Baseball's version of the Apple Cup begins today in Seattle with Washington State visiting Husky Ballpark to play Washington.
Pasco product Jorden Merry, a junior, starts Game 1 of the three-game series for the Huskies, which begins at 6:30 p.m. today. Merry is 7-0 this season with a 2.15 ERA.
The Huskies swept through USC to improve to 8-7 in the Pac-10, 29-16 overall. Much of the credit goes to Richland grad Kyle Conley. The redshirt sophomore earned Pac-10 player of the week honors after going 8-for-10 with 9 RBI vs. USC. He is batting .329 with 13 HRs and 45 RBI. He has started 42 of 45 games this season. Tyler Cheney, a lefty from Richland, has been working out of the bullpen, making 18 appearances. And Elliott Cribby, a transfer from Columbia Basin, also has made 18 appearances.
For the Cougars (5-10 Pac-10, 26-20), Southridge grad Travis Coulter leads the team with 183 at bats and 10 stolen bases. The junior second baseman is hitting .322 with 1 HR and 25 RBI. Other Tri-City connections on the WSU roster include redshirt freshman Chad Arnold (Kennewick), redshirt sophomore Matt Crowe and senior left-hander Jayson Miller.
Here are some interesting notes from the UW sports information staff: while Washington State leads the all-time series vs. Washington with 226 wins and 177 losses. However, in 15 prior seasons under coach Ken Knutson, the UW has gone 60-26 against WSU and Knutson is 8-1 head-to-head vs. Cougar head coach Donnie Marbut.
Last year, the Huskies swept a three-game series in Pullman.