After a big 10-0 win against Seattle U, Washington State baseball looks to continue this momentum in a three-game series down in California against the San Jose State Spartans.
Both teams enter this matchup with similar records, with the Cougs at 12-15 and the Spartans at 12-16. WSU is coming off a rough series at home against Nevada, where the Cougs allowed 35 hits in three games. WSU did have a convincing bounce back game on Tuesday where they beat Seattle U 10-0. San Jose State is coming off a series loss against UNLV, where pitching allowed 41 runs through three games.
Both of these teams could use a series win to get back on track. Here’s a breakdown of what to look for in this series.
Washington State
Someone needs to call the fire department because Gavin Roy is on fire. His two-hit performance against Seattle U extends his hit streak to 14 games. In his first seven games, Roy batted .192 with only three RBIs. Since then he has been on a tear, bringing his average up to .415 which is currently the 26th best in the NCAA. During his 14-game hit streak, Roy has tallied eight doubles, eight RBIs and eight walks.
It has not only been Roy contributing offensively for the Cougs. Freshman outfielders Mason Pirello and Matt Priest have continued to rack up hits for WSU. Pirello ranks second on the team in batting average and has recorded two plus runs in each of the last four games. Against Seattle U, the 5-foot-9 Washington native hit his first collegiate home run in the third inning.
Priest has also been lights out as of late for the Cougs, going 9-for-16 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in his last four games. This performance earned Priest his second consecutive Mountain West Freshman of the Week honor.
One final player to highlight for WSU is left handed pitcher Nick Lewis. Lewis is coming off a seven-inning outing where he limited the high powered Nevada offense to only four runs. This marked the third consecutive quality start for the redshirt-sophomore pitcher from Corona, California.
Head coach Nathan Choate had high praise for Lewis on his development this season.
“Yeah I’m proud of his growth,” Choate said on the Cougar Baseball Podcast. “I’m proud of him being patient with the process in today’s world. Obviously a good pitcher, he’s just had to tweak things along the way and gone through some experiences but I’m proud to see his growth.”
Consistent pitching is exactly what WSU needs as they face off against more Mountain West Conference opponents.
San Jose State
Offensively the Spartans have one of the best players in the country in senior outfielder Alex Fernandes. Nationally, the California native ranks No. 6 in batting average, No. 5 in hits and No. 7 in on-base percentage. He leads San Jose State with an OPS of 1.262, 22 RBIs and 73 total bases.
Other than Fernandes, the Spartans have three other hitters batting over .300 in Peyton Rowles, JC Osorio-Agard and Jake McCoy. Osorio-Agard ranks second on the team in both home runs with three and OPS with .877. McCoy is tied first in home runs on the team with four home runs and 24 runs. The Cougars need to have strong pitching performances if they want to shut down the strong Spartan offense.
Pitching is a bit of a different story for San Jose. They have a combined team ERA of 7.00, with their main starters tallying an ERA of 6.28. In their last series, pitching allowed 41 runs in three games. Out of their entire rotation, they do not have a single pitcher with an ERA below 4.50.
These two teams are very well matched for each other.
For game one, WSU faces off against San Jose State at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday April 2 at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, California. Game two starts at 2:05 p.m. on Friday April 3. The series wraps up at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday April 4.
The Cougs return back to Pullman on Monday April 6 for a two game series against Oregon State.
