UW Baseball Looks To Tighten Score With WSU In 2022 Boeing Apple Cup Series
Washington Huskies vs Washington State Cougars
Seattle, WA
| Washington Starter | Date/Time | Washington State Starter |
| RHP Jared Engman 1-2, 4.79 ERA |
Mar. 18 6:05 PM PST |
RHP Grant Taylor 2-1, 2.89 ERA |
| RHP Calvin Kirchoff 1-0, 4.91 ERA |
Mar. 19 5:05 PM PST |
LHP Cole McMillan 1-0, 4.00 ERA |
| RHP Case Matter 0-2, 2.00 ERA |
Mar. 20 12:05 PM PST |
TBD 0-0, 0.00 ERA |
The Series
Another installment of the ever-popular Boeing Apple Cup Series hits Husky Ballpark this weekend as the Washington baseball team (9-8) welcomes cross-state rival Washington State University (9-7) west of the mountains for a meeting of two closely matched Pac-12 teams. The Boeing Apple Cup Series was expanded beyond football to include multiple sports in 2018 with points awarded for every head-to-head matchup. Ten points are on the line in each of this weekend's three games. The Boeing Apple Cup Series trophy was awarded to UW in 2019 and WSU in 2021. WSU currently holds the edge in 2022 with a score of 250 to 170. Learn more at BoeingAppleCupSeries.com.
How To Follow
Game 1 will be streaming via Pac-12 Networks (pac12.me/BSB-WSU-WASH) while Games 2 (pac12.me/BSB-WSU-WASH-1) and 3 (pac12.me/BSB-WSU-WASH-2) will be streaming via Pac-12 Washington. Live stats will be available via GoHuskies.com and fans can also follow @UW_Baseball on social media to track the action.
Matchup History
The Huskies are a dominant 46-28 versus WSU since 2000 with a 24-12 home record. The Cougars did fair quite well in the previous series last May in Pullman however, taking 2 of 3 and outscoring the Huskies 24-16.
Scouting The Huskies
Head coach Lindsay Meggs and his staff have an excited and re-loaded roster for the 2022 season. This year's roster features 23 newcomers made up of 10 JUCO transfers, 10 true freshmen, and three four-year college transfers.
Returning UW pitchers with starting experience include LHP Adam Bloebaum, RHP Jack Enger, and RHP Stefan Raeth. Raeth, in particular, has been lights out to start the 2022 campaign with 30 strikeouts to just 5 walks and boasting a 0.47 ERA in 19.1 innings of work.
On offense, first baseman Will Simpson returns after leading the Huskies in all major categories last season, including seven home runs and 35 RBIs. He is on pace to improve on those numbers with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs already. Johnny Tincher brings the most returning experience at the catching position and has been on fire thus far batting .345 and an impressive .976 OPS with 20 hits, six doubles, and two home runs. JUCO transfer outfielder McKay Barney has been another one to watch as he leads the team with 22 hits and is batting .319 with four doubles and a triple.
Scouting the Cougars
Coming off a 26-23 (13-17) season, Head Coach Brian Green looks to improve with a 2021 class of recruits ranked No. 29 in the country by Collegiate Baseball. Plus, his 2022 signing class was named the best JUCO class according to JBB.
On the mound, Sophomore RHP Grant Taylor leads WSU with a 2.89 ERA through 18.2 innings, second most on the staff. Redshirt sophomore LHP Cole McMillan tops the strikeouts list with 24 in 18 innings of work. Junior LHP Cam Liss is worth keeping an eye on as well with a team-leading opponent batting average of just .159 in 14.1 innings of work.
Sophomore 1B/OF Bryce Matthews has an impressive .976 OPS and leads the team with a .320 batting average and 16 runs. Others batting over .300 include infielder Jack Smith (.309, plus team-leading five doubles) and infielder Kyle Russell (.305, plus team-leading 18 hits).