After a disappointing spring break road trip where the team went 1-6, the Washington State baseball team returns home this weekend and will attempt to set a new attendance record at Bailey-Brayton Field.

Cougar Baseball is asking its fans to “pack the park” on Saturday in order to set a new record of 3,700 fans. And after their struggles on the road against USC, San Diego and Oregon State, the team is looking forward to feeding off the energy of the home crowd to help propel it to victory.

Senior infielder Ian Sagdal lit up when talking about returning to Pullman and playing on The Cougars’ home turf. He said that after dealing with a few opposing crowds, the team hopes Cougar fans can make it tough on the visiting teams with their passion and energy.

“Its always good to get back to Pullman,” Sagdal said. “We’re ready to have our home fans get on other teams.”

In order to win against UCLA (18-5, 5-1 Pac-12) and its talented pitching staff, Sagdal said the Cougs (12-11, 1-5 Pac-12) need to come out and attack the plate early. He also said the team practiced hard all week in order to enter this weekend’s games energized and aggressive. Sagdal heads into the weekend with a .304 batting average and an on-base percentage of .404, good for second on the team.

Another Cougar batter who has found success this year is sophomore infielder Wes Leow. He leads the team in both batting average, .333, and on-base percentage, .421. Leow echoed the comments of his teammate Sagdal, saying WSU must be aggressive early and that if stick to the mechanics to find success.

“We have to be better longer, focus more, and take advantage of every mistake,” Leow said.

The No. 9 Bruins come into Pullman with a 5-1 road record, but this is their first conference road trip of the season. Their probable starting pitchers are junior James Kaprielian (5-1) with a 2.13 ERA, senior Grant Watson (3-2) with a 1.80 ERA, and freshman Griffin Canning (4-1) with a 2.57 ERA.

The Cougars will have their work cut out for them against the UCLA pitching staff. This weekend’s starting pitchers have garnered a staggering 106 strikeouts combined so far this season. During his weekly press conference, Head Coach Donnie Marbut complimented the Bruins and said he picked them to win the conference.

“Their pitching is outstanding, they are swinging the bats great, a great defensive team,” Marbut said. “We have to play good baseball. Some teams you don’t have to play good baseball and you can get away, but that doesn’t happen in our conference.”

As for the Cougar pitchers, senior Joe Pistorese (3-2) is coming off a complete game against OSU where he allowed three runs, one earned and five hits while striking out six Beavers. Coach Marbut said he expects a complete game from Pistorese every time he pitches, and even though WSU lost, Marbut was proud of the way his pitcher performed.

“A lot of guys would tap out, but not Joe,” Marbut said.

Pistorese is expected to get another start this Saturday, with senior Sean Hartnett (3-3) starting Friday, and freshman Nick Leonard (1-3) potentially getting the start Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Bailey-Brayton Field. Saturday’s game, where the Cougars will attempt to break the attendance record, is set to start at 2 p.m., and the first 400 fans will receive free t-shirts.