:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33151271/PistoreseJoe2014Action-11.0.JPG)
The WSU Baseball team took on Stanford Friday night in Palo Alto to start their final road series of the season. The Cougs entered the night one game ahead of the Cardinal in the conference standings sitting in sixth place with a 12-12 record. The Cardinal evened things up in the conference with a 5-2 win that dropped the Cougs overall record to 22-26 and 12-13 in the Pac-12.
The Cardinal were carried by solid pitching from freshman starter Cal Quantrill. Quantrill only allowed one run through eight innings of work and fanned a total of ten Cougar batters.
WSU's only offensive output of the night came off the bat of Trace Tam Sing. Tam Sing hit his first and second home runs of the season sending balls over the leftfield fence in the fifth and ninth innings. Tam Sing also collected a single and walked to reach base each time he came to the plate.
The effort was impressive from Tam Sing who was drafted in the 26th round by the Kansas City Royals last year. Tam Sing hit .280 and led the team with a .384 on-base percentage in 2013. Things haven't worked out so well for Tam Sing this season. He entered the game only hitting .203 for the year.
The drop off in production isn't from a lack of effort. Coach Donnie Marbut has raved about Tam Sing's preparation heading into the season. Baseball is a funny game and sometimes things just workout like that. Even through his struggles, Tam Sing has continued to approach the game with respect and is enjoyable to watch. I was glad to see things go Trace's way last night, in spite of the losing team effort.
WSU starter Joe Pistorese was solid through his first five innings of work only surrendering two runs, one of which was the result of lackadaisical defense in the outfield. However, he gave up a two run homer in the sixth to Zack Hoffpauir and left the game with his team trailing 4-1.
Although close in the conference standings, Stanford entered the night well ahead of WSU in RPI rankings with an outside chance of making the NCAA Regionals. The Cougs have not made a postseason since 2010 when they finished third in the conference. Since 2010, WSU has finished no better than eighth in the Pac-12.
The Cougs will have a chance to play spoiler Saturday at 1:00 pm with Jason Monda taking the hill for WSU. The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.
BASEBALL
Cougars Drop Series Opener on The Farm - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Trace Tam Sing homers twice for Washington State.
TRACK AND FIELD
The 2013-14 year in Cougar Athletics is winding down to a few more events and games. One event that might be of interest for those remaining in Pullman is the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships that are being held at the Mooberry Track complex this Saturday and Sunday.
Pac-12 T&F Championships at Mooberry May 17-18 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
WSU is hosting the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships May 17-18 at Mooberry Track.