Prince won’t pitch for WSU

PULLMAN – Washington State has made the decision to keep sophomore Jared Prince off the mound for the rest of the baseball season after an MRI on his throwing shoulder.

Head coach Donnie Marbut said Monday that Prince, who hasn’t thrown since early in the non-conference season, will now be limited to playing in right field for the rest of this season and could well have some minor surgery after the year is through.

“He was losing velocity and was sore after pitching,” Marbut said, adding that losing the player who was a staff ace last year in Pac-10 play has made things more difficult for the struggling Cougars. “He was a Friday night guy last year and he threw five innings this year.”

Prince continues to bat in the middle of the Cougars order, and both he and Marbut indicated the highly regarded pitcher will be back on the mound as a junior next season.

Marbut suggested that the injury may be to the labrum, but added that “nobody really knows what it is.”

Prince’s ERA was over 10 in the early season action, and he’s hitting .252 at the plate after hitting .401 as a freshman.

“I’ve got a little bit of stuff going on, nothing terrible, nothing that I’m not going to bounce back from,” Prince said. “I’m going to be all right.”

The 16-13 Cougars host Gonzaga at Bailey-Brayton Field at 5:30 tonight.