The weekend began on a promising note for the WSU Cougar baseball team. An upset victory on Friday against the Oregon State Beavers cast an optimistic light on the next two games in the series. However, the Cougars slipped in those games and allowed the Beavers to outscore them 20-6 en route to two consecutive losses at home. 

 Now the Cougars must regain their footing against a non-conference opponent on Tuesday. The Gonzaga Bulldogs loom on the schedule for WSU, and although the two schools are close in distance, Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut said that does not make much of a difference. 

 “There’s no in-state rivalry with the guys we’ve got on our team,” Marbut said. “They kicked our butt last year so it’s not a rivalry.”

The Cougars lost last Tuesday against Brigham Young University, ending the team’s longest winning streak of the season. This game follows two blowout losses by the Cougars, which did not give Marbut a lot of confidence when he spoke about the matchup after WSU’s game on Sunday. 

 “A rivalry is when you go back and forth and we haven’t proved, especially in the mid-week, so I’m actually scared to death of Tuesday because we don’t show up all the time and we really don’t show up when we’re playing a non-league opponent so I’m scared to death,” Marbut said.

The Cougars can rely on at least two of their players who have stepped up their performance lately. Redshirt sophomore Nick Tanielu has carried the WSU offense recently while junior starting pitcher Joe Pistorese has anchored the pitching staff over the last two weekends. 

Tanielu batted 8 for 12 with 4 runs batted in during the series against Oregon State. He leads the team with 20 RBIs this season. Pistorese has thrown two consecutive complete games, and has allowed only one run in both of those games combined. 

 “Gonzaga is a whole different story,” Tanielu said. “We haven’t played good against them since I don’t know when, so just try to change our mindset and go after them.”

            The Bulldogs haven’t won much this season, carrying a 12-22 record into Tuesday’s matchup. Led by Payden Lamb and Mitchell Gunsolus, Gonzaga’s offense has averaged less than four runs per game. Lamb and Gunsolus both are hitting above .320 and have started all 34 games this season for the Bulldogs. 

 Three strong starters anchor the Bulldogs’ pitching staff; however, the team could pitch this mid-week game by committee out of the bullpen. Two out of the three games the Bulldogs played over the weekend lasted 10 innings, which means the pitching staff could be depleted. 

The Cougars might do the same but Marbut has not decided who is throwing for WSU yet, either. 

 “Whoever wants to compete and throw strikes,” Marbut said. “I have no idea who that’s going to be.”