WASHINGTON STATE at LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach, Calif. | Blair Field (3,000)
March 14, 2018 | Wednesday, 6 p.m. 

COUGARS OPEN ROAD TRIP WEDNESDAY AT LONG BEACH STATE

Washington State (4-8) opens a seven-game road stretch with a trip to Long Beach State (5-11) 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will have live audio of the Long Beach State radio broadcast on wsucougars.com

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 wsucougars.com. 

ON DECK

The Cougars continue their stay in souther California by opening Pac-12 Conference play with a three-game series at No. 14 UCLA. Friday's opener is set for 6 p.m., Saturday will start at 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

After cancelling a four-game series with Sacramento State due to weather, the Cougars split a four-game series with Saint Mary's in Pullman last weekend. WSU claimed Thursday's opener 7-6 in 11 innings, SMC won Friday 4-3 and the Cougars bounced back with a 2-1 win Saturday before the Gaels won Sunday's finale 3-1.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State enters the week with a 4-8 mark after splitting a four-game series with Saint Mary's in Pullman last weekend. Offensively the Cougars are led by shortstop Andres Alvarez who owns 14 hits and four doubles while outfielder Blake Clanton and first baseman James Rudkin share the team lead with two home runs a piece. Senior reliever Ryan Walker has been impressive out of the bullpen, posting a 1-0 record with one save in four appearances and a 0.82 ERA. Head coach Marty Lees is in his third season at Washington State.

COUGAR QUICK HITS
TEAM
•  WSU turned a triple play against Saint Mary's Saturday, its first triple play since 1999 at Arizona State
•  WSU is one of 5 teams to turn a triple play this season (Texas Southern, Campbell, LIU Brooklyn, Missouri)
•  WSU returns 8 starters from its 2017 lineup led by All-Pac-12 HM INF Andres Alvarez and Justin Harrer
•  WSU won four straight Pac-12 Conference series (No. 30 Washington, at Utah, Oregon, No. 28 UCLA) for the first time since 1995
•  WSU finished 3rd in the Pac-12 with 105 doubles, the most since the 2012 team had 108
•  Four pitchers combined to no-hit Stephen F. Austin March 5, WSU's first no-hitter since 1985
•  Marty Lees and pitching coach Dan Spencer were assts on Oregon State's National Championship teams (06-07)
•  Assistant coach Jim Horner played for the Cougars (1993-96), earned All-Pac-10 honors as an OF in 1996 

INDIVIDUAL
• LHP Scotty Sunitsch owns 74 career appearances, tied for 5th-most in WSU history
• Sunitsch owns nine career saves, tied for 9th-most in WSU history
• RHP Ryan Walker owns 10 career relief wins, tied for 4th-most in WSU history
• Wyatt Segle went 5-for-5 in the win vs UC Riverside (2/18), WSU's 1st 5-hit game since Adam Nelubowich in 2013 
• INF Jack Smith saw his eight-game hitting streak end Sunday
• C Cal Waterman leads the Pac-12 with 7 baserunners caught stealing
 

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE

Long Beach State enters the week with a 5-11 overall record after dropping all three games at Texas A&M over the weekend. The Dirtbags went 42-20-1 last season, claiming the Big West Conference and advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals before falling to Cal State Fullerton. LBSU leads the all-time series with Washington State 11-6 after taking last season's meeting 8-7 in Long Beach. WSU's last win in the series was the meeting prior, an 11-1 victory in 2012, also in Long Beach.

LAST SEASON AT LONG BEACH STATE

Last season in Long Beach, WSU homered four times but Long Beach State tied the game in the eighth inning and singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to hand WSU an 8-7 nonconference defeat at Blair Field. The Cougars committed four errors and surrendered a three-run sixth-inning lead, snapping their seven-game winning streak. Long Beach State erased WSU's 7-4 advantage with two runs in the sixth, one in the eighth before loading the bases and driving in the game-winning run with a one-out single to left field.

RECORD BOOK WATCH (PAGE 6)

Senior lefthander Scotty Sunitsch put his name in a couple WSU career Top-10 lists last season while senior righty Ryan Walker also worked his way on to the record book. Sunitsch enters the week series with 74 career appearances, tied for fifth-most in WSU history and his nine career saves are tied for ninth in WSU history. Ryan Walker, who recorded three wins in relief last season to push his career relief wins total to nine, added another relief win against UC Riverside, No. 10 of his career, tied for fourth in WSU history. Walker also made two appearances last weekend and enters the week with 68 career appearances, needing two appearances to move into the WSU career Top-10. His seven career saves sit two away from the WSU Top-10.

COUGS TURN FIRST TRIPLE PLAY SINCE 1999

In last Saturday's 2-1 win over Saint Mary's, the Cougars turned their first triple play since 1999. Saint Mary's had runners on first and second with nobody out. SMC popped up a bunt attempt that catcher Cal Waterman dove for and caught. He jumped to his feet and fired to James Rudkin at first base to double-off the runner for the second out and Rudkin then fired to Andres Alvarez at second base to get the runner at second base for the final out. It was WSU's first triple play since doing to so at Arizona State (4/11/99).

COUGARS SPLIT SERIES WITH SAINT MARY'S

Washington State's initial home-opening series set for the first weekend of March against Sacramento State was cancelled due to weather. The Cougars instead waited a week to play in Bailey-Brayton Field, splitting a four-game series with Saint Mary's. WSU came back to win Thursday's opener 7-6 in 11 innings, scoring the winning run on a SMC throwing error. Friday, Saint Mary's benefitted from a ninth-inning baserunner interference call against WSU, taking the Cougars game-tying run off the board an instead giving the Gaels a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Saturday, WSU received seven solid innings from Scotty Sunitsch and a pair of solo home runs from James Rudkin and Blake Clanton for a 2-1 win. In Sunday's finale, SMC used their own strong starting pitching performance to hold WSU to one run and three hits for a 3-1 win. 

WSU NOTCHES ROAD WIN AT GRAND CANYON

WSU scored the go-ahead run to break a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning and posted a 5-4 victory at Grand Canyon. The Cougars beat an Antelope team who took a game from No. 7 TCU and claimed the WAC regular season title in 2017. Dillon Plew recorded three hits and scored two runs including the go-ahead run in the ninth after starting the inning with a triple. Justin Harrer drove in Plew with two outs in the ninth with a single through the left side. Senior James Rudkin added two hits and an RBI and Nick Strange earned the win by getting the final five outs.

COMEBACK KIDS GIVE WSU FIRST WIN IN 2018

WSU used a comeback to notch its first win of 2018 after recording 12 comeback victories in 2017. The Cougars trailed UC Riverside 6-1 in the Husker Classic finale before tallying two runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth behind a pair of two-out two-run singles from JJ Hancock and Cal Waterman with Waterman's proving to be the game-winner. WSU added another win in its final at-bat at Grand Canyon, breaking a 4-4 tied with a run in the ninth inning for a 5-4 road win. The Cougars added another comeback win last weekend, erasing Saint Mary's 6-3 lead with Dillon Plew's three-run double in the seventh inning before WSU scored the winning run in the 11th inning after a Saint Mary's throwing error.

NOTES FROM OPENING WEEKEND

Washington State went 1-3 the opening weekend of 2018 and received a couple impressive performances along the way. Junior first basemen/designated hitter Wyatt Segle recorded a hit in all four games capped by a 5-for-5 performance in the comeback win over UC Riverside. Segle was the first Cougar to notch a five-hit game since Adam Nelubowich did so against UCLA in 2013. Segle finished the weekend 8-for-13 for a team-best .615 batting average. Junior shortstop Andres Alvarez recorded multiple-hits in each of the final three games including a three-hit game against Nebraska. Sophomore centerfielder Danny Sinatro recorded his first career three-hit game in the win over UC Riverside and stole three bases throughout the weekend. On the mound, redshirt-sophomore Isaac Mullins struck out a career-high seven in five innings against UC Riverside on opening day and senior Scotty Sunitsch had six strikeouts in six innings against Nebraska. Senior reliever Ryan Walker was dominant in his only appearance, striking out four in 2.2 scoreless innings of the win over UC Riverside.

ENTERING 2018

WSU returned eight starters from its 2017 lineup and two pitchers from its final weekend rotation. Last season, the Cougars upped their win total from a season ago and posted four straight Pac-12 Conference series wins in a 24-29 campaign including a 10-20 mark in league play. In year two under head coach Marty Lees, the Cougars recorded its highest batting average, scored the most runs and hit the most home runs since 2013 while posting the fourth-most doubles (105) in the Pac-12, the most since 2012. Washington State won four straight conference series for the first time since 1995, claiming series against No. 30 Washington, at Utah, Oregon and No. 28 UCLA. The Cougars played well at Bailey-Brayton Field in 2017, posting a 20-10 mark for the best home record since the 2010 team went 20-5.

COUGAR DEFENSE

Defensively, the Cougars return seven position starters but must replace the elite defender in Shane Matheny who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants. Last season, WSU tied for second in the Pac-12 with 51 double plays turned including a conference-best 33 during Pac-12 play. 

COUGAR PITCHING

On the mound last season, the Cougars combined to pick off 11 baserunners, the second-most in the Pac-12 senior lefthander Cody Anderson held opposing hitters to a .239 batting average, 10th-lowest in the Pac-12. Scotty Sunitsch finished the year with eight saves, third-most in the conference and also tied for sixth in the league with 28 appearances. 

COUGAR OFFENSE MADE BIG STRIDES IN 2017

The WSU offense made big strides in year two under head coach Marty Lees and hitting coach Jim Horner. WSU posted its highest batting average (.272) since 2013, averaged the most runs/g (4.9) and hits/g (9.1) per game since 2013, hit the most doubles (105) since 2012 and hit the most home runs (21) since 2013. Six Cougars recorded 10+ doubles for the first time since 2010 after just two players had double-digit doubles 2016.

BY THE NUMBERS IN 2017

105 - WSU's 105 doubles were the most since 2012 (108)

32 - 32 years since the last WSU no-hitter, Kurt Waananen - Rockford College (Ill.) (3/14/85)

24 - WSU had 24 games with 10+ hits in 2017 after recording just 15 double-digit hit games in 2016

21 - WSU's 21 home runs were the most since 2013 (24)

17 - James Rudkin led the team with 17 two-out RBI, JJ Hancock was second with 13

12 - WSU had 12 comeback wins in 2017, including in each of the first seven wins of the season

6 - Five players recorded 10+ doubles last season, the most since six did so in 2010

4.9 - WSU averaged 4.9 run/G last 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

.272 - WSU's .272 batting average was the highest since 2013 (.293)

JONES, MATHENY, NEALY AND TWO SIGNEES TAKEN IN MLB DRAFT

Redshirt-junior pitcher Damon Jones, junior third baseman Shane Matheny and junior pitcher Colby Nealy were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Jones was taken in the 18th round by the Philadelphia Phillies, Matheny was selected in the 23rd round by the San Francisco Giants and Nealy was taken in the 35th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cougar signees Isaiah Smith (OF, 21st, Kansas City) and Jack Smith (INF, 39th, Seattle) were also drafted. All but Jack Smith signed professional contracts while Jack Smith elected to attend WSU.

COUGAR BASEBALL ON WASHINGTON STATE IMG RADIO

This season, 36 games will be broadcast on the Washington State IMG 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 select games broadcast on KXLY (920 AM) in Spokane and games will be available on KONA (610 AM) in Tri-Cities. Included in the 36 broadcasts are all 30 Pac-12 Conference contests and all three meetings against Gonzaga University. Matt Chazanow enters his third 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. He was inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame in 2017.