  was a second-team All-American by NCBWA and third-team by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. He later earned a Gold Medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and went on to play six major league seasons after being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the ninth round of the 1995 MLB Draft. Kinkade and the other honorees will join the current 210 individuals and teams in the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction dinner will be held Sept. 22 at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane with the 2017 class also being recognized at the Washington State-Nevada football game in Pullman the following day.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State owns a 24-26 record including a 10-17 mark in Pac-12 play after dropping all three at top-ranked Oregon State last weekend. Prior to OSU, the Cougars had won four straight conference series against No. 30 Washington, at Utah, Oregon and No. 28 UCLA. WSU has surpassed last season's win total and enters the week tied for second in the Pac-12 in doubles (101) and tied for the Pac-12 lead with 49 double plays turned. Junior third baseman Shane Matheny enters the week leading the team with a .302 batting average and 33 RBI. Junior first baseman James Rudkin enters the week with a team-best .315 average in conference play. Junior reliever Scotty Sunitsch enters the week third in the Pac-12 with eight saves. Head coach Marty Lees is in his second season at Washington State.

STANFORD-WSU HISTORY
Stanford has claimed the last six series over WSU and leads the all-time series 49-26 after taking two of three in Stanford last season. The Cougars last series win came in 2009 in Stanford and are looking for their first series win over the Cardinal in Pullman since 2007. Stanford head coach Mark Marquess is in his 41st season at Stanford and will be retiring at the end of this season.

PAC-12 LEADERS
WSU enters the weekend among the top of the Pac-12 Conference in a couple categories. Offensively, the Cougars are tied for second in the league in doubles (101) while the pitching staff has picked off 11 baserunners, second-most in the Pac-12, and the defense is tied for the league-lead with 49 double plays turned including a conference-high 31 in Pac-12 play. Sophomore outfielder Justin Harrer enters the week fourth in the Pac-12 with 17 doubles while junior third baseman Shane Matheny is tied for seventh with 15 doubles. On the mound, Scotty Sunitsch enters the weekend third in the Pac-12 with eight saves while Cody Anderson is seventh in ERA (2.87) and sixth batting average against (.228).

COUGAR OFFENSE MAKING BIG STEPS IN 2017
The Washington State offense has made big strides in year two under head coach Marty Lees and hitting coach Jim Horner. In 50 games this season, the Cougars have recorded the most doubles (101) since 2012 (108) and the most home runs (21) since the 2013 team hit 24. Six Cougars have recorded 10+ doubles in 2017 after just two players had double-digit doubles last year and WSU has not had six players record double-digit doubles since six did so in 2010 and seven in 1996. This season WSU has also posted a higher batting average, averaged more runs and more hits per game than the previous two seasons.

BY THE NUMBERS
101 - WSU's 101 doubles are the most since 2012 (108)
32 - 32 years since the last WSU no-hitter, Kurt Waananen - Rockford College (Ill.) (3/14/85)
22 - WSU has 22 games with 10+ hits this season, had 15 double-digit hit games in 2016
21 - WSU's 21 home runs are the most since 2013 (24)
16 - 16 players have made their Cougar debuts
21 - WSU owns 21 home runs in 50 games this season after hitting 16 last season in 54 games
17 - James Rudkin leads the team with 17 two-out RBI, JJ Hancock is second with 13
12 - WSU owns 12 comeback wins this season
7 - WSU's seven-game winning streak was the longest since the 2013 team won eight in a row
6 - Five players own 10+ doubles this season, the most since six did so in 2010
5.1 - WSU has averaged 5.1 run/G this season, the most since 2013 (5.2)
1.95 - WSU posted a 1.95 ERA in the series win at Utah, 27.2 IP, 16 H, 20 K, .167 avg against
.273 - WSU's .273 batting average is the highest since 2013 (.293)

RECORD BOOK WATCH (PAGE 10)
Junior lefthander Scotty Sunitsch recently put his name in a couple WSU career Top-10 lists while a couple other relievers are closing in. With his three-inning save at Utah, junior lefthander Scotty Sunitsch notched his ninth career save and moved into a tie for ninth all-time in WSU history for saves. His eight saves this season are tied for 10th most in WSU single-season history. Sunitsch appeared in two games last weekend at Oregon State, pushing his career appearances to 70, tying for ninth all-time with Adam Conley (2009-11) and Ian Hamilton (2014-16). Junior righthander Colby Nealy owns 65 career appearances and fellow junior right Ryan Walker has made 63 career appearances.

COMEBACK KIDS
The 2017 Cougars have settled in as the comeback kids, coming from behind in their first seven wins this season and have added six more since including two against Oregon. It could all be traced back to the season-opening series last year when WSU scored two runs in the ninth to force extra innings at Texas State and went on to post a 9-8 win in 10 innings, giving head coach Marty Lees his first career victory.

HOME SWEET HOME
Washington State opened the 2017 season winning its first three home series before dropping a home series 2-1 to No. 8 Arizona. After taking the series from No. 30 Washington, Oregon and No. 28 UCLA, the Cougars now own an 18-7 mark at home after starting 10-1. That 10-1 mark matched the best home start by a Cougar team since the 1988 John Olerud-led team finished the season with a 22-1 record at Bailey-Brayton Field. The 18-7 home record matches the best home start since the 2010 team went 20-5 in their 25 home games.

WSU CLINCH SERIES FROM No. 28 UCLA FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT PAC-12 SERIES WIN
The Cougars claimed their fourth straight Pac-12 Conference series after taking the first two games from No. 28 UCLA two weeks ago. WSU used a pair of two-run homers from Justin Harrer and Cal Waterman in the opener before Andres Alvarez tallied a 3-hit game and scored twice in game two. It the first time WSU had won four straight conference series since 1995 in the NorPac and was the first series win over UCLA since 2009, snapping a seven-series stretch.

COUGARS USE WALK-OFF HITS TO POST SERIES WIN OVER OREGON
WSU used a pair of ninth-inning walk-off hits to win the final two games of last weekend's series against Oregon, claiming their third straight Pac-12 series win. Friday's opener was rained out and Oregon took Saturday's game one before JJ Hancock drove in the winning win with a ninth-inning single to left field to post a 2-1 game two win Saturday. In Sunday's finale, WSU rallied from a 5-0 seventh-inning deficit with a run in the seventh, three more in the eighth before Justin Harrer pulled a double down the left field line to score runs for a 6-5 Cougar win.

WSU CLAIMS ROAD SERIES FROM UTAH
The Cougars claimed their second straight series after taking the final games at Utah. The defending Pac-12 Champion Utes won the opener 2-1 in 10 innings after a missed fly ball with two outs and two runners. WSU bounced back with a convincing 10-1 win Friday before coming back twice to win Saturday's series-finale 5-4.

COUGARS TAKE SERIES FROM NO. 30 WASHINGTON
Washington State notched its third-straight series win over rival Washington, taking two of three from the No. 30 ranked Huskies in Pullman. WSU used a bases-loaded walk-off walk to claim the opener 5-4 in 11 innings and then erased a 1-0 deficit with a five-run fifth inning to win 6-3 Saturday before dropping Sunday's finale 7-1. Head coach Marty Lees has led the Cougars to series wins over UW in his first two seasons after taking two games in Seattle last season.

BACK-TO-BACK SWEEPS
Washington State has posted back-to-back series sweeps it first two home series of 2016, taking all three games from Stephen F. Austin and four from Utah Valley. WSU also recorded its first back-to-back series sweeps (3 or more games) at home for the first time since 1993 (4 at Hawaii – Hilo, 3 vs. Gonzaga in Richland, Wash.).

LONG BALL AT LONG BEACH
In an 8-7 defeat at Long Beach State March 15, the Cougars launched a season-best four home runs, the most since hitting four against Eastern Michigan in 2013. JJ Hancock got things started with a solo blast in the fourth inning and Justin Harrer followed with a solo shot, the first back-to-back homers for WSU since Derek Jones and Matt Argyropoulos did so at Cal State Bakersfield in 2011. In the fifth inning, freshman Dillon Plew hit his first career homer and freshman Jon Burghardt hit a pinch-hit three-run shot in the seventh that gave WSU a 7-4 advantage.
COUGARS POST FIRST SERIES SWEEP SINCE 2015
Washington State's three-game series sweep of Stephen F. Austin was the first series sweep since 2015, taking all four games against Sacred Heart. In the series, WSU outscored SFA 21-10, hitting .301 and held Lumberjack hitters to a .169 batting average. It was also the first series sweep under head coach Marty Lees and is the first time the Cougars have swept a home-opening series since taking all four from Eastern Michigan in 2013.

FOUR PITCHERS COMBINE TO NO-HIT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Four Cougar pitchers combined to no-hit Stephen F. Austin in the series-finale March 5, the second game of a doubleheader. It was the first WSU no-hitter since Kurt Waananen no-hit Rockford College in 1985, the first nine-inning no-hitter since Eric Wilkins (vs. Oregon State – 1976) and first combined no-hitter since 1974 (David Wright and Roger Stein – Idaho). Cougar starter Cody Anderson earned the win after striking out six and allowing just three unearned runs in six innings. The junior left-hander earned his first career win. Junior right-hander Joe Rosenstein followed with 1.1 innings of work and freshman lefty Isaac Mullins got the final two outs of the eighth inning before the junior left-hander Scotty Sunitsch worked a scoreless ninth to post the 24th no-hitter in school history and fifth combined no-hitter.

WALKER NAMED TO STOPPER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Junior Ryan Walker was named to the preseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Associate Stopper of the Year. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. Walker earned All-Pac-12 HM last season after posting the sixth lowest ERA (2.66) and batting average against (.212) in the conference during Pac-12 play. Of WSU's 11 conference wins in 2016, Walker recorded four wins and four saves. Overall, Walker led the Cougars with a 6-3 record and five saves in 18 appearances along with a 2.40 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 63.2 innings, all in relief. Walker's six relief wins tied for the second-most relief wins in WSU single-season history.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED AMONG NATION'S BEST
The 2016 WSU recruiting class was ranked No. 28 in the country according to D1Baseball.com, who began to release its Top-30 signing classes. It is the first Cougar recruiting class to be nationally ranked by D1Baseball.com and features eight junior college transfers and four freshmen. Two freshmen hail from the state of Washington and were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft but chose to play for WSU. According to D1baseball.com "…this is a high quality and high upside class that has head coach Marty Lees very excited and comparing his class to some of the powerhouse recruiting classes he had as an assistant at Oregon State and Oklahoma State…"

WHO'S NEW? NOTES ON KEY NEWCOMERS (Stats based on last season)
Andres Alvarez (So., SS, Trinidad JC)    All-Region 1st-Team, .395, 23 2B, 15 SB
Cody Anderson (Jr., LHP, Bellevue CC)    Northwest Athletic Conference-best 114 Ks in 85.2 IP
A.J. Block (Fr., LHP, Newport HS)    39th-RD draft pick (Cubs), All-State 1st Team
Blake Clanton (Jr., OF, Western Oklahoma State College)    NJCAA DII Region II MVP - .373, 19 HR
Cory Meyer (So., C, Spokane Falls CC)    JUCO All-America 3rd Team, .333 batting avg
Dillon Plew (Fr., INF, Kennewick HS)    League Player of the Year, .473, 7 2B, 23 RBI
Ryan Ramsower (Jr., INF, Pima CC)    All-Region 2nd-Team, .360, 15 2B, 39 RBI, 9 SB
Joe Rosenstein (Jr., RHP, Lamar CC)    All-Region 1st-Team, 7-1, 60 Ks in 59.2 IP
James Rudkin (Jr., 1B, McLennan JC)    2016 - .308, 10 2B, 7 HR, 41 RBI
Danny Sinatro (Fr., UTL, Skyline HS)    40th-RD draft pick (Indians), All-State 1st-Team
David Wallum (So., RHP, Linn-Benton CC)    7-3, 3.24 ERA, 60 Ks in 58.1 IP
Cal Waterman (Fr., C, Summit HS)    Oregon HS Player of the Year, .574, 17 2B, 8 HR, 43 RBI

2017 SIGNING CLASS (will be here this fall, play spring, 2018)
Brody Barnum (OF/RHP, R/R, 6-3, 215)    Vancouver, Wash. (Skyview HS)
Mason De La Cruz (INF, R/R, 6-0, 170)    Auburn, Wash. (Thomas Jefferson HS)
Anthony Felix (INF, R/R, 5-10, 185)    Tucson, Ariz. (Canyon del Oro HS/Pima CC)
Avery Jones (RHP, R/R, 6-6, 205)    Gig Harbor, Wash. (Gig Harbor HS)
Collin Montez (OF, L/L, 6-2, 200)    Marysville, Wash. (Marysville Getchell HS)
Conner Nantkes (LHP, L/L, 6-2, 180)    Aurora, Colo. (Cherokee Trail HS)
Michael Newstrom (LHP, R/L, 5-9, 205)    Puyallup, Wash. (Puyallup HS)
Dylan Orlando (LHP, L/L, 6-1, 185)    Las Vegas, Nev. (Palo Verde HS)
Hayden Rosenkrantz (RHP, R/R, 6-3, 175)    Salt Lake City, Utah (Cottonwood HS)
Isaiah Smith (OF, R/R, 6-2, 200)    Battle Ground, Wash. (Battle Ground HS)
Jack Smith (INF, R/R, 6-3, 180)    Mercer Island, Wash. (Mercer Island HS)

COUGARS NOTCHED BIG SERIES WINS UNDER MARTY LEES in FIRST SEASON
Washington State went 19-35 overall including an 11-19 Pac-12 Conference mark under the direction of first-year head coach Marty Lees in 2016. The Cougars picked up series wins over No. 10 Oregon State and at No. 14 Washington and finished the year second in the league in stolen bases.

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 oversees WSU's pitching staff and reunited 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
Jim Horner, a first-team All-Pacific-10 player for the Cougars in 1996, jumped at the opportunity to return to the Palouse last season 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 and 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.

COUGAR BASEBALL ON WASHINGTON STATE IMG RADIO
This season, 38 games will be broadcast on the Washington State IMG College Network and every radio broadcast will be available through the WSU Gameday App via TuneIn and on KQQQ (1150 AM) in Pullman. There will also be 10 select games broadcast on KXLY (920 AM) in Spokane and 18 games will be available on KONA (610 AM) in Tri-Cities. Included in the 38 broadcasts are all 30 Pac-12 Conference contests and all three meetings against Gonzaga University. Matt Chazanow enters his second season calling Cougar Baseball and will be joined in the booth by former Cougar All-American and Major Leaguer Mike Kinkade who will serve as an analyst for select home games in 2017. Kinkade played at Washington State from 1992-95, earned All-America honors as a junior and finished his WSU career the all-time leader in hits, runs scored and doubles and went on to play six seasons in the big leagues with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers.