Washington State Cougars - Baseball - Washington State University Athletics

Cougs Gearing up for Season Opener

Baseball squad opens '99 slate with four-game series at New Mexico St.

February 9, 1999

THIS WEEK:	
Fri., Feb. 12 - WSU at NMSU, 5:00 p.m., Askew Field, Las Cruces, NM
Sat., Feb. 13 - WSU at NMSU, 3:00 p.m., Askew Field, Las Cruces, NM
Sun., Feb. 14 - WSU at NMSU, 3:00 p.m., Askew Field, Las Cruces, NM
Mon., Feb. 15 - WSU at NMSU, 10:00 a.m., Askew Field, Las Cruces, NM

NEXT WEEK:
Friday, Feb. 19 - WSU vs. Gonzaga, 2:00 p.m., Posse Stadium, Pasco, Wash.
Saturday, Feb. 20 - WSU vs. Gonzaga, 1:00 p.m., Posse Stadium, Pasco, Wash.
Sunday, Feb. 21 - WSU vs. Gonzaga, 1:00 p.m., Posse Stadium, Pasco, Wash.

WSU LINEUP (0-0, 0-0) (TENTATIVE) ('98 STATS)

1B - RAY HATTENBURG, Jr. (.279, 29 H, 20 RBI, 2 HR)
     Zach Bode, Jr. (.313, 5 H, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR)
2B - BOYD ROBERTSON, Sr. (.276, 35 H, 18 RBI, 1 HR)
     Jeron "Bookie" Gates, Fr. (High School)
SS - SHAWN STEVENSON, Jr. (.328, 66 H, 38 RBI, 9 HR)
     Jeron "Bookie" Gates, Fr. (High School)
3B - DAVID PERREIRA, Jr.  (Transfer from Hawaii)
     Ray Hattenburg, Jr. (.279, 29 H, 20 RBI, 2 HR)
LF - DUSTY EDLER, RS-Sr. (.296, 16 H, 14 RBI, 2 HR)
     Evan Hecker, Fr. (High School Last Season)
CF - STEVE GLEASON, Sr. (.290, 36 H, 29 RBI, 6 3B, 6 HR)
     Micah Banton, RS-Jr. (Transfer from Hawaii Pacific)
RF - JASON GROVE, So. (.323, 52 H, 31 RBI, 13 2B, 12 HR)
     Brad Philley, RS-So, (Did not play last season)
C -  JEFF SCHERER, Sr. (.276, 27 H, 23 RBI, 7 HR)
     Ryan Smith, Jr. (.236, 17 H, 17 RBI, 4 HR)
DH - STEVE CURRAN, Jr. (.241, 35 H, 34 RBI, 8 HR)
     Zach Bode, Jr. (.313, 5 H, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR)
     David Perreira, Jr. (Transfer from Hawaii)
P1 - WADE PARRISH, Jr. (L, 8-3, 4.93 ERA, 84.0 IP)
P2 - JAMAAL GAINES, Sr. (R, 4-4, 5.73 ERA, 75.1 IP)
P3 - TODD MELDAHL, Jr. (L, 4-6, 7.29, 66.2 IP)
R1 - Les McTavish, Jr.(R, 3-2, 4.79, 35.2 IP, 19 APP)
R2 - Reggie Rivard, Jr. (R, 0-2, 7.02, 33.1 IP, 4 SV, 19 APP)

COUGAR DIAMOND NOTES

COUGS OPEN '99 SEASON WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS: A year older, a year more experienced, and a step closer to post-season play.

The Cougars open the 1999 season this weekend (Feb. 12-15) against New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M. Games times are slated for 5 p.m., 3 p.m., 3 p.m., and 10 a.m. PST respectively.

The 1999 Cougar diamond squad headed by coach Steve Farrington has one goal in mind this season and that is to make it back to the NCAA tournament. The Cougs haven't made it to the NCAA regionals since the 1990 season, but with a plethora of veteran talent and some exciting freshmen, Farrington vows the 64-team NCAA tournament is not out of reach.

Farrington, and his staff, veteran assistant Buzz Verduzco and former major league pitcher Russ Swan, return 18 letter winners and five of eight position starters, plus the entire starting pitching corps, from last year's 25-24 team.

Farrington notes the added depth as a major advantage because of a tough schedule. The Cougars will face a number of nationally ranked opponents in '99, including preseason No. 1 Wichita State. In all the Cougars are scheduled to play eight teams listed on Collegiate Baseball's preseason top 40. In addition to a tough non-league schedule, WSU will see a new league format for the first time since 1969. WSU will be playing in arguably the toughest college baseball league as they join with the previous Pac-10 South to play a 24-game league schedule.

The four-game series against the New Mexico State Aggies (1-6) marks the first time the two teams will meet

Junior ace Wade Parrish (Othello, Wash.) will get the nod in the season opener and look to continue his '98 form that saw him earn all-league honors with an 8-3 record. Senior Jamaal Gaines (Antioch, Calif.) and junior Todd Meldahl (Butte, Mont.) will also get starts in the weekend series.

At the plate the Cougars will see a new look lineup from '98 that lost a combined 40 home runs from All-American Casey Kelley and Greg Mitchell. Shawn Stevenson (Jr., Everett, Wash.) is coming off a strong '98 season in which he hit .328 with nine home runs. He will hit in the leadoff spot.

Sophomore Jason Grove (Walla Walla, Wash.) was the lone freshman to see action last year and earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger freshman All-American team. Grove will start in right field, along with Steve Gleason (Spokane, Wash.) in center, and Dusty Edler (Yakima, Wash.) in left.

The infield will be anchored by Stevenson at shortstop, with Boyd Robertson (Richland, Wash.) at second, David Perreira (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) at third, and Ray Hattenburg (Spokane, Wash) at first.

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 league's 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)
	FRI	Wade Parrish (LHP)
	SAT	Jamaal Gaines (RHP)
	SUN	Todd Meldahl (LHP)
	MON	TBA

COACH FARRINGTON: In his four years at the helm of the Cougar baseball team Farrington has posted a 92-131 record…in his first year with WSU his squad won the Pac-10 North crown and he was named the league coach of the year…before 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 titles…he was the National Junior College Coach of the Year in 1992…at 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 1990…he is a 1985 graduate of WSU where he played baseball for Bobo Brayton…his 67 games played in '85 is a WSU record…former major leaguer Russ Swan joined the coaching staff in 1998…Swan 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 1998…during its first 103 seasons, WSU baseball teams won 65.8% of their games, posting a 2,189-1,128-7 record…WSU was 11-1 in 1892…the Cougars did not field baseball teams in 1893-94-95-97.

WSU IN SEASON OPENERS: In the Steve Farrington era, WSU is 1-3 in season openers…the Cougs beat San Diego State 13-6 last season to pick up Farrington's first opening day win.

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 Winnfield (Minnesota)

6. Shell Stephenson (Wichita State)

7. John Olerud (Washington State)

8. J.D. Drew (Florida State)

9. Eddie Bain (Arizona State)

10. Derrick Tatsuno (Hawaii)

Baseball Contact:  Jeff R. Evans
SID Phone:  (509) 335-2684
SID Fax:  (509) 335-0267
E-Mail:  jrevans@wsu.edu 
Website:  www.wsu.edu/athletics
Address:  	Bohler Addition 195
		P.O. Box 641602
		Pullman, WA 99164-1602

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 at (509) 335-2684.

Player Interviews: If you wish to talk to any of the Cougar baseball players for interviews, please contact Jeff R. Evans in the sports information office to set up a time.

Media Guides: Available upon request

The Players……

STEVENSON FILLING SHOES OF A BIGGER MAN: Junior shortstop Shawn Stevenson (Everett) enters his third season as a Cougar starter…last season he started 48 of WSU's 49 games and hit .328 with nine home runs as the Cougs leadoff hitter…over the summer he traveled to Mass., where he played for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod League…he hit .265 with a wood bat and in the field led all shortstops with a .974 fielding percentage…awarded the Sylvia and Bert Bigelow Award for team MVP honors…in Baseball America's preseason college baseball issue, Stevenson was named the top shortstop in the Pac-10…Stevenson is the Cougar record holder for consecutive games with a hit (28).

GROVE: Sophomore Jason Grove (Walla Walla, Wash.) is coming off a spectacular freshman year in which he was named an honorable mention freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball…Grove hit .323 last season with 12 home runs and 13 doubles…in the outfield he had eight assists and a .982 fielding percentage…in the summer Grove played for the Kelowna Grizzlies in the Pacific International League where he hit 15 home runs…next summer he will follow in Stevenson's footsteps to play for Wareham in the Cape Cod League…in the Cougars' first developmental game Grove had a grand slam and a three-run home run for seven RBI.

1999 PRESEASON PAC-10 POLL (Record)
1. Southern California	(1-3)
2. Stanford	(3-3)
3. Washington	(0-0)
4. Arizona State	(11-3)
UCLA	(4-5)
6. California	(3-5)
7. Arizona	(9-0)
8. Oregon State	(3-0)
9. Washington State	(0-0)

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 runs…he started 35 games primarily in center field…his six triples ranked only one behind the school record of seven…on the gridiron Gleason was third on the team with 70 tackles…he was sidelined midway through the season with a knee injury…in WSU's '97 Rose Bowl season Gleason started every game at linebacker and was a honorable mention all-Pac-10 pick.

THE CANADIAN CONNECTION: Two of the Cougars most dominating relievers hail from Alberta, Canada…Les McTavish (Jr., Slave Lake) and Reggie Rivard (Jr., Bonnyville) tied for the team lead last year with 19 pitching appearances each…McTavish ended the season with a 3-2 record and the team's top ERA of 4.79…Rivard led the Cougar pitching corps with four saves and with a dominating fastball will again be looked to as the closer.

ISLAND FEVER: Three members of WSU's 1999 baseball squad come from paradise, literally…Micah Banton, Lanakila Niles, and David Perreira…Perreira (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) transferred to WSU from the University of Hawaii in August and is penciled in as the starter at third base…Perreira can also play second, catcher, and fill the designated hitter role… Banton (Jr., Honolulu) is a speedy outfielder who will see backup duty in all three outfield positions…Niles (RS-Fr., Pearl City, Hawaii) is a crafty right-hander with four pitches…he could see duty out of the bullpen and spot-starting opportunities.

GRANDPA ROBERTSON: At 25 years of age, senior second baseman Boyd Robertson (Richland, Wash.) could very well be the oldest player in collegiate baseball…born 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 years…Robertson attended one year of junior college at Columbia Basin College before arriving at WSU in 1997…after a transfer mandated redshirt season in '97, Robertson played in 40 games (32 as a starter) in 1998 and hit .276.

BIONIC MAN II: Senior outfielder Dusty Edler (Yakima, Wash.) comes from a family of strong Cougar heritage…his brother Dave Edler was an All-America player at WSU in 1978 playing third base, outfield, designated hitter and pitcher…for his utility role he was coined with the nickname "The Bionic Man"…Dave Edler then went on to play in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners from 1981-83…Dusty can play any of the outfield positions for the Cougs, but will open the season as the starting left fielder…Dusty was selected in the 48th round of the 1994 amateur baseball draft.

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
J 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

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 '98 he hit .279 and two home runs…now a junior Hattenburg is 100% and ready to return to his old ways…an outfielder for the past two seasons, Hattenburg moved to the infield and will start at first base and see action at third.

HORMEL FOODS CLASSIC: When the WSU baseball team ventures to Minneapolis March 5-7 for the Hormel Foods Baseball Classic, they will be competing against three of the top collegiate baseball programs in the nation…the Cougs play No. 1 Wichita State and No. 2 Florida State (Collegiate Baseball Poll) in consecutive games…WSU also plays the University of Minnesota in the opening game of the tournament…the Golden Gophers were ranked 29th in the preseason poll…all games will be played in Minneapolis Metrodome, the home of the Minnesota Twins major league baseball team.

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

NEW MEXICO STATE INFORMATION:

1999 Record:  1-6
1998 Record:  23-29
Conference:  Big West
Vs. WSU:  0-0
Baseball SID:  Thomas Dick
SID E-Mail:  thdick@nmsu.edu 
SID Phone:  (505) 646-3929
Head Coach:  Rocky Ward (44-62)
Assistants:  Tim Touma, Brad Meador

WSU ON THE RADIO: All Washington State baseball games are broadcast by Houser Communications in Colfax...airtime is five minutes before the start of the game...all games are scheduled to air on KCLX (1450 AM) with Alex Webster calling the action.

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.

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 Sou.	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

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.

TWO SPORTS STUDS: Two members of the Cougar baseball team are also members of the Cougar football squad. They are starting linebackers Steve Gleason and Brad Philley. Gleason, a senior in baseball, started eight of the 11 games this past fall and was third on the team with 70 tackles. Philley moved from his special teams role in '97 to a starting spot at weakside linebacker in '98. He started nine games for the Cougs and recorded 57 total tackles.

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 first 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	Colo.	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 Baseball…Kelley also set the record for 63 strikeouts in a season…Steve 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 country…in all WSU will play six teams in Baseball America's top 25 and eight teams in Collegiate Baseball's top 30.

Team	CB	BA	BW
Arizona State	26	12	15
Arizona	21	NR	NR
Florida State	2	1	5
Stanford	12	10	6
UCLA	18	NR	22
USC	9	4	1
Washington	24	21	21
Wichita State	1	5	4