Washington State University Athletics
Cougars to Host Portland at Gesa Stadium in Pasco
The Washington State baseball team (26-23, 9-15 Pac-12) begins a four-game stretch away from Bailey-Brayton Field when it hosts the University of Portland in a nonconference game at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Wash., May 12...first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m...Washington State is 311-300 under the helm of Donnie Marbut, who is in his 11th season as head coach of the Cougar program and has the third most wins behind Buck Bailey and Bobo Brayton.
PROBABLE STARTERS
UP WSU
LHP Cole Doherty (1-4, 6.59 ERA) RHP Sam Triece (3-0, 3.07 ERA)
SCOUTING PORTLAND
The University of Portland Pilots enter this week’s game with a 10-39 overall record…the Pilots lost all three games to Santa Clara in West Coast Conference play last weekend after taking one of three against Loyola Marymount the previous weekend...over its last 10 games the Pilots are 3-7, including taking two of three against WCC foe Gonzaga...infielder Kevin Wade leads the team in hitting at .279 while outfielder Turner Gill is closer behind at .276 along with team-bests of nine home runs and 29 RBI...as a team Portland is hitting .240 while opponents are batting .313.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE PILOTS
The Cougars enter the series holding a 73-28-1 advantage all-time against the Pilots...the Cougars captured the last meeting, a 1-0 victory in Pasco (May 20, 2013)...when playing at a neutral site, the Cougars hold a 14-5 advantage...Tuesday’s contest marks the third time in the past four years these teams have played in Pasco, with WSU taking the first meeting 4-2 (May 8, 2012).
RECAP: WASHINGTON STATE VS. OREGON
Washington State dropped the series against the Ducks, winning Game 2 of the three-game series...Oregon won the opened 8-3 in 10 innings before rebounding in Game 2 for the 3-1 victory...in the rubber match, the Ducks scored two first-inning runs and never looked back in the 7-2 win...Jack Strunc and Cameron Frost led WSU by hitting .444 (4-for-9) for the series...the series loss was WSU’s second-straight after winning its previous four series.
WALKER NAMED PAC-12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Ryan Walker was named the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 27-May 3. In two starts, Walker worked a combined 11 2/3 innings, scattering four hits with three walks while striking out 12. Opponents hit only .105 against him and managed two extra base hits, with only one runner advancing past second. Against Washington last Monday, Walker went four 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out five. Against Arizona, Walker went a career-high seven innings, scattering two hits with a walk while striking out a career-high seven. He is the second Cougar to receive the honor this season as Joe Pistorese won in back-to-back weeks last month.
HAMILTON CAPTURES WSU SAVES RECORD
Sophomore Ian Hamilton recorded his 25th career save in a Cougar uniform in WSU’s 3-0 win at Washington in a nonconference game, giving him sole possession of first on the WSU all-time career saves list, passing Reed Rainey (1983-85)...Hamilton captured the record in little over a season and a half, with 15 saves as a freshman and 12 more this season, with seven games still remaining.
SAGDAL REMAINS HOT
Since April 1, senior Ian Sagdal has hit safely in 16 of his 21 games, eight of which were multi-hit games…over the 21-game span, the lefty has posted a .329 batting average (28-of-85), a .600 slugging percentage, five doubles, three triples, 12 RBI and four home runs...on the season, Sagdal leads the young Cougar squad offensively in batting average (.318), slugging (.514), runs (33), hits (57), doubles (12), home runs (5), RBI (29) and total bases (92).
TRIECE DOMINATING IN LATE SEASON
While Joe Pistorese and Ryan Walker have earned Pitcher of the Week honors this season, pitcher Sam Triece has quietly put together a strong senior campaign...over his last 11 appearances dating back to April 7, Triece has gone 4-0 in 22 innings, allowing nine hits, all singles, one run, five walks, 21 strikeouts and a .636 WHIP...in that span opponents are hitting .122 against him...against Utah (Apr. 26), he got his second start of the season and responded by throwing six innings, allowing one hit with a season-high seven strikeouts to get the win...for the season he is 4-0 with a 3.07 ERA.
ROSTER FULL OF YOUTH
The WSU roster has 24 members in their freshman or sophomore year of eligibility…13 of those players have seen starts this season…in 49 games, the 13 have combined for 303 position starts and make up 64 percent of runs (138-of-215), 69 percent of hits (270-of-390), 65 percent of doubles (45-of-69), 67 percent of triples (10-of-15) and 66 percent of RBI (126-of-191)…Freshman Shane Matheny is the only player to start all 49 games and leads the newcomers in hits (37), doubles (9) and total bases (49).
CHAPMAN FINDING HIS RANGE
Since being inserted into the starting lineup on a regular basis, freshman outfielder Derek Chapman has given Donnie Marbut no reason to regret that decision...since April 1, Chapman has started 21 of 22 games and has 30 hits, including nine multi-hit games, a .349 batting average (30-of-86) and a .407 slugging percentage.
ROBERTS MAKING LATE CHARGE
After hitting. 127 through his first 34 games, redshirt junior Ben Roberts is making up for lost time...the outfielder is hitting .378 (17-for-45) over his last 12 games, leading the team in hits (17) over the span with seven multi-hit games, 10 runs scored, nine RBI and a .489 slugging percentage...has raised his average 91 points in the stretch and is hitting .218 for the season.
