The Washington State baseball team faces off for a three-game series this weekend against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The Cougs are coming off a series sweep at home against Gardner-Webb, where their starters only allowed eight total runs in the three-game set. The improvement of WSU’s pitching rotation has been a key to their success as of late.
UNLV is coming off a series win as well, scoring 28 runs in the three-game series against GCU. The Rebels offense has been hot all season long, ranking No. 14 nationally in team batting average.
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect in this three-game set.
Washington State
Ryan Skjonsby has been on a tear at the dish as of late, going 10-for-17 in his last five games. Over that stretch, the California native has recorded nine RBIs, two walks and one home run.
WSU First Baseman Ryan Skjonsby makes a hit against Gardner-Webb University, April 11, 2026.
One last note about Skjonsby is on March 13, his average was at .231. As of April 13, his average is .320. He has been nuclear for the Cougs recently and a much needed bat for WSU’s offense.
Pitching has been incredible for the Cougs over this recent stretch as well.
Starters Nick Lewis, Luke Meyers and Griffin Smith have been really strong in their recent performances. Lewis is coming off a spectacular outing where he only allowed two runs over eight innings pitched. This season, Lewis has been the most consistent out of the three, but Meyers and Smith both pitched six innings and allowed three runs against Gardner-Webb.
WSU right handed reliever August Richie going from the stretch against the Gardner-Webb baseball team on April 9 2026.
The bullpen has also been really strong for the Cougs. Scott Rienguette and Ryan Falke have both been consistent for WSU. Rienguette is tied for the team lead in saves with four. The player he is tied with is reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week: August Richie. In his last three outings, Richie has only allowed two hits through 5 2/3 innings pitched in relief.
Head coach Nathan Choate had good things to say about his bullpen after their performances this weekend.
“They’re really reliable. You know that they’re going to attack the strike zone. They’re both good athletes and can feel their position,” Choate said on the Cougar Baseball Podcast. “I thought the entire bullpen did a pretty good job of coming in and attacking.”
WSU will need to be on their A-game against UNLV’s high powered offense if they want to pull out a series win.
UNLV
Offensively this is one of the best teams in the country. They are led by 24-year-old infielder Drew Barragan who is currently ranked No. 14 in batting average, No. 5 in hits and No. 39 in RBIs. He leads the Rebels with an OPS of 1.293 and home runs with eight.
Outside of Barragan, five other hitters are batting over .300. Jack Salmon and Marcos Rosales both have an OPS over 1.000. Salmon leads UNLV with an on-base percentage of .514, while Rosales is second on the team with seven home runs.
Pitching is a completely different story for the Rebels, recording a team ERA of 7.87 which is worst in the Mountain West.
UNLV’s best pitcher, Parker Dillhoff, has an ERA of 6.14. Dillhoff also leads the Mountain West in strikeouts with 61.
The Rebels allow a lot of walks, giving up 206 through 37 games this season. WSU will need to take advantage of all of the opportunities they have on base to combat UNLV’s high powered offense.
Game one of this series starts at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, April 17 at Earl E. Wilson Baseball Stadium at Roger Barnson Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. Game two starts at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday April 18, and the series wraps up at 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, April 19.
