WSU baseball (7-5) is set to take on No. 4 Oregon State (9-1) for a three-game series in Pullman. This will be the first home series for the Cougs of the season. 

The Cougs are 23-50 all-time against the Beavers. The last matchup was in March 2021, when the Beavers took 2 of 3 games in Corvallis, Ore. 

The Cougs are coming off the Frisco College Baseball Classic last weekend, where the Cougars won one game against Texas A&M (11-6) and lost to Wichita State and Iowa. 

WSU had a solid offensive day against the Aggies, scoring eight runs in the fourth inning. Pitching from the bullpen helped propel the Cougs to victory. 

The following day, the Cougs struggled against the Wichita State Shockers, losing 8-2. The Cougs had a few minor mistakes and errors, which gave the Shockers the advantage. 

WSU closed out the classic with a 6-5 loss against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Cougs took a 3-0 lead early, but gave up six runs in the sixth and seventh inning. WSU scored a run in both the seventh and eighth inning in a comeback effort, but ultimately the Hawkeye defense stood tall.

The Cougs are led offensively by Kyle Russell, who has 16 hits on 46 at-bats for a batting average of .348. Justin Van De Brake is leading the Cougs in RBIs with 10, while three Cougars have eight. For homeruns, Bryce Matthews leads the team with two. 

Pitching for the Cougs is led by Cole McMillan, who has pitched in 14 innings and has a 1.93 ERA to show for it. McMillan has only allowed 11 hits and five runs, and has a season total of 20 strikeouts. Grant Taylor has pitched 12.2 innings with 14 strikeouts. 

The Beavers’ last outing was against UC Irvine, where Oregon State won 2 out of 3 games. The Beavers’ loss on Sunday was their first loss of the season. Against UC Irvine, Oregon State won 7-2 and 9-5. They lost 2-3 in 10 innings to set up the first conference matchup of the season in Pullman.

The Beavers have scored a total of 102 runs on the season and have allowed 31 runs, while the Cougs have scored 73 runs this season and have allowed 57 runs. Jacob Melton leads the Beavers in home runs with three, while also leading the team in hits with 18. Melton has 20 RBIs with a .429 batting average on 42 at-bats. 

After the three-game series against the Beavers, the Cougs travel to Bellevue to take on Seattle U for a one-game meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.