The WSU baseball team is set to open their 2022 season with a four-game series in Honolulu against the Rainbow Warriors. The first game of the series is set for 8:35 p.m. Friday. 

The Rainbow Warriors are coming off a 24-26 season, going 16-24 in conference play. Notable wins include series wins against Long Beach State and UC Davis and a 3-2 win against then-ranked No. 15 Arizona State. 

Last season, the Cougs went 26-23 overall and 13-17 in Pac-12 play, finishing the season in eighth place in the conference. 

Notable wins for WSU include series wins against Oregon, Dixie State and Washington. They also won games against then-ranked No. 18 Oregon State, No. 24 Stanford, No. 13 Arizona and two games against No. 8 Oregon.

The Cougs’ lineup may look very different from last season. This season, the Cougs have nine freshmen on the roster. 

Last year, the Cougs were led by junior Kyle Manzardo, who had a .365 batting average over the span of 47 games. He led the team in hits with 72, RBIs with 60, and home runs with 11. Manzardo’s hitting ability placed him fourth in the conference for batting average, fifth in the conference for RBIs and 10th for home runs.

Manzardo was drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays and appeared in 13 games for the Rays’ minor league affiliate team. In the minors, Manzardo recorded 15 hits, eight RBIs and two home runs. 

With Manzardo excelling in the minor leagues, WSU’s nine new faces will have to step up to the task. For more information on WSU’s new players, take a look at this article.

On the mound, WSU was led by Brandon White, who finished the season with a 6-4 record. He gave up 71 hits last season and just three home runs for a 4.98 ERA. White’s pitch selection helped him record 61 strikeouts. Zane Mills went 5-5, giving up 86 hits and four home runs. Mills recorded an impressive 83 strikeouts over the span of the season.

WSU finished second in the conference for strikeouts conceded with 379 strikeouts. For pitching, the Cougs finished in seventh place with 437 strikeouts. They also finished sixth for total runs with 355. 

This will be the Cougs’ first series of the 2022 season. Last season, the Cougs went 16-12 away from Pullman and 10-11 while at home. 

After the Hawai’i series, WSU heads to Peoria, Ariz., for a four-game series against Long Island. The Cougs will then compete in the Frisco Baseball Classic at the beginning of March in Frisco, Texas. 

The first time the Cougs will play in Pullman is March 11th against the Oregon State Beavers.