Over the three-game set against Rhode Island, WSU baseball (7-4) tallied 37 hits, including 30 during Saturday’s double-header alone. A total of 11 of those hits were extra-base hits, with a total of zero coming via the long ball.
Home runs are always nice, but part of the team’s 2024 identity is their ability to play small ball, get clutch hits and have confidence in through the lineup to get a job done.
“It’s huge. Not [having] to rely on the long ball all the time. They come, they definitely come often, but being able to put down a bunt and move guys into scoring positions can be a huge deal for us,” third baseman Cole Cramer said.
Their ability to get it done when runners are one was key to the 30 total runs scored throughout the three-game weekend. A clear indication that a team is better in the clutch is the ability to find hits when runners are on.
Over the weekend, the team hit an impressive .343 overall but hit even better when it truly mattered. With runners on, WSU hit 27-for-63, a batting average of .429.
Furthermore, the Cougs found more productive at-bats once they got to two outs, never truly being out of an inning. In total, they hit .405 with two outs, once again improving on their already impressive overall batting percentage.
In the 17-7 win in game two of the doubleheader, the Cougs hit .447. But with runners on, they hit .538 and with runners in scoring position, they hit a clean .500.
A major part of that clutchness is the consistency throughout the lineup. There were 11 multi-hit games, five three-hit games and in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, all nine batters in the lineup had at least one base knock.
Five separate batters had at least five hits over the weekend, with Max Hartman and Cole Cramer tying for the team lead at six hits apiece.
Trust from top to bottom is the second part of the WSU identity at the plate. It does not matter if the top of the lineup is struggling. There is faith from the players that anyone, one through nine, can drive in runs.
“That’s kind of another one of our offensive identities. Not one guy is just gonna do it for the whole team. We’re gonna hit one through nine. Everyone in the lineup can hit for power; we can put that on the ball when we need and we need a guy to do something in a certain scenario. They’ll get it done for us,” Cramer said.
So far, the Cougs had 11 stolen bases, two sacrifice hits and three sacrifice flys, showing the ability to do the little things to provide extra opportunities to score runs.
An ability to get offense at any point in the game is part of why the Cougs scored in 10 of the 25 innings across the weekend. In the first three innings of each game, the team scored a total of nine runs, earning praise from their starters for allowing them to pitch with a lead and, therefore, pitching with extra confidence.
“As a pitcher, it’s always great when you can have your offense back you up and it gave me a lot more confidence on the mound today,” starting pitcher Spencer Jones said.
Now 11 games into the season, five Cougs have at least 15 hits with Cramer leading the team at 18. Six separate batters are hitting above .300 and four batters have at least five extra-base hits.
Alan Shibley already has nine extra-base hits, tallying five doubles, one triple and three home runs. Cramer is tied at first with nine extra-base hits of his own, tallying six doubles, two triples and one run.
Nate Swarts has eight extra-base hits, totaling three doubles, two triples and a team-leading tying three home runs. Finally, the fourth and final player in the five extra-base hits club has exactly five. Casen Taggart has hit one double, two triples and two home runs thus far this season.
