After 15 games, the Washington State baseball team has yet to establish itself as really good or really average. For example, the Cougars won eight games in a row at one point ... yet have a 9-6 record.
"We probably play a little younger than I thought," WSU coach Donnie Marbut said. "It's OK. I'm not really down on the team, we just haven't exceeded expectations yet."
This would be an ideal weekend for the Cougs to blossom. They will open Pac-12 play at Tempe, Ariz., with a three-game series against Arizona State (12-2-1) that starts at 6:30 tonight.
Marbut does indeed expect the Cougars to exceed expectations somewhere along the line. Most of the club's position players are freshmen and sophomores, and their three top starters are sophomores.
"I like this club," he added. "I've got good assistants that are a lot smarter than I am that remind me on a daily basis that we're going to get better every week."
WSU dropped the last three games of a series last weekend at Texas-San Antonio, and didn't come back to the Palouse after that set. The Cougars were scheduled to play a minor-league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, but called off that game when it was discovered that it would have counted on their official record. WSU was only interested in playing it as an exhibition.
Instead, the Cougars practiced at Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, "which I think is every bit as beneficial as playing the Giants' minor league team," Marbut said.
Left-handed Joe Pistorese is WSU's probable starter tonight. He stands at 1-1, has a 1.44 ERA and has been bankable most of this season.
The Cougars are looking for improvement from their other two starters, Tanner Chleborad (2-2 record, 8.10 ERA) and Scott Simon (0-0, 4.11).
Jason Monda, clearly WSU's best position player at the start of the season, has also been its most effective pitcher so far. In four short relief appearances, the left-handed junior has allowed no earned runs and struck out seven.
So Marbut is considering expanding Monda's pitching role - maybe even to the point of starting him.
"He's pitching really good when he gets in there, and if he's one of your better arms, you better use him for as many innings as you can," Marbut said. "It's like moving a guy to the top of the lineup."
Offensively, it's the youngsters carrying much of the load. Freshmen Nick Tanielu is hitting .429 and Trek Stemp is at .389 while sophomore Yale Rosen is hitting .377 with five homers.
Warriors getting healthier
The Warriors have spent the last few weeks slowly recovering from a plague of injuries that struck them early in the season, and that process has continued this week.
Lewis-Clark State will welcome Oregon Tech to Harris Field for doubleheaders today and Saturday, and among those expected to suit up is Eric Peterson, who is No. 2 on the team with a .381 batting average and missed last weekend with a hip flexor injury.
Also expected to be in better health are Ryan Sells (knee), Jacob Cano (ankle) and Kyle Knigge (knee). And Cody Weiss, an infielder who has yet to play this spring with a broken hamate bone in his hand, is getting closer to returning.
"Our position players are getting healthy, so I'm definitely excited about that," L-C coach Jeremiah Robbins said.
Pitching-wise, the Warriors will again be without Cordell Greene and Mike Noteware. But Tyler Duffin, who saw his first official action in more than a year last weekend, has responded well this week and is expected to pitch in this series.
L-C (16-5, 6-2) and the Owls (8-15, 1-3) will play at noon today and 11 a.m. Saturday. Both teams belong to the NAIA West grouping.
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Baney may be reached at mbaney@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2258.
