Dating back to 1911, Washington State and Gonzaga have faced off on the diamond, and Tuesday they meet again in Spokane.

The Cougars (9-16, 2-7) will play two games against the Bulldogs (16-10, 6-3) this season, with the first giving them a break from conference play. WSU Head Coach Marty Lees has challenged his team to improve following their 18-3 loss to Arizona State on Saturday, with everyone needing to prove their place.

“I think it’s a tryout every time you go out,” Lees said Saturday. “I think we’re to the point where we’ve been patient with a lot of kids with the hope that they would get better. But maybe we need to switch up the roles a little bit and see what we can do there. We will evaluate that as a staff and do what we think is best moving forward and for the program right now. Right now we need to get better.”

Freshman left-hander Ryley Widell (1-0) will take the mound for WSU, with redshirt freshman left-hander Justin Blatner (0-0) starting for GU. Widell began the season coming out of the bullpen, but has recently made the transition to starter.

In eight innings, Widell has allowed 10 earned runs, with an opponent’s batting average of .364, second highest amongst Cougar pitchers, behind redshirt sophomore left-hander Damon Jones.

First pitch is set for WSU and Gonzaga 6 p.m. at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field. Live stats will be provided on WSUCougars.com and on Twitter @CougBaseball.

Reporting by Lars Hanson