UW Wraps up Season with Rivalry Against Cougars

SEATTLE -- The Washington Huskies wrap up their 2021 baseball season with a rivalry series on the road against the Washington State Cougars, where the two teams will face off in the Boeing Apple Cup Series. UW is looking to keep up the momentum after a series win over Utah, while the Cougars are back in action after a week off. All three games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks with Greg Heister on the call.

Scouting the Opposition

Washington State at a Glance: The Cougars enter the weekend having not played since May 16 against USC, a 13-2 win. They have lost two-of-three in their last two series against USC and UCLA, but took two-of-three from a ranked Oregon team. WSU has also won Pac-12 series against both Utah and California.

Man in Charge: Brian Green is in his second overall season at Washington State. It will be his first time facing Washington as skipper of the Cougars. He arrived in Pullman after serving as the head coach at New Mexico State and has served time as an assistant at both UCLA and Oregon State.

By the Numbers: Washington State is batting right on the .300 mark as a team in 46 games. Kyle Manzardo is the big bat in the Cougar lineup, leading the team with a .377/.449/.661 slash line, 11 home runs and 57 RBI. Kodie Kolden (.317), Jack Smith (.312) and Collin Montez (.311, 43 runs) are among other offensive leaders.

On the mound, Washington State has a 5.62 team ERA and is led by starter Zane Mills, who holds a 5-4 record with a 3.61 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 77.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, Michael Newstrom leads the Cougars with both 25.0 innings pitched and a 3.24 ERA. All six of the team saves have come from different arms.

Husky Baseball Notes

Apple Cup on the Line: The Boeing Apple Cup Series is a year-long competition between Washington and Washington State in all sports to determine a "Series Champion". The Apple Cup originated as the football rivalry between the schools, but was expanded to all sports in 2018-19, where UW won the inaugural series. This weekend's three-game series is the final installment of the 2020-21 series and the winning team will secure the 2020-21 series win.  Washington currently leads with 145 points to Washington State's 140, with the baseball scoring system awarding 20 points to the winning team and 10 to the losing team.

Huskies on the Leaderboards: Braiden Ward currently leads the Pac-12 with 32 stolen bases and is second with 16 hit-by-pitches. He is third and 26th in those categories nationally. Ramon Bramasco is also second in the Pac-12 and 9th in the country with 10 sacrifice bunts. As a team, UW leads the conference with 56 steals. On the mound, just one team in the Pac-12 has walked fewer batters than UW (163). Nationally, the Huskies are 43rd in BB/9, with 3.45.

Raking in May: A couple of Huskies have answered the bell with increased playing time in May. in 11 games, Noah Hsue is batting .410 with a .477 OBP and just two strikeouts to four walks in 47 plate appearances. Michael Snyder has emerged to start 11 straight games and is hitting .375 with a team-best six extra-base hits, including his first career home run against Utah  His 24 total bases, .600 SLG% and four doubles also lead the team.

JUCO Made: A large number of Huskies can be traced back to the junior college ranks. Two UW starters Logan Gerling (Tacoma CC) and Tyson Guerrero (Lower Columbia CC) come from JuCo. Stefan Raeth is a product of Los Medanos CC.  Team-leader in saves, Davis Delorefice, came to UW after a season at Orange Coast College. Ramon Bramasco (Cerritos College) and Gabe Smith (Everett CC) are other notable Huskies with junior college experience.

Ward: On Base and Stealing: Junior Braiden Ward cracked the Huskies' top-five list for career stolen bases last season and just passed  Joe Trippy for second-place all time in UW history with 87 swipes. Chris Magruder holds the all-time record with 94.  Ward led the Pac-12 with 10 steals in the shortened 2020 season and became the first Conference player to lead the league in stolen bases three times. He currently leads the Pac-12 and is third in the country with 32. 

Series Schedule