Cougar baseball returns home to Bailey-Brayton Field on Thursday as Washington State hosts Utah Valley for its first home series of 2016.

In the eyes of Head Coach Marty Lees, the Cougars (3-5) had good moments on the mound, in the field and at the plate in their first eight games on the road. The first-year WSU skipper highlighted senior infielder Patrick McGrath as one of the bright spots.

“There were very good bright spots throughout our lineup,” Lees said during his news conference. “But we just need to take care of some of the little things that hinder us being better.”

McGrath, who played first and third base in the opening two series, currently sits second on the team in batting average at .364 with 12 hits and two home runs in 33 at bats. However, the senior feels he still has some room for improvement both with his glove and bat.

Collectively, WSU recorded 10 errors in their first two series. But the fielding issues lessened in the second series, and McGrath feels they will no longer be a problem this weekend.

“A lot of the mistakes we made shouldn’t have been made. I’ll take responsibility for that, I made some mistakes,” McGrath said. “That’s just going to happen. Some of it was jitters for some of the new guys. But yesterday in practice and later on last week it started looking better. It’ll be fine this weekend, we’ll be good defensively.”

Senior right-handed pitcher Ian Hamilton (0-2) will get the start for the Cougars on Thursday, the only starter with two losses thus far. After allowing five runs and seven hits through 4.2 innings in his first start, Hamilton was able to better locate his fastball and allow only one earned run – three total – over six innings in his second start.

According to Lees, Hamilton’s struggles stemmed from the amount of fielding mistakes, and not how he was pitching.

Whether Hamilton is able to give the Cougars a quality start or not, the bullpen pitchers are still adjusting to their new roles, including sophomore left-hander Scotty Sunitsch. Appearing in four games, the most by any Cougar reliever through the first two series, Sunitsch noted the reclamation period as one of the bigger adjustments he’s had to make.

“For me it’s just getting the feel back and getting in the rotation and getting used to being called out of the bullpen,” Sunitsch said Wednesday. “It’s always been my favorite spot and I love it. It’s always tough being in Texas on the road because you’re going to get a lot of heckling. But you just have to get that out of your mind and throw.”

Senior righty Danny Beddes will get the start for Utah Valley on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field. Live stats will be provided on WSUCougars.com and on Twitter @Cougbaseball.