COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN — We'll get back on our live chat game this afternoon, though it will be later than usual — 2:30 p.m. — so we can chat with a WSU baseball player for a story later this week. Read on for links.

Washington State gets back to work today after their first day off of the fall. The Cougars will go through another two-a-day, with practice starting at 8:30 this morning. The second will be at 3:30 this afternoon. Before they get underway, we have some news for you, so read on.

We’ve spent the afternoon getting Washington State reaction to the addition of Colorado to the Pac-10 Conference. We put together a couple stories for tomorrow’s paper, one on the overall news and the WSU response, the other on the financial bump the school may receive if the conference expands to 16 teams, as has been talked about all week. For both, read on.

It could be D-Day for USC today. Or Pearl Harbor, if that’s your leaning. Whatever, it looks like the Trojans are in trouble. It also seems we’re getting closer to some sort of landslide toward expansion and realignment of the conferences. Those items are discussed on the link. Read on.

• UPDATE: The expansion train is rolling. Colorado accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10. See post above.

The NCAA’s APR numbers were announced today and Washington State was just fine. We have a short story on the link, so read on.

Well, that’s that. The most successful baseball season in recent memory is over, with Washington State falling 7-2 to Arkansas last night in Fayetteville. We have some thoughts, some links and some notes on the link, so read on.

Check the link below for an inning-by-inning update of the Washington State NCAA baseball game. We’ll update it as the innings end.

A quite full Monday morning, what with the Washington State baseball team still playing – that looked doubtful early Sunday – and Pac-10 commissioner getting the go ahead from the conference presidents Sunday to pursue expansion and to do it quickly. We have items for you on both those subjects, so read on.

There was nothing easy about this Sunday for the Washington State baseball team. First the Cougars had to win a loser-out game with Kansas State. They did, 9-6. Then they had to face the host Arkansas Razorbacks knowing they had to beat the top seed twice to advance to next weekend’s super regional. They did, 10-7. WSU scored first, led 2-1 before a five-run fifth gave them some breathing room. But Arkansas wasn’t about to go away, scoring five runs over the next three innings to cut the lead to 7-6. Some poor Razorback fielding helped the Cougars score three times in the top of the eighth. Over, right? Especially with Chad Arnold throwing for WSU. Not really. Arkansas rallied with two outs in the eighth for a run. But Arnold tightened up and shut the Razorbacks down the rest of the way for a season-extending victory. Derek Jones picked a great day to get hot, hitting a big three-run home run the opener and finishing with five RBIs. In the nightcap, he added four hits and two RBIs. With Arnold throwing parts of four innings Sunday, will the Cougars turn to Adam Conley on Monday? We’ll see. You can find our story here.

A quick post to update you on what’s going on with Washington State’s baseball team in the NCAAs. The Cougars fell behind 6-1, then rallied with eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined before holding on for a 9-6 victory. Derek Jones was the big bat, with five RBI including a three-run home run in the sixth. WSU will face Arkansas starting at 5 tonight. They must defeat the Razorbacks twice to keep their season alive. We’ll keep you abreast of tonight’s result as well.

Washington State’s baseball team will be back at it today with a possible doubleheader. First the Cougars will face a noon (PDT) rematch with Kansas State, a 9-8 winner over Grambling on Saturday, before – if they win – having to face host Arkansas at 5. To win the regional, WSU will have to win three consecutive games. For more on yesterday’s 6-4 defeat to the Razorbacks, read on.

COUGARS

Washington State struggled to solve the puzzle of Arkansas’ Drew Smyly and, what was even more puzzling, had some uncharacteristic defensive lapses as well. But despite two crucial errors, the Cougars went into the bottom of the eighth trailing by just two runs, 5-3. And the left-handed Smyly was gone despite giving up just three hits and the three runs. Despite the best efforts of relievers DJ Baxendale and Geoff Davenport, WSU couldn’t take the lead, scoring once without an out – on a bases-loaded walk – but leaving the bases loaded against Jordan Pratt. That was the Cougars’ last hurrah as the Razorbacks played add-on in the ninth and won 6-4. WSU will have to come back through the loser’s bracket tomorrow, facing Kansas State once again to start the day. Here is the link to our story.

Once again the morning is full of … stories. Ya, that’s it. Stories. From baseball to a basketball legend to the Pac-10’s future. We cover them all on the link, so read on.

COUGARS

Cody Bartlett, the 5-foot-8 second baseman we wrote about in this morning’s S-R, pounded a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth and Washington State rallied to defeat Kansas State, 8-6, the Cougars’ 19th come-from-behind victory of the season. They led 3-1, fell behind 6-3, tied it at 6, and then got the big bomb from Bartlett to move on in the NCAA regional. They’ll face host Arkansas tomorrow in the winner’s bracket game.

Here is the link to our story.

There are a few things to cover this morning related to Washington State and Pac-10 athletics, so let’s get right to them. Read on.

We have some more on the NCAA baseball regional that begins tomorrow, but probably of more interest is a Rivals.com report about Pac-10 expansion. This story seems to be getting some traction. Read on.

The more you read about Washington State’s opponent Friday, Kansas State – and there is another story on the link – the more you understand why WSU coach Donnie Marbut keeps saying the Wildcats are a lot like his Cougars. However, there are significant differences. Read on.

The Washington State Cougars’ baseball team was as hot as anyone down the stretch of the Pac-10 season, winning 9 of its final 12 conference games. We have a story examining one of the main reasons behind the surge for tomorrow’s S-R, but you can read the unedited version on the link now.

• UPDATE: With Ken Griffey Jr.’s retirement this afternoon, the space in the paper devoted to the following story was turned over to that topic. The story on the link will now run in the S-R Friday morning.

As we get closer to the weekend, there will be more Washington State baseball news, of course. But we already have some for you, so read on.

Washington State will practice in Pullman today then get on a plane tomorrow for the trip to Arkansas and the NCAA baseball tournament. If the Cougars can survive the four-team regional, they would probably head to Tempe and a super regional showdown with Pac-10 rival ASU (if the Sun Devils win, of course). We have some baseball links and notes for you so read on …