BSB: Cougs look to get starting hurlers untracked against Arizona
WHAT: Arizona (21-7, 5-4) at Washington State (14-12, 1-5)
WHERE: Bailey-Brayton Field (3,500),Pullman, WA
WHEN: Fri. at 5 p.m.; Sat. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 1 p.m.
TV/RADIO: No TV; 104.7 FM and 1150 AM in Pullman (Matt Chazanow and Mike Kinkade); Online at wsucougars.com; Webstream through Pac-12.org.
SERIES HISTORY: Arizona leads 38-24
LAST SERIES: 2016 (Arizona won series 2-1)
In the aftermath of Washington State surrendering 42 runs during last weekend’s winless four-game swing through northern California, Cougars coach Marty Lees has thrown open two of the three weekend pitching spots for competition.
Going into this weekend’s 3-game series against nationally ranked Arizona, WSU’s Friday and Sunday starters are TBA, while RHP Ryan Walker is scheduled to pitch Saturday.
“Forty-two runs in four games is too many,” Lees said Wednesday during his weekly press conference. “It’s tough to win ballgames in this league if you’re giving up that many runs. So, we’re leaving two spots open right now. The coaches will discuss what we want to do and how we want to go about it.”
Damon Jones (3.2 IP, 9 runs, 10 hits, retired just 11 of 26 BF) and Cody Anderson (3.0 IP, 4 runs, 6 hits) were both roughed up by California in last weekend’s series sweep at the hands of the Golden Bears in Berkeley.
Walker, meanwhile, pitched well enough to win the middle game of the Cal series, allowing five hits and three runs in 6.0 innings pitched.
“Ryan pitched well, giving us six good innings where he dominated,” Lees said. “He has continued to get better the last three weekends. He’s a film watcher. He really wants to do well. He’s competing.”
The Cougars have won all three home series this season and own a 10-1 home record in Pullman, matching its best home start since 1988.
Junior third baseman Shane Matheny paces the Cougars with a .337 batting average and is tied for second in the Pac-12 Conference with 12 doubles. Sophomore outfielder Justin Harrer leads WSU with 20 RBI and shares the team home run lead of four with junior outfielder J.J. Hancock (team-high nine 2-out RBI).
Harrer hit .667 (8-for-12) with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in last weekend’s four-game road trip to Berkeley (Cal) and Stockton (Pacific). Monday, he collected a career-high three hits, including a pair of doubles and a grand slam, finishing the afternoon with six RBI, most in a single game since Derek Jones drove seven against USC in 2010.
“When Justin has a good, confident trust in the strike zone, he does very well,” Lees said. “He is one of our better hitters. He has power. When he puts the ball in play, good things happen. He has good presence at the plate and has controlled the strike zone. That’s what we ask of him. He has had good results because of it.”
Arizona come into the WSU series ranked eighth in the National College Baseball Writers Association and the USA Today national polls.
The Wildcats enters the weekend fourth in the county in batting average (.328) and tied for the national lead in runs-per-game (9.0). Last season, the Wildcats went 49-24 and reached the College World Series finals, losing to Coastal Carolina.
“They have a lot of players back from last season,” Lees said. “Their offense is very good., It’s tops in the whole country in virtually all categories. I expect them to come in here ready to play.”
Playing at home, Lees anticipates the Cougars will perform a lot better than they did last weekend in the four games at Cal and Pacific.
“We have to be a different, virtually opposite team than what we saw last weekend,” Lees said. “I want to see us throwing strikes in the bottom of the zone, throwing a second pitch for a strike. We like to steal and put people in motion. But we found ourselves catching up the whole weekend. We have to have better approach of what the (opposing pitcher) is trying to do to us at the mound. We have to be tougher and show more grit.”
NOTES:
-- WSU third baseman Shane Matheny is tied for second in the Pac-12 with 12 doubles.
-- WSU enters the weekend series with Arizona among the Pac-12 Conference leaders in a couple categories. Offensively, the Cougars are second in the league in doubles (57), third in slugging (.406), and fourth in on-base percentage (.369) and stolen bases (24).
-- Closer Scotty Sunitsch is tied for second in the Pac-12 with seven saves while Cody Anderson is eighth in ERA (2.37) and ninth in strikeouts (33). However, the latter has been knocked from the weekend starting rotation after being knocked around by Cal last weekend.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Fri – WSU TBA vs. ARI Sr. LHP JC Cloney (6-0, 1.75 ERA)
Sat – WSU Jr. RHP Ryan Walker (2-3, 5. 66 ERA) vs. ARI Fr. LHP Randy Labaut (1-0, 2.70 ERA)
Sun – WSU TBA vs. ARI LHP Rio Gomez (3-3, 3.41 ERA)
UP NEXT: The Cougars travel to Tempe, Ariz. for a 3-game Pac-12 series against Arizona State beginning Thursday, April 14.
