COUGARS HOST ARIZONA STATE FOR PAC-12 SERIES

Washington State (5-14, 1-5 Pac-12) opens its Pac-12 Conference home slate with a three-game series against Arizona State (12-12, 4-2 Pac-12) beginning Thursday at 6 p.m., continuing Friday at 5 p.m. before wrapping up Saturday at Noon. All three games will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
 

FOLLOW ALONG

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 home game will be webstreamed through wsucougars.com. 

ON DECK

The Cougars will host Gonzaga University next Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network. Next weekend, WSU heads to Eugene for a three-game series at Oregon.

LAST TIME OUT

Washington State dropped a Pac-12 road series at Arizona last weekend. The Cougars lost Friday's opener 5-4 after seeing the tying run thrown out at third base while trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. WSU used a 5-run first inning to take Saturday's game 5-4 before Arizona clinched the series with a 9-2 win Sunday.

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
•  WSU turned a triple play against Saint Mary's (3/10), WSU's first triple play since 1999 at Arizona State
•  WSU is 1 of 7 teams to turn a triple play this season (Texas Southern, Alcon, Campbell, LIU Brooklyn, Missouri)
• Last season, WSU won four straight Pac-12 Conference series (No. 30 Washington, at Utah, Oregon, No. 28 UCLA) for the first time since 1995
•  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
• Justin Harrer homered in all three games at UCLA, leads all Pac-12 players with 3 HR in league play
• Freshman INF Jack Smith has hit safely in 12 of last 14 games, had an 8-game hitting streak earlier this season
• LHP Scotty Sunitsch owns 76 career appearances, 4th-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
• Walker owns 71 career appearances, tied for 9th-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 
• C Cal Waterman entered the week second in the Pac-12 with 7 baserunners caught stealing

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State enters the weekend with a 5-14 mark after dropping a series at Arizona 2-1 last weekend. Offensively the Cougars are led by outfielders JJ Hancock and Justin Harrer with 17 hits a piece with Harrer and Blake Clanton sharing the lead with three home runs. Hancock went 6-for-12 (.500) last weekend with a double, tiple and home run, capping the series with three hits Sunday. Head coach Marty Lees is in his third season at Washington State.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE

Arizona State enters the series with a 12-12 overall record including a 4-2 mark in Pac-12 play after dropping two of three at UCLA last weekend. The Sun Devils are led by Gage Canning's .460 batting average, good for sixth-best in the country while freshman Spencer Torkelson owns 11 home runs, tied for third-most in the country.

ARIZONA STATE-WSU SERIES HISTORY

Arizona State leads the all-time series 56-17, swept the three-game series last season and have won the last four series against Washington State. The Cougars last series win came in 2013, taking two of three games in Tempe. The Sun Deivils own an 18-9 record in Pullman, have won three straight series in Pullman with ASU's last series win against ASU in Pullman coming in 2010, taking two of three from No. 1 Arizona State.

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 has also worked his way on to the record book. Sunitsch enters the weekend with 76 career appearances, good for fourth in WSU history while Walker moved into the Top-10 a couple weeks ago and nows owns 71, tied for 9th in school history. Sunitsch also owns nine career saves, tied for ninth in WSU history while Walker's eight career saves sit just one save outside the WSU Top-10. 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. 

COUGS TURN FIRST TRIPLE PLAY SINCE 1999

In WSU's 2-1 win over Saint Mary's March 10, 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).

NOTES FROM SERIES AT ARIZONA

WSU dropped two of three in Tucson last weekend, taking Saturday's game 5-4 after scoring five runs in the first inning and received a dominating relief appearance from Ryan Walker who retired all eight batters he faced. The senior righthander entered the game with one out and the bases loaded in the seventh, he retired the next two hitters, worked a 1-2-3 eighth before striking out the side in the ninth. In Friday's opener, the Cougars cut the Arizona lead to one with four runs in the eighth inning. WSU put the tying run on second in the ninth inning but the runner was thrown out at third to end the game after trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. In Sunday's finale, Arizona scored four in the first and three more in the second inning and never looked back despite WSU getting three hits from JJ Hancock including a solo homer.

NOTES FROM PAC-12 OPENING SERIES AT NO. 14 UCLA

Washington State was in position to take a series at No. 14 UCLA after owning leads in the eighth inning of the final two games but the Bruins rallied in both games to record a series sweep. Offensively the Cougars were led by outfielder Justin Harrer who homered in all three games, twice over the batter's eye in centerfield. Outfielder/designated hitter Blake Clanton posted a team-high .462 batting average after recording two hits in all three games including a solo home run in the Saturday game. In Friday's opener, WSU led 3-0 in the third inning before UCLA scored three in the third and three more in the sixth for a 6-3 lead. In the ninth, Harrer homered and the Cougars added another run before popping out to end the game with the tying run on second. Saturday, WSU saw Harrer and Clanton go back-to-back as part of a five-run third inning and the Cougars took a 5-4 lead into the eighth. UCLA scored four times in the eighth and WSU brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth but lined into a double play to end the game. Sunday, the Cougars took a 4-3 into the eighth where UCLA used a two-out two-run single to post a 5-4 win.

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.

COUGARS LOOKING FOR MORE IN 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 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.