11:45am | The well known baseball-mecca, WSU, is Wichita State University. The all purpose PAC 12 WSU, is Washington State University. And as much as the Beach boys of Blair would like to relax and savor their outstanding work (save that nightmare Friday ninth) over the Wichitas this past weekend, that ain’t an option. We will return to the ninth inning suicide squeeze which actually saw LB win a one run game shortly, but first let’s talk about our guests from Pullman.

If you had a nervous notion to scout the Cougars you would been able to have gone to Jackie Robinson for free this afternoon but, and you all know this story well, the real revenue sport at most colleges is parking, so you would ha e to pack eight bucks. Coaches gave up on playing Sunday’s baseball game between No. 7 UCLA and unranked Washington State because of rain, thus the move to Monday at noon. If tackling the red hot Bruins isn’t enough, as soon as that contest is over the scarlet and grey lads face the horrors of the 405 to Blair and do it all again at 6:30. Sig alerts permitting.

UCLA won the first two games of the series by a 12-3 score on Friday and Saturday. The Bruins (17-4, 4-1 Pac-12) have won 15 of their last 16 games so it is hard to evaluate the strength of tonight’s visitors. Seventh-ranked UCLA tallied six runs in the sixth inning against the Washington State bullpen and posted a 12-3 victory in Pac-12 baseball, Saturday and won easily on Friday as well. The remedy from the Cougar head coach, “We got to find ways to close out games,” Cougar boss Donnie Marbut said. “We didn’t capitalize on opportunities early and kept it a close game. That gave UCLA a chance and they took advantage of it.” Like the Beach WSU likes “small ball” their brief 3-1 lead against Bruins thanks to that strategy. With one out, Nate Blackham reached on an infield single. Collin Slaybaugh and Jason Monda followed with back-to-back bunts then Cougar Derek Jones delivered a two-out, two-run single that gave the Cougars their brief lead. Their announced Monday starter is freshmen righty Tanner Chleborad, 6-5 but a lean 189. (How fast is he? Well home town is Rapid City, SD,) With Shawn Stuart still nursing the proverbial sore hamstring, Buck’s starter will be lefty freshman Nick Sabo.

Dusting the Competition
 

This game concludes a stretch of 12-straight Cougar roadies, 7 of 12 against top 10 teams…WSU won at No. 8 Fullerton, March 13 and took one of three at No. 6 Arizona, March 16-17…skipper Donnie Marbut has over 200-career victories and a pair of NCAA postseason appearances…Friday we formed a new group we’ll just call it the SPSP or Society for the Protection of Starting Pitchers. After spoiling a fine Friday of work by Matt Anderson everybody had something to say. So on Saturday the Sunday guy came to play and the Ryan Strufing family (20 or so I hear) popped over from relatively nearby Niwot, Colorado. Ryan was superb and the society members got him 13 runs, the most of the year by an LBSU team. Add in visitors of pitcher Jake Stassi who had his host family from the Northwoods League pop by the yard to watch him play and well it went from dark and dire to fun and games…LB jumped out to a big lead on Saturday and continued to push, knocking out 13 runs on 16 hits while Strufing gave up three hits in six scoreless innings. All weekend guys like Ino Patron, Matt Duffy and Johnny Bekakis hit the ball and speedy Brennan Metzger hypnotized the Shockers and actually score the eventual winning run with a suicide squeeze on Sunday. The grand celebration banquet was at the Kentucky Fried Chicken joint on the way to the airport but it tasted like filet and lobster at the Ritz. Last add from the road. Gene Stephenson’s circus plays well in Wichita, umps are intimidated, he takes thirty seconds or so when Blue is trying to get him to make (or not make) his call to the bull pen and Friday night in the ninth when his club was down five runs a set of curious circumstances, some by the Dirtbags, resulted in six runs and nary one of those three double play attempts paid off. 
Why? Well, the multi-million dollar playing field his disciples have built is his Gene’s bully-pen and he rules it. They do get nice crowds in Kansas, (WSU averaged nearly 3,000) but in the record book it goes as a series win for the visitors–just in time for the first weekend of Big West ball up at SLO. Last add–what about the new look lineup for the Beach? Well at least the coaching line-up. Shawn Gilbert, who extended his playing career on several continents with his speed and cunning on the base paths moved into the third base box swapping his dugout spot with coach Jesse Zepeda. On Sunday afternoon Gilly green-lighted Metzger on a Fulkerson suicide squeeze play and it worked…result, Niners get a 3-2 win (amid the protestations of the other guys in black and gold–yes, VCU also wore black and gold)…Stay warm, dry, poised and play on.