Saturday, March 30, 2019

News for CougGroup 3/30/2019


WSU FOOTBALL

Three-star running back from California commits to Washington State

UPDATED: Sat., March 30, 2019, 9:39 p.m.

Spokesman-Review of Spokane by Theo Lawson

A three-star running back with interest from three other Pac-12 suitors has committed to Washington State, Cougfan.com reported Saturday.



Jyden King pledged to the Cougars while taking his visit to Pullman, giving Mike Leach’s program its first Class of 2020 commitment.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound tailback from California’s Calabasas High School also listed offers from Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, along with Fresno State, according to 247sports.com.



King transferred to Calabasas from Desert Pines in Las Vegas last season and played in three games for the Coyotes, rushing 15 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore at Desert Pines, he carried the ball 72 times for 436 yards and caught another 11 passes for 130 yards.



Running back is a position of high priority for the Cougars, who only have one scholarship player, Max Borghi, participating in spring camp after the early departure of James Williams. High school prospects Jouvensly Bazile and Jamir Thomas will join the group in the fall.



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Brock Eager, Nick Johnson, and Charisma Taylor shine as WSU continues great outdoor season.

From WSU Sports Info



LOS ANGELES – The Washington State University Track and Field program showed no signs of slowing down during the 2019 outdoor season, earning a total of 22 top five finishes throughout the weekend during the UCLA Legends Invitational.



Charisma Taylor notched yet another win during her early WSU track career, this time around in the triple jump with a mark of 41-feet 8 3/4 inches (12.72m). Mackenzie Fletcher added a win for the Cougars as well in the 400-meter hurdles event with a time of 1:00.89, and Jelena Grujic was close behind in third with a PR of 1:01.23. Throwers Chrisshnay Brown and Aoife Martineach recorded third place finishes in their respective events with Brown posting a mark of 47-feet 5 1/4 inches in the shot put, and Martin with a mark of 180-feet 7 inches in the hammer throw.



Brock Eager continued to power his way up the ranks of not only the national standings, but the all-time Washington State top ten as well. Eager posted a winning mark of 232-feet 5 inches (70.85m) in the hammer throw to move him up to third all-time in Cougar history, and currently sits at third in the nation in the event as well. Nick Johnson had himself a great run in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the event with a time of 14.06. Fellow Cougar Sam Brixey took home second in the event at 14.15 seconds, and Christapherson Grant finished in fourth at 14.39. Emmanuel Wells Jr. picked up the victory in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.50 seconds, and along with teammates Ja'Maun Charles, Ethan Gardner, and Jake Ulrich, won the 4x100-meter relay with a time of  40.21 to cap off a solid overall meet at UCLA.

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Cougars led by Zorana Grujic, and Justin Janke in distance events.

From Sports Info/WSU



STANFORD, Calif. – The Washington State University Track and Field program went split squads over the weekend, as distance runners for the Cougars competed in both the Mike Fanelli Track Classic, and the Stanford Invitational. 



Zorana Grujic stood out during the Stanford Invite as she posted a mark of 10:31.62 during the 3000-meter Steeplechase, which is now eighth best all-time in Washington State history. Kaili Keefe turned in a ninth overall place finish during the 1500-meter race as well with a time of 4:34.91. Melissa Hruska anchored the Cougars at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in the 5,000-meter event, as she placed ninth overall with a time of 17:16.28.



Justin Janke helped pace the WSU men at the Stanford Invitational with a fifth place finish in the 1500m event at 3:51.79. Paul Ryan and Amir Ado turned in solid overall performances in the 5,000m race as Ryan posted a mark of 13:55.89, and Ado finished at 14:10.22 overall as well. Kyler Little record a PR performance at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in the 5,000m event, finishing 13th with a time of 14:16.99. Nathan Wadhwani led Washington State in the 10,000-meter event as he also turned in a PR result, with a time of 30:07.72.

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WSU BASEBALL: Late Runs Down The Cougs Against No. 2 Stanford

From WSU Sports Info

PULLMAN (March 30, 2019) – Despite jumping out front early, Washington State could not hold on for the upset of No. 2 Stanford as the Cardinal rallied with three late runs to steal an 8-5 win Saturday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field.



The Cougars (6-19, 0-5) swarmed the Cardinal (17-3, 5-0) in the first three innings of play, scoring five quick runs to take the early lead against Stanford. A day after struggling to get the timely hitting needed to score runs against the Cardinal's top-ranked pitching the Cougars wasted no time putting their first run on the board as WSU struck for a run in the bottom of the first when  senior Rob Teel laced a double to right-center, scoring Danny Sinatro all the way from first. Sinatro has reached two batters earlier when the junior worked a one-out walk to get things started for the Cougars.



After giving up a two-run home run in the top of the second, the Cougars responded once again, tying the game with a single run in the bottom half of the inning. This time, WSU manufactured its run using small ball to get it done. With runners on the corners the Cougs went into their bag of tricks as freshman Kodie Kolden dropped down a perfect safety squeeze to the left side to score Jack Smith who had reach on a walk to begin the inning. In fact, Kolden's bunt was so well placed the young third baseman earned the bunt single without a throw.



Even at two the Cougars would put their first crooked number on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, going station to station to the tune of three runs. In the inning WSU would pick up a pair of infield hits, the second of which drove in the first run of the inning as Collin Montez legged out a chopper to second to pick up the RBI. Two batters later Garrett Gouldsmith flared a shot just over the infield and on to the outfield grass to score the second run of the inning while Koby Blunt lined a shot to right to drive home the third run of the game. While the Cougs were able to score three runs in the inning the Cardinal were able to limit the damage as Alex Williams pitched Stanford out of the the bases loaded jam with a pair of strike outs, a move that would prove to be a major difference in the game late.



With a three run lead, junior A.J. Block appeared to be in control of the game for the Cougars as the lefty ran through the Cardinal lineup for five solid innings. After holding the Cardinal at bay, Block would run into trouble in the sixth as Stanford loaded the bases with one out against the third-year hurler. After giving up a run on a sacrifice fly Block would give way to Davis Baillie with runners on second and third. Baillie would nearly get out of the inning unscathed but a two-strike shot to the 5-6 hole was just enough to cause problems as Andres Alvarez came up firing but could not get Tim Tawa at first. Both runs would score on the play as the throw got just far enough away to allow the runner at second to score. With the game tied, the Cougars would get some retribution in the inning when Montez cut down the go ahead run at the plate moments later to keep WSU in the game.



Despite the early success, the Cougars could not find the same magic against Williams (2-0) the rest of the way the Cardinal freshmen held WSU in check for 4.2 innings en route to the win. Williams would earn the victory out of the pen thanks to three late runs from the Cardinal offense as Stanford scored a pair of runs in the eighth and an insurance run in the ninth to come away with the series clinching victory. Jack Little would close out the win for Stanford with his fifth save of the year, facing the final six batters for the Cardinal



INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Andres Alvarez went 1-for-4 in the game and has gone 4-for-8 in the series with one run and one RBI.

A.J. Block picked up the no-decision after going 5.2 IP while striking out six and giving up six hits and five runs, four earned.  Cougar pitchers struck out eight in the game and have run their weekend total to 21 strike outs in two contests.

Kolby Blunt was the lone Cougar to record multiple hits in the contest going 2-for-4 with one RBI.



NEXT UP

The Cougars and No. 2 Cardinal will close out the three-game series Sunday, March 31 with a 12:05 first pitch scheduled at Bailey-Brayton Field.

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BASEBALL Cougars slammed by Cardinals

Despite 13 strikeouts by WSU pitchers, stranded runners and errors lead to a 7-1 loss

By Stephan Wiebe Moscow Pullman Daily News



Stranded baserunners and costly errors came back to haunt the Washington State baseball team in a game they outhit and, at times, outpitched No. 2 Stanford.



The Cardinal won 7-1, despite 13 strikeouts by WSU pitchers and a 10-9 advantage in hits for the Cougs on Friday night at Bailey-Brayton Field. Four Cougar errors led to five unearned runs for the Cardinal.



“Where we’ve lacked as of late — and it’s been what we’ve been very good at just until this last this last weekend — is the defensive part,” Washington State coach Marty Lees said. “Some errors that are lack of concentration, things like that.”



Designated hitter Will Matthiessen powered Stanford (16-3, 4-0 Pac-12) with three hits, four RBI and one run. The junior drove in the game’s first run in the top of the first and the game’s last run in the bottom of the ninth.



“He’s 6-7, 220 pounds and he’s been in those battles,” Lees said. “There’s not an arm he hasn’t faced in this country that isn’t good, so he’s a very mature hitter. He knows exactly what he’s looking for and he’s very confident.”



Stanford led 2-0 after the first inning. Washington State (6-18, 0-4) scored its only run in the bottom of the third, when shortstop Andres Alvarez drove in first baseman Dillon Plew with a single to right field. The senior finished with three hits, including a double.



“I’ve been feeling good lately,” Alvarez said. “Just stick to my approach, stay middle of the field and see the ball up and hit it.”



Stanford led 2-1 after the third and 3-1 after the fifth before adding four runs over the final three innings.



Brandon White (2-3) — who struck out three and allowed three runs, one earned — took the loss for WSU. Brendan Beck (3-0) earned the win for Stanford.



The loss stretches WSU’s losing streak to 10 games. Seven of those losses came against ranked opponents as the Cougars were swept by No. 9 Arizona State and No. 22 UC Irvine.



Three of those losses also came by one run as WSU has struggled to score runners from scoring position.



The three-game series continues with games at 2:05 p.m. today and noon Saturday at Bailey-Brayton Field. The series is WSU’s second at home this season.



“We’ve been able to put hits together even against the very best pitching,” Lees said. “It’s not turning into runs, but the approach is right. Just need a couple more doubles or a couple more hits with no outs rather than two outs.”



Added Alvarez, “We’re just battling now, trying to get some wins, get some Ws, get some runs in. We’re struggling on scoring runners in scoring position, but tomorrow’s a new day and we’re ready to go.”

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