WSU Prepares For Decisive Homestand

Pac-10 baseball

Washington State, which leads the remarkably balanced Pacific-10 Conference North Division by one-half game, controls its own destiny as it heads into a final four-game home series against Oregon State this weekend.

“Everything surprises you in baseball,” said first-year WSU coach Steve Farrington, observing the scrambled race in the Pac-10 North.

“You can never predict how the game is going to turn out or how the season is going to stack up. The seasons are long, people improve and teams get better, and that’s what’s great about the game - it changes all the time.”

At the beginning of the season, it was Gonzaga which was given a better chance than WSU of making it into postseason play. Yet the Bulldogs, 13-14 in the Pac-10 North and 27-24 overall, are mathematically eliminated.

Coach Steve Hertz’ Zags are one of four teams within two games of WSU (15-11 and 25-27). But even if GU sweeps its three-game home series with Washington (15-12 and 23-28) this weekend, it can only tie for first if Oregon State (13-13, 23-21) wins three of four from the Cougars. And then the Beavers would represent the North in the Pac-10 playoff by virtue of beating both WSU and GU in their season series.

GU and UW kick off their final series of the regular season with a 4 p.m. game Friday at Pecarovich Field and close it with a Saturday doubleheader that starts at noon.

Farrington’s Cougars entertain OSU in 4 p.m. doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at Bailey Field. Saturday’s nightcap is a makeup game that was originally rained out in Corvallis, Ore. OSU will act as the home team in that game.

Farrington, pointing to his team’s split with the Beavers in the two games they were able to complete earlier in the year, said he is approaching this weekend’s decisive homestand as any other.

“We’ve talked all year about taking care of series,” he said, “and we have the OSU series at 1-1 right now. If we take care of three of four (games) this weekend, then that gets us to 4-2 against them and takes care of the series.

“And it also takes care of the league.”

Three wins over the Beavers would force Washington to sweep GU to tie for the division title. But the Cougars would get the playoff nod on the strength of their 4-2 record against the Huskies during the conference season.

The North and South Division winners will meet in a best-of-three series at the site of the South champion beginning May 18.

Washington 13, Portland 12

In Seattle, a bases-loaded walk issued to Washington’s Sean Spencer in the bottom of the ninth inning brought home the winning run as the Huskies outlasted Portland (11-16, 21-25).

Home runs by Shawn Mahle and Jon Vander Griend had staked UW to a 6-0 lead, but Portland took a 10-6 lead with a six-run fifth inning that included homers by Nathan Smith and Chandler Martin.

Portland 004 060 011 - 12 13 5 Washington 330 003 211 - 13 10 1

Mickel, Travis (2), Hazlett (7), Martin (9) and Chastain; Campbell, Brakke (5), Merrick (9) and Shewey. W-Merrick, 3-4. L-Hazlett, 1-2. HRs-Portland, Smith (1), Martin (2), Dennis (3). Washington, Mahle (2), Vander Griend (10). T-3:14. A-220.