BSB: Cougs conclude regular season by hosting Apple Cup rivalry
While every other major conference in the country is conducting its conference tournament this week, the Pac-12 is wrapping up its regular season with an eye on holding a conference tourney next season.
For Washington State, the final weekend is a big one as Apple Cup rival Washington comes to Pullman for a 3-game series. Holding an 11-16 conference mark, WSU must sweep the Huskies to get any consideration for the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are currently No. 68 in the NCAA RPI.
UW is last in the Pac-12 with a conference record of 5-19.
"First Apple Cup, so I'm excited about it," Green said Wednesday during a video conference with reporters. "I know it means a lot to everybody at Washington State I know our players are jacked. I'm sure the Huskies are jacked."
Because WSU didn't play last weekend, they'll start staff aces Brandon White and Zane Mills in the first two games of the series on Thursday and Friday. UW has had solid pitching for most of the season while the offense has struggled to score runs.
All three of UW's scheduled starters for the Apple Cup rivalry series have ERAs under 4.20. However, the Huskies are last in the Pac-12 in team batting average (.240), slugging percentage (.334), on-base percentage (311), runs scored (177) and hits (380). They have also hit a league-low 19 homers.
"Washington has done a very good job on the mound this year," Green said. "Their pitching staff has been very good if you look at their numbers. And their defense has been solid. We have to make sure we limit mistakes. Offensively, we'll have a nice challenge. Fortunately, we're in a good spot with our preparation."
Saturday's starter for WSU is TBA. The Game 3 starter has changed from week-to-week for most of the season, which is why Green acknowledged Wednesday that finding a reliable and consistent three-man weekend rotation is high on his 'to-do- list for the 2022 season.
"We need to find more depth on the mound," Green said. "That's the top priority in recruiting. We have to find a weekend rotation and a midweek starter. We have to find 10 or 11 guys we can rely on. Doing that will be a challenge, certainly."
Single-game tickets are available for Thursday and Friday. Saturday's regular season finale is sold out of the allotted tickets.
WSU is second in the league in hitting (.300) and scoring (7.2 r/g), and are led by preseason All-American junior first baseman Kyle Manzardo (17 2B, 11 HR, 57 RBI) who enters the week as one of two players in the country with 17+ doubles, 11+ home runs and 55+ RBI.
Two-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week Zane Mills is third in the Pac-12 in innings (71.0) and eighth in strikeouts (80).
While earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament appears to be a long shot, finishing above .500 for the first time since 2015 (29-27) is certainly within reach for WSU (24-22). In fact, the only way for the Cougars to conclude Apple Cup weekend below .500 is for the Huskies to sweep.
"We're trying to keep it micro and focus on the immediate things right in front of us that show real progress and real growth," Green said. "The NCAA Tournament is really outside of our control. For us, it's about grabbing a winning season for the first tine in six years and finishing with the most wins in Pac-12 play in a long time. They validate we're on the right track and doing the right things. We feel good about where we're going."
One key sign of progress: WSU is 16-12 on the road in 2021.
Next year, Green hopes the final weekend in May finds WSU and the other 10 baseball programs in the conference competing in a conference baseball tournament at a permanent neutral site.
"The hopes are we lock that in and get it going for 2022," Green said. "Moving forward, we're excited to get it going. We're looking forward to the announcement in the future. The conference needs it. The other major conferences show it's an important thing to have. It can expand the number of teams that make it to the postseason."
