Washington State opens baseball season with 5-2 win

It may be cold and possibly snowy where you are, but the college baseball season is off and running. Washington State traveled to Bakersfield, Calif.—home to my dad’s childhood home and the band Korn—and used a three-run ninth inning to win 5-2 in head coach Brian Green’s debut.

Not only did WSU have a big ninth-inning, but it came with two outs. With runners on first and second, Garrett Gouldsmith singled to right to bring in one run. Jake Meyer then followed with a two-run single to right.

The Cougs ended the game with a double play.

Cal State-Bakersfield went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first after a leadoff triple and a double. It could have gone south for WSU, but the Cougs used three pitchers who combined for 15 strikeouts. After starter Brandon White went 3.2 innings after giving up two runs on seven hits, Zane Mills and Owen Leonard gave up just one hit combined.

WSU went ahead 2-1 in the third inning after manufacturing some baserunners, allowing Jack Smith to bring two runners home on a double. Cal State Bakersfield—the Roadrunners, for the record—tied the game in the fourth before the Cougs’ stellar ninth inning.

The two teams continue the season-opening series today. WSU won’t play in Pullman until Mach 5 when they welcome Niagara.

The future of college sports

There has been a lot of soul searching this past week when it comes to the future of college sports, at least on the West Coast. With Mel Tucker leaving for big bucks at Michigan State, the Pac-12 is once again on notice regarding its lack of resources, compared to the rest of the country.

One local sportswriter even brought up the idea of the Pac-12 going all-in on basketball and diminishing the role football plays. At another level, Eastern Washington of the FCS just had a group of faculty come up with a report that makes a number of suggestions for how the university could solve its budget issues: dropping down to D-II, D-III or NAIA, dropping football altogether, or even dropping athletics altogether.

College sports is big business, and some schools might be left behind. It’ll be very interesting to see how this all evolves in the next 10 years.

Links

Cougars Rally in Ninth to Win Season-Opener - Washington State University Athletics
The Cougars scored three in the ninth to win 5-2.

Cougs Fall One Shot Short at No. 22/24 Arizona State - Washington State University Athletics
WSU took No. 22/24-ranked Arizona State all the way to the wire on the road on Friday, but unfortunately the final game-tying shot attempt fell short at the buzzer

Top Performances All-Around at Albuquerque - Washington State University Athletics
Kreete Verlin, Charisma Taylor, Sam Brixey, and Luzia Herzig lead the way for the Cougs.

Nick Rolovich On The Importance of In-State Recruiting & The Countdown | Seattle's Sports Radio 950 KJR
WSU football head coach Nick Rolovich joins the show and shares his thoughts on in-state recruiting and a clock counting down until the 2020 Apple Cup