Washington State Cougars - Baseball - Washington State University Athletics

Cougs' Tough Schedule Continues with No. 3 Stanford

Baseball squad to receive big test from 1998 Pac-10 South champs.

March 30, 1999

THIS WEEK:
March 30 - Gonzaga at WSU, Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash. (Postponed)
Thursday, April 1 - WSU at No. 4 Stanford, 6:00 p.m., Sunken Diamond, Stanford, Calif.
Friday, April 2 - WSU at No. 4 Stanford, 7:00 p.m., Sunken Diamond, Stanford, Calif.
Saturday, April 3 - WSU at No. 4 Stanford, 1:00 p.m., Sunken Diamond, Stanford, Calif.

NEXT WEEK:
Monday, April 5 - Team Alberta at WSU, 2:00 p.m., Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash.
Friday, April 9 - WSU at No. 18 Arizona State, 7:00 p.m., Packard Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.
Saturday, April 10 - WSU at No. 18 Arizona State, 7:00 p.m., Packard Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.
Sunday, April 11 - WSU at No. 18 Arizona State, 1:00 p.m., Packard Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.

LAST WEEK:
Tuesday, March 23 - WSU 5, Gonzaga 17, August A.R.T. Stadium, Spokane, Wash.
Wednesday, March 24 - LCSC 5, WSU 2, Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash.
Saturday, March 27 - USC 6, WSU 5, Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash.
Saturday, March 27 - USC 12, WSU 14, Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash.
Sunday, March 28 - USC 10, WSU 4, Bailey Field, Pullman, Wash.

WSU LINEUP (16-9, 1-2) (TENTATIVE)

1B - STEVE CURRAN, Jr. (.293, 17 H, 15 RBI, 5 HR)
     Ray Hattenburg, Jr. (.398, 43 H, 19 R, 29 RBI, 4 HR, 9 2B)
2B - BOYD ROBERTSON, Sr. (.269, 21 H, 14 RBI, 3 HR)
     Bookie Gates, Fr. (.299, 23 H, 18 R, 16 RBI, 4 HR, 9 2B)
SS - SHAWN STEVENSON, Jr. (.327, 37 H, 24 RBI, 7 2B)
     Bookie Gates, Fr. (.299, 23 H, 18 R, 16 RBI, 4 HR, 9 2B)
3B - BOOKIE GATES, Fr.  (.299, 23 H, 16 RBI, 4 HR, 9 2B)
     David Perreira, Jr. (.311, 14 H, 7 RBI, 2 HR)
LF - RAY HATTENBURG, Jr. (.398, 43 H, 19 R, 29 RBI, 4 HR)
     Dusty Edler, RS-Sr., (.222, 12 H, 11 R, 7 RBI, 3 2B)
CF - STEVE GLEASON, Sr. (.253, 21 H, 15 RBI, 1 3B)
     Evan Hecker, Fr. (.195, 8 H, 7 R, .411 OB%)
RF - JASON GROVE, So. (.500, 23 H, 21 RBI, 7 HR)
     Brad Philley, RS-So, (.300, 9 H, 7 R, 5 RBI)
 C - JEFF SCHERER, Sr. (.321, 27 H, 12 RBI, 3 HR, 8 2B)
     Ryan Smith, Jr. (.243, 9 H, 5 RBI, 2 3B, 1 2B, 11 R)
DH - ZACH BODE, Jr. (.333, 15 H, 21 RBI, 5 HR, 3 2B)
     David Perreira, Jr. (.311, 14 H, 7 RBI, 2 HR)
P1 - WADE PARRISH, Jr. (L, 4-2, 2.61 ERA, 51.2 IP)
P2 - JAMAAL GAINES, Sr. (R, 2-2, 6.08 ERA, 37.0 IP)
P3 - TODD MELDAHL, Jr. (L, 3-1, 4.86 ERA, 46.1 IP)
R1 - Matt O'Brien, Jr.(L, 5-1, 1.65, 16.1 IP, 10 APP)
R2 - Reggie Rivard, Jr. (R, 1-1, 8.49, 11.2 IP, 12 APP, 4 SV)

COUGAR DIAMOND NOTES

COUGS LOOK TO ADD TO THE WIN COLUMN AT NO. 3 STANFORD: After picking up their first national ranking at No. 29 last week since 1994, the Washington State (16-9, 1-2) baseball team endured a tough 1-4 stretch against Gonzaga, Lewis-Clark State, and the defending national Champion USC Trojans.

After going 1-2 against the Trojans in snowy and cold weather in Pullman last week, the Cougars schedule doesn't get any easier with the No. 3 ranked Stanford Cardinal on tap this weekend. Stanford was the season-long No. 1 ranked team in 1998 and was the Pac-10 South champions.

This year the Cardinal are off to an impressive 6-0 start in Pac-10 play with series sweeps over both Arizona schools.

With a little luck and some timely hitting the Cougars could have sent the Trojans packing back to California with a 1-2 road trip, but things just didn't go the Cougs' way. The Trojans picked up wins Saturday 6-5 and Sunday 10-4. WSU's only win was a 14-12 game in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader.

Shortstop Shawn Stevenson has jumped to the forefront as the hottest Cougar hitter in the lineup after going 11-for-22 with one home run and six RBIs in the five games last week. Stevenson (Everett, Wash.) is now hitting .327 (37-113) on the year while starting all of WSU's 25 games.

Ray Hattenburg (Spokane, Wash.) continues to swing the bat well and has his batting average hovering around the .400 mark at .398 (43-108) with four home runs and nine doubles.

Sophomore Jason Grove (Walla Walla, Wash.) made his return to the Cougar lineup after being sidelined for over a month with a broken thumb. The 1998 freshman All-American definitely made his presence known going 6-for-16 at the plate and hit two home runs to push his team-leading total to seven. Grove is now hitting .500 (23-46) in only 11 games played.

On the mound the normally untouchable starting pitching corps of Wade Parrish, Jamaal Gaines, and Todd Meldahl failed to pick up a win in a weekend series for the first time this year.

Matt O'Brien (Seattle, Wash.) picked up the Cougs' only win Saturday and is now 5-1 on the season with a 1.65 ERA out of the bullpen. Freshman Sean Donlin (Woodinville, Wash.) picked up his first collegiate save while pitching a perfect ninth inning against the No. 22 ranked Trojans.

WSU is 13-8 lifetime against Stanford. The Cardinal won the last meeting in 1987, 12-11, in the NCAA West Regional in Palo Alto, Calif.

NEW PAC-10 FORMAT: The 1999 season marks a new era in Pacific-10 Conference baseball as the disbanded the former North and South divisions to form one unified league. Portland State dropped its program following the '98 season leaving only three teams in the Northern Divison. This year nine Pac-10 schools (Oregon does not have a team) will make up the Pac-10 baseball league with each team playing a 24-game schedule, with the regular season champion earning the conference automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. WSU will play Oregon State, Cal, and UW twice, but only one of the series will count towards the league standings.

WSU MOUND ROTATION (Probable)

THUR Wade Parrish (LHP)
FRI  Jamaal Gaines (RHP)
SAT  Todd Meldahl (LHP)

COACH FARRINGTON: In his four years at the helm of the Cougar baseball team Farrington has posted a 108-140 recordin his first year with WSU his squad won the Pac-10 North crown and he was named the league coach of the yearbefore coming to WSU in the summer of 1994 Coach Farrington spent 11 seasons as the coach of Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash at the JC level Farrington posted a 280-149 record, with three NWAACC titleshe was the National Junior College Coach of the Year in 1992at Washington State he has coached 17 players who are currently in the minor leagues and Mike Kinkade in the majors.

THE COACHING STAFF: Buzz Verduzco has been onboard as a Cougar assistant coach since 1990he is a 1985 graduate of WSU where he played baseball for Bobo Braytonhis 67 games played in '85 is a WSU recordformer major leaguer Russ Swan joined the coaching staff in 1998Swan spent 11 seasons in the majors with Seattle, Cleveland, and San Francisco.

103 YEARS OF COUGAR BASEBALL: Baseball, the first sport played at Washington State University in 1892, completed its 103rd season of diamond action in 1998during its first 103 seasons, WSU baseball teams won 65.8% of their games, posting a 2,202-1,170 recordWSU was 11-1 in 1892the Cougars did not field baseball teams in 1893-94-95-97.

WSU ON THE RADIO: All Washington State baseball games are broadcast by Houser Communications in Colfaxairtime is 20 minutes before the start of the game...all games are scheduled to air on KCLX (1450 AM) with Alex Webster or Steve Grubbs calling the actionstation subject to change.

OLERUD RANKS SEVENTH AS "PLAYER OF THE CENTURY": Washington State baseball great John Olerud was recently ranked seventh as college baseball's "Player of the Century" by Baseball America. The top 10 players of the century were voted on by fans, coaches, and baseball writers and are listed below:

 1. Pete Incaviglia (Oklahoma State)
 2. Bob Horner (Arizona State)
 3. Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State)
 4. Burt Hooten (Texas)
 5. Dave Winfield (Minnesota)
 6. Phil Stephenson (Wichita State)
 7. John Olerud (Washington State)
 8. J.D. Drew (Florida State)
 9. Eddie Bain (Arizona State)
10. Derek Tatsuno (Hawaii)

Press Conference: Head Coach Steve Farrington will hold a weekly press conference every Tuesday at 1:30...if you are interested in participating please call the WSU Sports Information Office.

Player Interviews: If you wish to talk to any of the Cougar baseball players for interviews, please contact Jeff R. Evans.

STEVENSON FILLING SHOES OF A BIGGER MAN: Junior shortstop Shawn Stevenson (Everett) enters his third season as a Cougar starterlast season he started 48 of WSU's 49 games and hit .328 with nine home runs as the Cougs leadoff hitterover the summer he traveled to Mass., where he played for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Leaguehe hit .265 with a wood bat and in the field led all shortstops with a .974 fielding percentageawarded the Sylvia and Bert Bigelow Award for team MVP honorsin Baseball America's preseason college baseball issue, Stevenson was named the top shortstop in the Pac-10Stevenson is the Cougar record holder for consecutive games with a hit (28)he went 8-for-13 at the plate against the Trojans with a grand slam home run and is now hitting .327 on the yearplayed spectacular defense at shortstop over the course of the last two weeks.

THE SOPHOMORE SENSATION ON THE MEND: Sophomore Jason Grove (Walla Walla, Wash.) started with a bang, and has since been hot after recovering from a broken thumbhe hit two home runs against USC with one landing on the WSU golf courseGrove had himself quite an opening week in New Mexico going 12-for-22 at the plate with four home runs and 13 RBIsin the third game of the series he connected on three home runs, tying a Cougar record last accomplished by Casey Kelley in 1998two of his three home runs came in the first inning and all three were in consecutive at-batsGrove was 5-for-7 in the season openerfor his spectacular play Grove was a top finalist for the Collegiate Baseball national player of the weekGrove is coming off a spectacular freshman year in which he was named an honorable mention freshman All-American by Collegiate BaseballGrove hit .323 last season with 12 home runs and 13 doublesin the outfield he had eight assists and a .982 fielding percentagein the summer Grove played for the Kelowna Grizzlies in the Pacific International League where he hit 15 home runsnext summer he will follow in Stevenson's footsteps to play for Wareham.

AS SOLID AS SCHERER: Senior catcher Jeff Scherer (Kennewick, Wash.) had an opening week in New Mexico he soon won't forgetScherer was 14-for-22 with six doubles and two home runshe tied two school records in a 6-for-7 performance Sundayhis six hits and three doubles equaled Cougar recordsin the series finale with NMSU he was 3-for-5 with two home runs and another doublein one string of at-bats he was 10-for-11 with six doubles and a home runhis eight doubles already doubles his total from all of last season.

THE ACE FROM OTHELLO: Junior Wade Parrish (Othello, Wash.) continued his form against NMSU that he showed as an all-league performer from a year agoParrish threw six innings, allowing just one earned run and struck out five against NMSUParish had a career-best start against SJSU with a two-hit, complete game shutouthe is 4-2 on the season with a 2.61 ERAin two consecutive starts against Oregon State and USC, Parrish set a career best strikeout mark with 11 and 12.

DOC MELDAHL: Junior lefty Todd Meldahl has been solid all year in the No. 3 spot of the starting rotationhe is 3-1 with a 4.86 ERAthrew eight and one-third scoreless innings against San Jose State, and then kept No. 1 ranked Florida State in check for six innings not allowing a runhe has left six of his seven starts with a leadMeldahl was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets and played last summer in Flint, Michiganhe is an outstanding student majoring in mechanical engineering.

IRON MAN GLEASON: Two-sport star Steve Gleason (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) had a breakthrough year on the diamond last season when he hit .290 with six triples and six home runshe started 35 games primarily in center fieldhis six triples ranked only one behind the school record of sevenon the gridiron Gleason was third on the team with 70 tackleshe was sidelined midway through the season with a knee injuryin WSU's '97 Rose Bowl season Gleason started every game at linebacker and was a honorable mention all-Pac-10 pickGleason hit his 12th career triple against the Zag's and is now tied for third on the all-time WSU record listhe is also climbing the ladder in the all-time strikeout department and has a team-leading 30 this yearin 1999 Gleason is hitting .253 with four home runs.

THE CANADIAN CONNECTION: Two of the Cougars most dominating relievers hail from Alberta, CanadaLes McTavish (Jr., Slave Lake) and Reggie Rivard (Jr., Bonnyville) tied for the team lead last year with 19 pitching appearances eachMcTavish ended the season with a 3-2 record and the team's top ERA of 4.70Rivard leads the Cougs with four saves this year and has topped the radar guns at 92 MPH.

ALL-TIME NCAA DIVISION I VICTORIES: Washington State baseball coaching legend Chuck "Bobo" Brayton's 1,162 victories ranks ninth all-time among NCAA coaches:

Name, School		Yrs	Won	Lost	Pct
1.	Cliff Gustafson, Texas	29	1,427	373	.792
2.	Rod Deadeux, USC	45	1,332	571	.699
3.	Ron Fraser, Miami (Fla.)	30	1,271	438	.742
4.	Jack Stallings, Georgia South.*	38	1,229	767	.615
5.	Al Ogeltree, Texsas-Pan Am*	41	1,217	713	.631
6.	Augie Garrido, Texas*	30	1,204	558	.663
7.	Chuck Hartman, Virginia Tech*	39	1,200	609	.663
8.	Gene Stephenson, Wichita St.*	21	1,165	346	.770
9.	Bobo Brayton, WSU	33	1,162	523	.689
10.	Bill Wilhelm, Clemson	36	1,161	536	.683
* = Active coach

THE HAWAIIAN PUNCH: Three members of WSU's 1999 baseball squad come from paradise, literallyMicah Banton, Lanakila Niles, and David PerreiraPerreira (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) transferred to WSU from the University of Hawaii in August has been a starter at third base and designated hitterBanton (Jr., Honolulu) is a speedy outfielder who will see backup duty in all three outfield positions and as a pinch runnerNiles (RS-Fr., Pearl City, Hawaii) is a crafty right-hander with four pitcheshe could see duty out of the bullpen and spot-starting opportunities Niles recorded his first collegiate win against NMSU.

GRANDPA ROBERTSON: At 25 years of age, senior second baseman Boyd Robertson (Richland, Wash.) could very well be the oldest player in collegiate baseballborn 10/28/73, Robertson attended Pacific University out of high school, then went on a two-year church mission to Brazil for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 academic yearsRobertson attended one year of junior college at Columbia Basin College before arriving at WSU in 1997after a transfer mandated redshirt season in '97, Robertson played in 40 games (32 as a starter) in 1998 and hit .276Robertson has played spectacular defense in the field at second and has connected on three home runs in 1999.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Home Record	1-3
Road Record	10-3
Neutral Record	5-3
Day Games	14-8
Night Games	2-1
On Turf	1-2
On Grass	15-7
Pac-10	1-2
Pac-10 (non-counting)	5-1
Non-Conference	15-7
Vs. Left-Handed Starters	4-4
Vs. Right-Handed Starters	12-5
Against Top-25 Teams	1-4
One-Run Games	4-2
Two-Run Games	1-1
Extra Innings Games	0-0
Shutouts	2-0
Scoring First	10-3
Opponents Score First	5-7
Ahead After Five Innings	12-3
Behind After Five Innings	3-6
Ahead Going into Final Inning	14-0
Behind Going into Final Inning	1-8
Doubleheaders	3-1
WSU Scores over 10 runs	8-0
Opponents Score over 10 runs	3-3
Scoring Five or More Runs	14-6
Scoring Four or More Runs	14-7
Allowing Five or More Runs	9-8
Allowing Four or Less Runs	6-1
Hitting Multiple Home Runs	6-5
WSU is Errorless	2-2
WSU Commits an Error	14-7
WSU Outhits Opponent	10-0
Opponent Outhits WSU	5-8
February	8-2
March	8-7
April	0-0
May	0-0
Sunday	3-2
Monday	2-0
Tuesday	1-1
Wednesday	1-1
Thursday	0-0
Friday	5-0
Saturday	4-5
Current Win Streak	0
Longest Winning Streak	6
Longest Losing Streak	3
Largest winning Margin	14
In White Hats	1-2
In Crimson Hats	15-7

THE CARDINAL: The Stanford Cardinal bring in a 20-8, 6-0 Pac-10 record into the three-game series with the Cougarsthe Cardinal will throw three right-handers at the Cougs with Jason Young, Brian Sager, and Justin Wayne having a combined 10-2 recordYoung has been the Pac-10 pitcher of the week three times this yearthe Cardinal leading hitter is Jeff Rizzo who is hitting .340 (34-100)Josh Hochgesang leads the Cardinal with six home runsthe Cougars haven't played Stanford since 1987 when they lost 12-11 in the NCAA West RegionalWSU and Stanford was to play a three-game series in Pullman last year, but was cancelled because of Stanford making the NCAA tournamentStanford is currently ranked third in all three polls and were the No. 1 team for the most part of 1998.

THIS WEEK IN THE PAC-10

Arizona (20-14, 3-6)
April 1-3, Washington

Arizona State (27-11, 3-3)
April 1-3, at Oregon State

California (13-21, 3-3)
April 1-3, UCLA

Oregon State (10-19, 0-3)
April 1-3, Arizona State

Stanford (20-8, 6-0)
April 1-2, Washington State

UCLA (15-19, 1-4)
April 1-3, at California

USC (16-16, 7-2)
March 30, San Diego State
April 1-3, Cal-State Northridge

Washington (14-8, 3-2)
April 1-3, at Arizona

Washington State (16-9)
April 1-3, at Stanford

RECORD WATCH: Quick pull out your media guides, because several WSU baseball records have already been shattered in 1999 and several current Cougs are moving their way up the career record lists:

Career Triples:
Steve Gleason, 12, t3rd
Career Strikeouts:
Steve Gleson, 120, 4th all-time
Hits in a game:
Jeff Scherer, 6, 2/14/99 at NMSU
Doubles in a game:
Jeff Scherer, 3, 2/14/99 at NMSU
Triples in a game:
Ryan Smith, 2, 2/14/99 at NMSU
Career Runs Allowed:
Todd Meldahl, 167, 4th all-time
Home Runs In a Game:
Jason Grove, 3, 2/14/99 at NMSU
Team Hits in a Game:
25 to tie record, 2/14 & 2/15 at NMSU
Runs in Ninth Inning:
10, 2/15/99 at NMSU

STREAKING COUGS: The following Cougar players are currently riding multiple-game hitting streaksGrove's dates back to the 1998 seasonthe school record is 28 games set by Shawn Stevenson in '98:

Jason Grove	2
Jeff Scherer	2
Ray Hattenburg	7
Boyd Robertson	2
Dusty Edler	1
Micah Banton	1
Shawn Stevenson	10
Zach Bode	1

STANFORD MOUND ROTATION

	Thursday:  Jason Young (RHP)
	Friday:  Justin Wayne (RHP)
	Saturday:  Brian Sager (RHP)

COUGS CATCH FIRE ON SPRING BREAK TRIP TO BAY AREA: The Washington State baseball team had a great 6-1 road trip during their spring break March 13-20. WSU beat Cal two out of three in a non-Pac-10 counting series, then took a single game from San Francisco, and then completed their seven-game trip with a series sweep of Oregon State in Yakima, Wash. Ray Hattenburg had a hot stretch at the plate going 14-for-29 on the trip with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Zach Bode was equally impressive hitting .417 with 12 RBIs and four home runs. In a course of four consecutive games Bode hit a home run in each game and now has five on the season. Out of the bullpen Matt O'Brien picked up two wins. Starter Jamaal Gaines was also 2-0 on the trip to even his season record at 2-2.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS: So far 1999 has proved to be a great year for freshmen on the Cougar baseball squadNiles was spectacular in his starting debut striking out eight in five innings to earn his first collegiate winlefty Sean Donlin (Woodinville, Wash.) has been dominating out of the bullpen giving up only eight hits and two earned runs in six innings of workBookie Gates has taken over as the starter at third base and was named to the all-tournament team in Minnesotapitcher/ designated hitter Tyson Thompson has given quality innings out of the bullpen as wellEvan Hecker (Seattle, Wash.) started his first game as a Coug against Gonzaga and with the injury to Grove has found himself in the starting lineuphe is a sparkplug in the No. 2 spot in the order with a .417 on-base percentage.

HORMEL FOODS CLASSIC: When the WSU baseball team ventured to Minneapolis March 5-7 for the 15th annual Hormel Foods Baseball Classic, they competed against three of the top collegiate baseball programs in the nationthe Cougs nearly defeated No. 1 Florida State and No. 13 Wichita State in consecutive games and beat the host University of Minnesota 6-5Bookie Gates hit a phenomenal .537 (7-for-13) with three doubles and a home runall games were played at the HHH Metrodome, the home of the Minnesota Twins.

PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
	PAC-10			OVERALL
	W	L	Pct.	W	L	Pct.
Stanford	6	0	1.000	20	8	.714
USC	7	2	.778	16	16	.500
UW	3	2	.600	14	8	.636
ASU	3	3	.500	27	11	.711
CAL	3	3	.500	13	21	.382
WSU	1	2	.333	16	9	.640
ARIZ	3	6	.333	20	14	.588
UCLA	1	4	.200	15	19	.441
OSU	0	3	.000	10	19	.345

THE PHILLEY FANATIC: Two-sport star Brad Philley (Puyallup, Wash.) took a year layoff from baseball, but played has played this year like he never left the fieldin his first action in the opener against NMSU, he was 1-for-2, recording his first hit since April 13, 1997 against the University of Washingtonin his first start of the year Feb. 15, Philley was 4-for-5 with two RBIsPhilley starts as an outside liebacker on the WSU football team.

THESE GUYS CAN COACH TOO: Steve Curran and Zach Bode spend their summers not playing baseball, but coaching it...the Cougar players helped coach Chaffey Baseball Club in Seattle...Chaffey is regarded as one of the best summer baseball progams in the state of Washington ...Curran and Bode are alumni of the Chaffey program...Boyd Robertson and Jamaal Gaines helped coach a Pony League team in Pullman...reliever Les McTavish was the pitching coach for the Lethebridge, Alberta Legion team. Justin Nakaishi coached a legion team in Utah.

HATTIE: An ankle injury sidelined junior Ray Hattenburg (Spokane, Wash.) early in the '98 season, and he never recovered to regain his '97 stroke that saw him hit .339 (58-171)in 1998 he hit .279 with two home runsnow a junior Hattenburg is 100% and ready to return to his old waysan outfielder for the past two seasons, Hattenburg has moved to the infield and will start at first base and see action at third and even in the outfieldhe has started 15 at first, two at third, six in left, and one in right.

COUGS IN THE MINORS: At the end of the 1998 minor league season, 19 Cougars were wearing professional uniforms...they included:

Todd Belitz	P	St. Petersburg	A	Tampa Bay
Ken Cameron	OF	Arkansas	AA	St. Louis
Eric Estes	P	Mobile	AA	San Diego
Jason Goligoski	SS	Tulsa	AA	Texas
Burdette Greeny	P	Helena	R	Milwaukee
Jason Hairston	OF	Macon	A	Atlanta
Terrel Hansen	1B	Chico	--	Independent
Mark Hendrickson	LHP	Dunedin	A	Toronto
Jim Horner	C	Orlando	AA	Seattle
Kyle Kawabata	P	Clearwater	A	Philadelphia
Casey Kelley	1B	Boise	A	Anaheim
Mike Kinkade	3B	Norfolk	AAA	N.Y Mets
Tom McGraw	P	Ottawa	AAA	Montreal
Chad Miles	P	Lakeland	A	Detroit
Robert Ramsey	P	Trenton	AA	Boston
Rob Ryan	OF	Tucson	AAA	Arizona
Mark Small	P	Okla. City	AAA	Texas
Ole Vigeland	P	Pulaski	R	Texas
Dave Wheeler	P	Kingsport	R	N.Y. Mets

DRAFTED COUGARS: Five members of the Cougar Baseball team were drafted by Major League baseball teams following high school graduation. They are:

Tony Dawson - Oakland, 19th round, 1997
Dusty Edler - Toronto, 48th round, 1994
Todd Meldahl - NY Mets, 29th round, 1996
Brad Philley - Philadelphia, 33rd round, 1996
Tyson Thompson - Pittsburgh, 23rd round, 1998

COUGS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES: Last year five former Cougar baseball players dotted the rosters of major league clubs. Aaron Sele of the Texas Rangers had a breakthrough season in '98 as he was selected to his first all-star game. John Olerud nearly became the second player to ever win a batting title in both the American and National League The following players are listed with the teams they played with in '98 and their statistics:

1998 STATS	POS	TEAM	AVG.	HR	G	AB
Scott Hatteburg	C	Boston	.276	12	112	359
Mike Kinkade	3B	NY (N)	.000	0	3	2
John Olerud	1B	NY (N)	.354	22	160	557
1998 STATS	POS	TEAM	W-L	ERA	G	SO
Aaron Sele	RHP	Texas	19-11	4.23	33	167
David Wainhouse	RHP	Colorado	1-0	4.91	10	3

CWS AND THE PAC-10: Capturing College World Series titles is nothing new for Pacific-10 Conference teams. Conference clubs have won the national baseball title 24 times since the CWS started in 1947, including 17 times in the last 31 years. In all, Pac-10 teams have played for the title 33 times, with 10 second-place finishes. At the CWS last year, Arizona State and Southern Cal combined for 35 runs before USC came away with a 21-14 win. It was the Trojans 12th CWS title all-time. The only years at least one Pac-10 team did not qualify for the CWS were 1969-89-91-96.

1998 STATS	POS	TEAM	AVG.	HR	G	AB
Scott Hatteburg	C	Boston	.276	12	112	359
Mike Kinkade	3B	NY (N)	.000	0	3	2
John Olerud	1B	NY (N)	.354	22	160	557
1998 STATS	POS	TEAM	W-L	ERA	G	SO
Aaron Sele	RHP	Texas	19-11	4.23	33	167
David Wainhouse	RHP	Colorado	1-0	4.91	10	3

1998 - A SEASON OF RECORDS: In 1998 Casey Kelley (Ellensburg, Wash.) etched his name into the record books with a Washington State and Pac-10 North record 25 home runs. The record mark broke John Olerud's 1988 record of 23. An amazing fact is 20 of his 25 long balls sailed to left field, his opposite field. Kelley finished ranked third nationally with .51 home runs per game and was named third team All-America by Collegiate BaseballKelley also set the record for 63 strikeouts in a seasonSteve Gleason hit six triples, one off the school record of seven.

1998 COUGARS ON ALL PAC-10 NORTH TEAM: Four players from the 1998 squad were named to the Pac-10 North all-conference team. Scott Randall became a two-time selection with a team leading .358 batting average. Casey Kelley, Wade Parrish, and Greg Mitchell were also named to the team in recognition of their excellent seasons. Mitchell and Kelley combined to hit 40 of the Cougs' 97 home runs and Parrish finished second in the league with eight wins.

THE CHAFFEY CONNECTION: One of the most highly regarded select baseball programs in the state of Washington has become a feeding ground for current Cougar baseball players. Chaffey Construction participates annually in the nation's best tournaments. The Seattle-based team has graduated several current Cougs including Zach Bode, Steve Curran, Ryan Smith, Tyson Thompson, Jeron Gates, Sean Donlin, Wes Falkenborg, and Kevin Harasimowicz.

ONE TOUGH SCHEDULE: The NCAA doesn't compile a power ranking for college baseball, but if the 1999 WSU baseball schedule was put to a vote, it would be one of the toughest in the countryin all WSU will play six teams in Baseball America's top 25 and eight teams in Collegiate Baseball's top 30the Cougars were 29th in both the Collegiate Baseball and Baseball Weekly polls the week of March 22, and the Cougs received six votes this week.

Team	CB	BA	BW
Arizona State	18	20	16
Arizona	NR	NR	NR
Florida State	1	1	1
Minnesota	30	NR	NR
Stanford	3	3	3
UCLA	NR	NR	NR
USC	25	NR	NR
Washington	NR	NR	NR
Wichita State	12	10	13

STEVENSON BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD: Junior shortstop Shawn Stevenson surpassed John Olerud as the record holder for most consecutive games with a hit in the early part of the 1998 season...the switch hitting leadoff hitter ended his streak March 6, 1998 with an 0-for-4 day against Ohio State...the streak ended at 28 games which dated back to April 13th of the '97 season in a game against Lewis-Clark State....Olerud set the previous mark of 22 games in the 1988 season in which he was voted Baseball America's player of the year...during the streak Stevenson hit .384 (48/125).

COUGS ADD TO WARDROBE: The Washington State baseball team will be making a fashion statement when they take the field this Spring. The Cougars have added a white, sleeveless jersey that will be accompanied with a crimson undershirt. The Cougars now have five sets of uniforms to take the field in. They include home whites and pinstripes, and crimson and gray mesh jerseys for the road. The Cougs will also feature an alternate white cap this year in addition to the standard crimson cap. Here is how the Cougs have faired in each set of uniforms:

	White Home:          1-0
	White Sleeveless:    3-4
	Pinstripe:         2.5-1
	Crimson Mesh:        9-2
	Gray Mesh:           1-2

THE TRADITION: The Washington State baseball program is one filled with a history of success, pride, and achievements. Among the facts:

89 winning seasons

Only 14 losing seasons in 103 years

41 conference championships

Five College World Series appearances

22 NCAA appearances

24 no-hitters

Four coaches over the last 66 years

Nine first-team All-Americans

One college baseball player of the year

131 first-team all-league selections since '47

ON THE TUBE: In addition to every game being on the radio this season, the WSU baseball team will be on television several times during the course of the 1999 seasonthe following dates are when WSU is scheduled to be on TV with more games possibly added:

 4/10  at Arizona State    Fox Net        7:00
 4/17  Arizona             FSN (Delay)    1:00
 5/2   Washington          FSN (Delay)    1:00
 5/16  at Oregon State     FSN (Delay)    1:00