As the calendar flips to March, WSU baseball returns to the Palouse ready to face another scrappy mid-major opponent.

After a seven-game road swing through California, the Cougars open a four-game weekend slate against Stephen F. Austin on Friday and are looking to build off of the results of the first two weeks of the season.

“I saw some good things from all of our kids and I saw some things that we need and have to improve upon if we are going to be the team we want to be,” Head Coach Marty Lees said.

The Cougars (3-4), who were predicted to finish last in the Pac-12 this season, dropped two-of-three in a rain-filled series with Sacramento State to open the season, and then split a four-game set with Loyola Marymount last weekend. Lees said that it was a small accomplishment to take two of the first three games against LMU’s weekend starters.

The Cougars are in search of their first series win against a Lumberjacks (4-6) squad coming off a 14-run shutout victory over Texas Southern at home on Wednesday. Stephen F. Austin is also on the hunt for a third straight win come Friday afternoon.

Despite a losing record on the season, SFA has shown it can compete with some of the country’s better teams. The Lumberjacks took the 15th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies to the 12th inning in College Station on Feb. 21 before falling 6-5 and posted consecutive shutouts over Texas Southern (TSU).

SFA senior outfielder Zac Michener has been a major component of the Lumberjacks’ offense who has flashed some power at the plate, Lees said. Michener is hitting .306 with a .556 slugging percentage in 36 at-bats, on top of his perfect fielding percentage.

“[The Lumberjacks] are going to show some power at the plate, they like to run as much as they can and use their power,” Lees said. “I expect another good series in regard to aggressiveness by the other team, with them trying to steal bases, hit for power, put the ball in play and pitchers that overall throw strikes.”

The SFA pitching staff has been stellar recently with two consecutive shutouts.

Junior right-handed pitcher Tony Grabowske kicked off the Lumberjacks’ series against TSU on Tuesday with a two-hit, 10-strikeout performance in six-and-two-thirds of scoreless innings to pace SFA to a 7-0 win. A day later, the Lumberjacks’ bullpen helped keep the Tigers off the board with five shutout innings in route to a 14-0 victory.

The Cougars have struggled at times in all three phases of the game through their first seven games, but have also demonstrated flashes of high-level performance.

“Offensively and defensively, I saw some good things from [sophomore outfielder] Justin Harrer,” Lees said. “He did a tremendous job for seven games playing left field. He made some great catches, some good throws and appeared to have some power and see the strike zone very well.”

Harrer has emerged as the offensive leader for the Cougars over the first seven games of the season. The Sisters, Oregon, native has started all seven games and is hitting .308 in 26 at-bats with a .577 slugging percentage.

Lees also said he felt Harrer had a good presence in the batter’s box and believed opponents need to face him in the first inning. Harrer’s success at the plate led Lees to bump him up to the three-hole from the middle of the order, where he started the season in the lineup.

Another bright spot for the Cougars, both at the plate and in the field, has been sophomore shortstop Andres Alvarez.

“[Alvarez] is a tremendous shortstop,” Lees said. “He made some plays in the last seven games that I haven’t seen made from a lot of people and he did a very good job at the plate.”

Alvarez worked his way up to a .360 on-base percentage in California and started all seven games at shortstop. The Trinidad State Junior College transfer shined defensively, as he made 13 putouts and 18 assists from the shortstop position to accompany his perfect fielding percentage.

Taking on an opponent who has played perfect defense and combined for 21 runs in its last two games, WSU’s pitching staff may be the key to winning the series. The Cougars have not been shutout in any game, but their three wins have all been in come-from-behind fashion, and the offense has yet to blow out the opposition.

The Cougars’ starting rotation has failed to pitch deep into the ballgame so far, as no starter has made it past the fifth inning in any game. In Monday’s 7-3 loss to LMU, sophomore right-hander David Wallum was pulled by Lees in the second inning after surrendering four runs, three of them earned.

“We’ve got some things we are working through with Damon [Jones] and [Ryan] Walker,” Lees said. “Cody Anderson actually had two pretty good outings, but I know the rest of them are better than what they’ve pitched.”

Lees said he is confident his weekend rotation of Jones, Walker and Anderson will improve against SFA.

The first pitch for Friday’s home-opener will be at 2 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field. Saturday’s doubleheader is set for a noon start time, and Sunday’s finale begins at 1 p.m.