To cap off our Mountain West baseball reviews, we end with the conference champion that I don’t think many expected in Washington State. The Cougars had a quick stay in the MW, only playing in the conference for two seasons after the PAC-12 dissolved. They finished dead last in their first season last year and jumped up to second place this year while winning the conference championship. They will join many others in the new PAC-12 conference, but before then, let’s review the Cougars season.
Record:
Washington State finished the year with a 31-28 overall record and a 15-9 conference record. The Cougars finished as the second seed in a tie with Air Force, going all the way through the winner’s bracket to beat San Diego State 14-4 in seven innings to win the conference championship.
Highlight: Winning the Mountain West Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Washington State took down the regular season champs in San Diego State 14-4 to win the Mountain West Tournament and earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. It was Wazzu’s first conference title since winning the Pac-10 North in 1995, and its first overall conference title since winning the 1976 Pac-8 title.
The Cougars didn’t just make the postseason; they won a regional game, defeating Oregon State 3-2 before ultimately being eliminated by Oregon and Oregon State. Their postseason appearance capped one of the program’s best seasons in more than a decade. The team’s pitching was one of the best in the conference, which included lefty Nick Lewis, who was named the National Pitcher of the Month for May by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America. During the month of May, Lewis went 4-0 with a pair of complete games along with a 1.07 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 34.1 innings, helping the Cougars to a Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010. The redshirt-sophomore issued just four walks, allowed just four earned runs and was named to a pair of All-Tournament teams in the Mountain West Conference Tournament and Eugene NCAA Regional.
Lowlight: While there wasn’t too much that went wrong for Wazzu, their biggest loss outside of the regionals was an 18-0 loss to Oregon State on April 6. The Cougars only picked up one hit and lost by seven runs via mercy rule. They got their get-back the next day, winning 7-6, and then again in their first game of the NCAA Tournament, but a loss that big always stings.
Another lowlight would be following a 3-2 win over Oregon State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Washington State lost to Oregon 4-0, then to Oregon State 10-1, ending the magical season for the Cougs. While it was an honor to reach the national tournament, Washington State was capable of beating both Oregon teams to advance, but fell just short.
Key stat: 15-9. That was Washington’s State conference record, an improvement from an 11-19 record just a year ago. From last place to second and a conference championship in just one year, Washington State will leave the Mountain West on the highest note possible. Another interesting stat was a team total of 37 home runs, the fewest hit by a team in the conference. The long ball wasn’t needed as much to take home some hardware.
Season grade: A+. The second and final season in the Mountain West ended in the best way for Wazzu, giving the team the best grade possible. Back to the PAC they go, which will include plenty of matchups against San Diego State.
