BASEBALL
Another walk-off win for
Cougs
WSU loses series to Cal but
manages to take final game on Hancock's clutch RBI knock in 10th inning
By STEPHAN WIEBE
Moscow Pullman Daily News
PULLMAN - In what has
become a common occurrence at Bailey-Brayton Field, the Washington State
baseball team earned itself another walk-off victory in extra innings Saturday
night against the California Bears.
The Cougars split the
doubleheader, and lost the series 2-1, but they ended on a high note with a
walk-off, RBI single by JJ Hancock that sent speedy Andres Alvarez sliding over
home plate all the way from second base for the winning run.
Hancock threw off his
helmet at first base and opened his arms wide to receive the shower of water
and mob of teammates that piled into him to celebrate the 4-3 win. Cal won the
first game 6-3.
"It was a long day, it
was kinda gonna become longer, it felt like, so I felt like I had to do it
right there," Hancock said. "I had to do whatever I could to bring
Andres in, so I'm glad it happened right there."
Alvarez went to the plate
with two outs in the bottom of the 10th and hammered his third hit of the day
down the left-field line for a double.
In the next at-bat, Hancock
sent the ball into right center and Washington State coach Marty Lees sent
Alvarez home for the walk-off run.
"Another extra-innings
game, another walk-off," said Lees, whose squad has four extra-inning wins
at Bailey-Brayton this season. "There's no better feeling than that right
there."
Washington State pitcher
Scotty Sunitsch went six innings allowed one run and fanned seven batters with
five hits and two walks.
The senior wasn't as crisp
as he was last week, when he threw a no-hitter against Oregon, but he kept the
Pac-12's most dangerous lineup mostly at bay. Cal entered the series with a
Pac-12-leading .312 batting average.
"That lineup is the
best lineup in the league," Lees said. "You take those first five
hitters and you could put them on any team in the country and they would be the
first five hitters."
Closer Ryan Walker entered
in the seventh and took the Cougars the rest of the way with one strikeout and
two runs allowed in four innings.
The Cougars did a good job
of limiting Cal slugger Andrew Vaughn, who was the Pac-12's leader in batting
average, (.446), RBI (39) runs scored (35) heading into the series. He garnered
only one hit, one run and no RBI in Saturday's doubleheader.
In the first game,
Washington State (10-19, 5-10 Pac-12) led 1-0 after the first inning but Cal
tied the game in the third and took a 5-1 lead with a four-run fourth inning
and didn't look back from there. Six players scored runs for the Bears (21-12,
7-8).
"We had chances score
some runs - we did not do that," Lees said of the first game. "(Cal
pitcher) Jared Horn is good. We just needed that one hit."
On the day, Alvarez led WSU
with two runs, three hits and two doubles. The junior also came up with a
couple of diving saves from his shortstop position that led to key outs
throughout the day.
The Cougar catchers, Robbie
Teel and Cal Waterman, combined for three hits and three RBI and Hancock went
3-of-7 with an RBI and a run.
Washington State's
three-hole hitter, Justin Harrer, played designated hitter as he continues to
recover from a back injury suffered against Oregon. He garnered one hit in
eight at-bats.
Hancock said the win gives
the Cougars some confidence heading into a Tuesday game at Gonzaga. The Cougars
lost a series for the second straight week, but ended each series with a
victory.
"We were kind of down
after those last two games, but now we can find the positives from the weekend
and also look at the negatives going into our next week," Hancock said.
FIRST GAME
California 001 400 001-6 11
0
Washington St. 100 001
100-3 9 1
Horn, Sabouri (7), Dodson
(7) and Greene. Rosenkrantz, Block (5), Maier (8), Strange (9).
W - Horn (4-4). L -
Rosenkrantz (0-1).
advertisement
Cal hits - Flower 2, Reyes
2, Greene, Dodson, Vaughn, Davis, Mitchell, Wezniak (2B), Baker (2B).
Washington St. hits -
Clanton 2 (2B), Teel 2 (2B), Montez, Rudkin (2B), Alvarez (2B), Hancock,
Harrer.
SECOND GAME
California 001 000 200 0-3
10 0
Washington St. 001 000 200
1-4 10 1
Shortridge, Patino (8) and
Greene. Sunitsch, Walker (7) and Waterman, Teel.
W - Walker (3-2). L -
LeBrun - (2-1).
Cal hits - Dodson (2),
Mitchell (2), Baker 2, Flower (2B), Greene, Davis (3B), Wezniak.
Washington St. hits -
Alvarez 2 (2B), Plew 2, Hancock 2, Clanton, Rudkin (2B), Waterman (2B), De La
Cruz.
:::::::::::::::
Five things we know:
Takeaways from the first 10 days of spring camp at Washington State
UPDATED: Sat., April 14, 2018,
9:55 a.m.
By Theo Lawson, Spokane S-R
The Cougars are through 10
practices with five to go. Some of the pressing questions have been answered
this spring camp; many others haven’t. So, as Washington State prepares for its
second scrimmage of the spring slate, set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Pullman,
we examine five things we know about the Cougars through approximately three
weeks of practice.
==Quarterback remains (very)
unsettled
There’s simply no
expediting this process. It’ll still be another four months until WSU fans know
who will lead the first offensive series on Sept. 1 against Wyoming – and the
player who does it may not even be on campus yet.
But perhaps the Cougars
have established a couple of lead horses for the short term.
Redshirt juniors Trey
Tinsley and Anthony Gordon have the early edge on true freshman Cammon Cooper,
redshirt freshman Connor Neville and redshirt freshman walk-on John Bledsoe.
Until Thursday, Tinsley was the first QB leading the Cougars in their 11-on-11
team period, usually with Gordon following. Gordon took the first series
Thursday, followed by Tinsley and then Cooper. Bledsoe was thrown into 11-on-11
play for the first time during Tuesday’s practice.
Tinsley’s poise in the
pocket is better than Gordon’s and, as a self-proclaimed Baker Mayfield
enthusiast, he brings a certain edge to the line of scrimmage that players on
both sides of the ball seem to feed off. Gordon is more reserved, but Leach has
complimented his arm strength and ability to fit the ball into tight spaces.
He’s probably been more consistent than Tinsley the past few practices.
“I think we’ve got a lot of
them doing some good things,” Leach said. “The guys that move the unit the best
right now are Tinsley and Gordon, but I think those other three guys throw the
ball well. It’s just, they operate a little slower. But yeah, you’ll see them
throw some really good balls.”
Of course, East Carolina
grad transfer Gardner Minshew is bound to ramp up the drama when he arrives for
fall camp.
==Early enrollees are ready
to contribute
There may not be a starter
among the bunch, but all six of WSU’s early enrollees could be contributing in
some shape or form when the Cougars start playing real opponents. Max Borghi
could usurp Keith Harrington as the second-string running back – if he hasn’t
already – but overtaking James Williams is a tall task. “He’s really good. I
haven’t seen someone run that powerful in awhile,” left tackle Andre Dillard
said of the freshman running back.
Cooper is on the outside
looking in when it comes to the quarterback battle, but he’ll enter fall camp
with a much better understanding of the offense than he did coming into the
spring. Rodrick Fisher, a Spokane native and East Valley standout, is also
still learning, but has a good chance to back up Tay Martin at “X” receiver.
“His day one progress, from day one to now, is really good,” outside receivers
coach Steve Spurrier Jr. said. Keenan Forbes may not push for a starting job on
the offensive line, but could work his way into a backup role.
On the defensive side,
Jonathan “Pono” Lolohea, a 6-3, 300-pound nose tackle, already has the sheer
mass to play at this level and he’s shown enough competence during spring
practices. Kendrick Catis is buried behind Peyton Pelluer, Justus Rogers, Jahad
Woods and Dillon Sherman on the linebacker depth chart, but if injury strikes
the group again, there could be a role for the juco transfer. “Kendrick, he’s
the man, he’s a hitter,” Pelluer said.
==There’s not much depth in
the secondary …
The first-stringers are all
capable players, but behind that quartet, there’s still a lot to sort out.
Cornerback Darrien Molton
has 35 games of college football under his belt and Marcus Strong and Sean
Harper Jr. shared the team lead in pass breakups last season, both knocking
down six balls. That’s a good place to start, but if any of those three go down
– or even worse, two at a time – it could become troubling, considering George
Hicks III is the only other corner with game experience. All four players have
consistently lost one-on-one battles through the spring. You can either take
that as a sign of the talent at wide receiver, or the growing pains at corner.
The depth is razor-thin at
safety, too. The first line consists of an All-Pac-12 talent in junior Jalen
Thompson, and a first-year starter in redshirt sophomore Skyler Thomas.
Thompson has come up with interceptions in each of the last two practices and
Thomas has had his moments, but the Cougars are still sorting out backups for
both – and it could take awhile.
“We’ve gotta get the
secondary figured out and who’s where and what they do well,” defensive
coordinator Tracy Claeys said. “Haven’t done a very good job of that so far.
They’re a little bit behind.”
==But plenty at inside
linebacker
Ken Wilson has it good this
season. The inside linebackers coach returns three players who’ve started in 48
games – and two of those are just redshirt sophomores. But his group is also
loaded with talent behind Peyton Pelluer, Jahad Woods and Justus Rogers.
Dillon Sherman was a trusty
reserve last season, Fa’avae Fa’avae was one of the regular standouts during
Thursday Night Football scrimmages designed for young players, Dominick Silvels
earned his stripes as a special teams contributor and Catis, mentioned above,
already has the physical makeup of a Pac-12 linebacker, but just needs more
time with the playbook.
Rogers and Woods each
benefited from another offseason in the weight room and are noticeably stronger
this spring after each gaining 5 to 10 pounds. Pelluer’s voice and leadership
are invaluable traits that make their way back to Wilson’s position group this
spring.
“It’s awesome that he’s
back for another season,” Rogers said of Pelluer, the sixth-year senior. “Last
year we had four seniors like him for me to learn from and watch, just the
nuances of the position. So it’s great that he’s there and I can keep elevating
my level (of play) and he’s probably one of the more complete playes on out
team.”
==WSU can win with Winston
It’s possible that nobody
on the 93-man spring roster has put together a stronger spring resume than
junior college transfer Easop Winston. The outside receiver from San Francisco
was superb last spring, catching 10 passes for 126 yards and three scores in
one scrimmage, but he disappeared in the fall and had to spend a redshirt year
in 2017.
So Winston got in tip-top
shape and came back this spring as one of the better playmakers on the team.
“I definitely was in the
gym doing stuff on my own,” Winston said. “Treadmill, do a few laps, so when
this year came I could be more in shape, could stay in longer and I can
definitely see the benefits of that this spring.”
Winston has pulled in more
touchdown catches than any other receiver through the first 10 practices –
often making himself available in space when other routes break down – and he
should make a strong push for the “Z” receiver position many assumed would
automatically fall to 6-4 junior Dezmon Patmon.
::::::
WSU SPRING FOOTBALL
Cougar Offense steps up in
second spring scrimmage
The offense scored, the
defense ran
By PJ Kendall
Coug Center
Apr 15, 2018, 6:44am PDT
Good morning. Under another
blanket of gray clouds, the Cougar football team held its penultimate scrimmage
of the spring on Saturday, and while the offense didn’t do so well near the
end, the defense spent much of the day on its heels. New defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys summed up his unit’s effort thusly, to the Spokesman Review:
“I thought we finished
pretty good,” defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said. “The problem is, the way
we started, we would’ve been down 35-0. And so you’ve got to be ready to go and
I’ve got to do a little bit better job at the beginning as a whole.”
A quick look at the stats
would seem to justify Claeys’ sentiment. The quintet of WSU quarterbacks
completed 45 passes on 71 attempts. Four of those QBs (Connor Neville excepted)
threw nine touchdowns. Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon led the way, tossing
three scores apiece. Tinsley and Gordon appear to be distancing themselves (my
perception only) from the other three, but as we all know, it’s still April.
Three of those nine
touchdowns went to Tay Martin, who made the most of his five receptions. Spring
star Easop Winston snagged two of the other scores, though in the defense’s
defense (that sounds weird) one of the TDs went right through linebacker Mark
Meynisse’s hands, deflecting to Winston in the end zone. It was that kind of a
day.
The defensive line stepped
up the pressure down the stretch, though, as the offensive line had a difficult
time keeping Nick Begg out of the backfield. Begg collected four “touch” sacks,
leading the way for the defense. The Cougs also intercepted two passes. As
you’ll see, both were the result of a couple ghastly passes by John Bledsoe and
Connor Neville.
Once again, kicker Jack
Crane took multiple field goal attempts. Once again, he nailed all of them.
Crane went 3-3 in all, making one kick from 39 yards and two from 42. The
Cougars have two practices remaining until they hold their annual spring game
in Spokane. Start time at Joe Albi is scheduled for 1 p.m. Currently, the
forecast calls for a high of 55 degrees with 15 mph winds and a slight chance
of rain. Just don’t rain. Please don’t rain.
:::::::::::::::
Coug QBs rack up the TD
passes in second scrimmage
DL Nick Begg made the
backfield his home with 4 sacks
By Dylan Haugh -
Cougfan.com
PULLMAN – Washington
State’s top three quarterbacks vying for the starting job all surpassed the
century mark in the Cougs’ second scrimmage of the spring. Inside receiver
Jerome Calvin continued on his spring tear and d-lineman Nick Begg racked up
four sacks on the day.
Quarterbacks Trey Tinsley
and Anthony Gordon have been neck and neck of late and Saturday continued the
trend. Cammon Cooper meanwhile also had
a good day.
“I thought Tinsley and
Gordon were the best, they went back and forth,” Mike Leach said. “I thought
Cam played good his first series. The second one he struggled more but of
course the protection wasn’t as good.”
Tinsley, Gordon and Cooper
all received two drives (just like the first scrimmage) and to goof result --
the quarterback trio combined for eight touchdown passes and zero
interceptions.
Cooper was 9 of 13 for 134
yards and two touchdown passes. More importantly he looked very in sync with
the offense -- far more decisive than in his first spring scrimmage (8 of 20, 2
INTs)
Tinsley started off the
Cougars’ scrimmage running the No. 1 offense with a methodical drive that
resulted in TD pass to Tay Martin, who had a whale of a scrimmage with three TD
catches. Tinsley completed 15 of 23 (65
percent) for 112 yards and three touchdowns.
Gordon had the most
impressive TD pass of the day, he can thank Dezmon Patmon for leaping skyward
and making an incredible grab with George Hicks defending. Gordon lofted a
20-yard dime towards Patmon’s back shoulder, letting his wideout do the rest. Gordon was 12 of 17 passing for 125 yards and
three scores.
AMONG THE TAKEAWAYS ON
DEFENSE, Justus Rogers and Dillon Sherman split as many reps at inside
linebacker as Jahad Woods and Peyton Pelluer, and it was tough to peg which
group looked the best.
Rogers had three tackles
for loss while Woods had an absolute hammer of a hit on running back Keith
Harrington. The hit was so loud you could probably hear it walking on Stadium
Way.
TRUE FRESHMAN outside
receiver Rodrick Fisher got in on the TD action, hooking up with Gordon on one
drive. Fisher caught three balls early but was seen on the stationery bike for
the last half of the scrimmage.
Calvin on Saturday
continued his tear this spring. He’s easily been the most impressive Cougar
inside receiver thus far in the spring. He finished with seven receptions for
98 yards and one TD.
Easop Winston only caught
three balls on the day but two of them resulted in scores.
“If you bait the hook the
quarterbacks will usually bite on it. Winston keeps the hook baited pretty well
… And then QBs will search for him. And
we’ve got to get that on the left side. Right now we don’t have that guy who is
searched for on the left side,” said Leach.
Slot man Renard Bell had
three receptions for 52 yards after being held without a catch last weekend.
THE COUGAR DEFENSE started
off poorly before finishing up strong.
In addition to Begg’s four sacks, nine other Cougars posted a QB
takedown. Begg had three sacks in
succession when Cooper was in at QB. That prompted Leach to have the entire
offense do up downs for one very long minute.
Defensive coordinator Tracy
Claeys said after the scrimmage the Cougar D should have had several more picks
on the day. Two Cougars down on the depth chart picked off passes as Skye Keller
stepped in front of a John Bledsoe pass and Armani Marsh did the same off a
Connor Neville pass.
Walk on safety Dylan
Axelson, whom Claeys praised for his work ethic, led the Cougs with seven
tackles while Deion Singleton added five.
LB Dillon Sherman, Begg and DL Jesus Echevarria each had four stops.
IN THE RUNNING GAME, the
Cougars struggled to break a big gainer. James Williams and Max Borghi combined
for 11 hashes and 43 yards on the ground. Williams had the most success with
four touches for 22 hashes while Borghi struggled to find running room with
seven carries for 21 yards.
The defense also looked
solid at defending the pass out of the backfield. Keith Harrington, Borghi and
Williams totaled five receptions for 19 yards.
It took the defense three
or four drives to start getting solid penetration and pressure on the Cougar
offense. Once they did, they didn’t stop.
Nnamdi Oguayo notched one
of the sacks and Will Rodgers had a strip sack of Gordon in the red zone.
“We didn’t feel like
protecting very badly,” said Leach. “I believe that up downs are more
inconvenient than protecting. We just want to make sure that they know
protecting is easier than up downs.”
THE OFFENSIVE LINE still
took a step forward compared to the first scrimmage. They did, however,
look noticeably tired as the scrimmage
went on.
The first and second-team
offensive lines gave up only four sacks on the first six drives, but another
six on the final two drives of the day.
ON SPECIAL TEAMS, kicker Jack
Crane remained perfect through two scrimmages
Crane hit from 39, 42 and 42 yards. He’s 7 of 7 the past two Saturdays
after hitting all four of his attempts last weekend
:::::::::::::::::::
WSU to add 12 degrees
By Hannah Welzbacker,
Evergreen
April 9, 2018
The WSU Global campus is in
the process of approving 12 new online degrees, according to David Cillay, vice
president for Academic Outreach and Innovation.
During his State of the
University address last week, WSU President Kirk Schulz announced the new
programs, but didn’t mention specifics.
Cillay said the degrees are
in various stages of approval. To be offered online, a degree must pass each
approval stage: from the department, the college, the provost, various
committees, all the way to Faculty Senate and then accreditors.
The undergraduate degrees
include a bachelor’s in marketing, sociology, history, environmental and
ecosystem science, anthropology, biology, political science and English. New
graduate degrees include a masters in music and strategic health communication,
both of which still have to go through several stages before they can be
offered to students. Cillay said there are two other degrees waiting on college
approval and he can’t announce specifics at this time.
The availability of these
degrees depends on how fast they move through the approval process, which can
take up to 12 months depending on the degree, Cillay said.
He said they employ a
third-party market research company to look into potential degrees for WSU.
They also examine the individual costs of moving a degree online.
#
