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The Washington State baseball team is in Los Angeles this weekend to take on UCLA. The 14th ranked Bruins will host the Cougs for a three game series starting Friday.
WSU has gotten off to a rocky start in non-conference play and their record currently stands at 4-9. Most recently they split a four game series with St Mary’s before losing to Long Beach State Wednesday, 5-1.
That loss was not the first time in 2018 when the Cougars struggled offensively. WSU has averaged just a hair over three runs per game while hitting .229 this year. Even more concerning is the complete lack of power generated by the lineup.
Collectively, the Cougs have only hit two home runs and are slugging .303. This weekend, and in the rest of conference play, there will need to be more firepower if they want to be competitive
Isaac Mullins, Scotty Sunitsch, and Cody Anderson are slated to start on the mound this weekend. All three have pitched well but Anderson, who will close out the series on Sunday, has been the standout. He has an ERA of 2.41 and has struck out 16 in 18 and two thirds innings.
On the other side, UCLA will send two pitchers to the mound who have been lights out so far. Jake Bird and Zach Pettway both have ERA’s below 2.00. The Bruin’s starter for Sunday is yet to be announced.
Offensively, UCLA is led by sophomore Michael Toglia. The Gig Harbor native is hitting .431 with four home runs and 13 RBI’s. Chase Strumpf has also been a force at the plate, leading the team with 18 RBI’s along with three home runs.
The Cougs and Bruins will play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2, and Sunday at 1. All games will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium and a radio broadcast can be found on the WSU Gameday App.
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