Cougar Baseball gunning to sweep UCLA

Good morning. Well ain’t this something? A WSU baseball team that started the season on a somewhat promising note, then began Pac-12 play with a plummet that would make the 2016 Carolina Panthers envious has suddenly taken a drastic turn for the better.

This weekend’s victim is the UCLA Bruins. Saturday, the Cougars rode solid pitching and consistent hitting to beat UCLA 7-3. The game was tight for the first four innings, but the Cougs used the fifth and sixth innings to run away. Following a two-run fifth inning, Shane Matheny drove in two runs to make it a 5-2 ballgame, and JJ Hancock doubled in Matheny. UCLA would not threaten again.

Cody Anderson turned in another quality outing, going five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing only four hits and two runs. Anderson improved his record to 5-2 and lowered his season ERA to 2.72. Colby Nealy was solid in relief, and Scotty Sunitch recorded the final two outs to clinch the win.

In the batter’s box, leadoff hitter Andres Alvarez provided a great spark, collecting three hits and scoring two runs. Shane Matheny and James Rudkin both drove in two runs each, providing more production from their third and fourth spots in the lineup.

Since the Cougars went to Tempe and lost all three games to drop their record to 2-10, they’ve totally redeemed themselves. They have now won eight of 11 Pac-12 games, taking two of three against Washington, Utah and Oregon, and now winning the first two games against UCLA. At 10-13, they sit one game in the loss column behind fourth-place Arizona.

Winter may be coming, however, as the Cougs close out conference season with a road series at highly-ranked Oregon State, followed by a home series against second-place Stanford. For now, they are looking to sweep a UCLA team thought to have a legitimate shot at the NCAA tournament.

First pitch is at high noon, and is televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

One more thing - I’d like to wish my mom and all other moms a Happy Mother’s Day. In true blogger fashion, I don’t know where I’d be if she hadn’t let me send all of these dispatches from a dimly-lit corner of her basement.

Baseball

Cougars Beat No. 28 UCLA, Clinches Fourth-Straight Series - WSUCougars.com | Washington State University Athletics
Washington State used 12 hits to post a 7-3 victory over No. 28 UCLA at Bailey-Brayton Field Saturday afternoon, clinching its fourth straight conference series for the first time since 1995.

Football

Pac-12 football power ratings (post-spring practice edition)
Defending conference champion Washington tops the Pac-12 football post-spring power ratings. USC is a close second, followed by Stanford. From there, it gets messy.

Ranking the college football Spring Game crowds
The ranking obviously carries significant margin for error — many schools simply estimate crowd size — and several high-profile programs aren’t listed. But those caveats apply to every conference.

College Hotline: Pac-12 football weekend reading (on the media rights landscape, Coliseum renovation, fight for Portland and more) – The Mercury News
Even in this slow stretch for college football and basketball, the volume of interesting and important material is immense.

Beer

Best beer I had this week: There are a couple worthy of honorable mention, particularly Deschutes Black Butte XXVIII Porter and Lagunitas The Waldos’ Special Ale. However, nothing, and I mean NOTHING came close to the liquid bliss I drank last Sunday. Simply put, Funky Buddha Mexican Coffee is one of the best beers I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of beer. I don’t know if I’d ever had a beer aged in tequila barrels, but man oh man was it tasty.

Heineken targets global leadership with new zero alcohol beer | Reuters
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Non-Sports

How to Make It As an Old-School Country Star – The Ringer
Chris Stapleton and Zac Brown are two traditionalists in an industry full of bro-country. They are both worth your time.