Friday, April 23, 2010

Cougar Baseball Drops from Rankings

There are six Pac-10 teams ranked in the top 30 and Washington State is not among them.

The Cougars, two weekends ago ranked 28th, fell from the national polls at the claws of No. 17 Arizona, which swept the Cougars last weekend in Pullman.

No. 22 Oregon State rolls into town today for a three-game series.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Baseball Performs Mom's Weekend Miracle

Mom's Weekend, more commonly associated with unscrupulous moms rampaging through Pullman, this year brought another surprise as Cougar baseball defeated the No. 1 team in the nation.

This is the first time in school history the Cougars have won a series against the Sun Devils.

Winning two of three games against ASU, WSU advanced to 3-3 in conference play and into a three-way tie for third place, hopefully not earning the players too much affection from visiting moms.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Cougars Drop the Ball and Pac-10 Opener

With one out to go for victory, Washington State dropped the ball, literally.

The Cougs dropped their Pac-10 opener last night to the University of Washington in Seattle on a freak two-out error to end the game.

The Cougars, who led 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, did everything they could to give this one away.

Needing just one out to end the game, WSU pitcher Adam Conley hit a Husky batter, advancing him to base.

The Huskies gained another base runner when catcher Jay Ponciano committed defensive interference, preventing the next batter from hitting a pitch.

Left fielder Brett Jacobs then dropped one of only three Husky hits the entire game, a fly ball, bringing the two Husky base runners home. UW won, 3-2.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Coach Donnie Marbut on the 2010 Cougars

After a successful 2009 campaign, Washington State head baseball coach Donnie Marbut sat down with Wazzu Sports to talk about the 2010 season.

He shared his expectations and anxiety over the new clubhouse culture that's developed after the Cougars' NCAA tournament appearance last season.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Expectations Fall for Pac-10 Tournament

On a three game losing streak, the WSU men's basketball squad, 16-14, enters the Pac-10 tournament seeded last, a less than satisfying finish to a season in which some prognosticators from ESPN picked the Cougs to finish first.

It was a trying season, filled with highs (Klay Thompson's temporary reign as the country's leading scorer) and lows (Thompson's subsequent slump).

On the women's side, WSU, 8-21, squares-off against last-place Arizona, which bested the Lady Cougars in both their meetings this season, in another play-in game.

The Cougar men play at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Staples Center on FSN, while the women's game, which is not televised, is at 6 p.m. the next day at USC.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Women's Basketball Makes History

The Washington State women found themselves down 15 points early against Oregon, but thanks to an 18-6 run to end the first half and a 13-2 run to open the second half, the Cougars downed the Ducks 67-53, marking the third largest comeback in WSU history.

The WSU defense was a major factor in Friday’s win. The Cougars held the Ducks to 15 second-half points. Oregon averages more than 80 points per game.

"We’ve been denied a lot this year, but they showed they are champions," WSU head coach June Daugherty said of her players.

The Ducks had no answer for the Cougars' back-door attack. Washington State scored 26 of its 67 points inside the paint.

The Cougars improved to 8-20 overall. Washington State, 3-14 in conference, hosts Oregon State in its final home game 2 p.m. Sunday.