Monday, May. 25, 2009

'Risktaker' taking WSU baseball to NCAA playoffs

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

It's getting warm this Memorial Day morning, so I know Hell has not frozen over yet.

But I powered up the boob tube early today for something that I never would have predicted of myself — waiting to see Washington State University baseball on ESPN's College World Series Selection Show.

Of course, I've lived long enough to know "never say never." Here I am married to a Cougar. I even lived part-time in Pullman, having spent many days in Traci's grad student apartment just over the hill from Beasley Coliseum.

My spell in Cougarslavia included February 2005. That's when I interviewed head coach Donnie Marbut, who had yet to manage a game for the Cougars. At age 30, he was the youngest coach in the Pac-10.

I wrote, "Marbut's age and demeanor — and perhaps the large WSU commuter coffee cup on his desk — combine to make him bright-­eyed and enthusiastic when he arrives at his Bohler Gym office each day at 7:15 a.m."

He took over WSU's program during a dark time, replacing his boss, Tim Mooney, who resigned after four lackluster years and dogged by allegations of physical abuse involving players.

It's a bit ironic that Marbut described himself to me as "aggressive, intense, pretty knowledgeable, and somebody who is a gambler and a risk­taker."

Things didn't look too good for Marbut a year later. He received a letter of reprimand from WSU for misrepresenting his résumé and survived a state ethics board investigation regarding the use of school facilities while in his dual role as athletic director and baseball coach at Edmonds Community College.

Well, now he's really got something to update his résumé with — the Cougars' first spot in the NCAA baseball playoffs since 1990. They travel to Norman, Okla., and face Arkansas at 11 a.m. Friday in a first-round series game. Later that day, Oklahoma plays Wichita State. (Ironically, Arkansas swept WSU to open this season).

Marbut's first team — the 2005 squad — listed five players from the Mid-Columbia: Jason Freeman (Kamiakin), Brandon Hill (Moses Lake), Jayson Miller (Richland), Matthew Thomas (Walla Walla) and Dustin Willis (Kamiakin).

This season, there are three — Chad Arnold (Southridge), David Cerna (Walla Walla), Travis Coulter (Southridge).

In Marbut's first campaign, WSU was forecast by Baseball America to finish last in the Pac-10. At the same time, the Washington Huskies had a preseason ranking of No. 8 in the country and a runt named Tim Lincecum dealing heat.

How things have changed. This weekend, Marbut's Cougars swept the visiting Huskies, whose season ended with a whimper — a five-game skid, a 13-14 record in the Pac-10 and an overall mark of 25-30.

Heck, if the recession wasn't so bad, then perhaps Wazzu fans would be pushing for a retractable roof over Bailey-Brayton Field.