SportsFebruary 10, 2004

Seasoned WSU players figure to move closer to matching high expectations

The is the first in a three-part series previewing Washington State University baseball for the 2004 season. Wednesday: pitching.

PULLMAN -- Would it be fair to label last year's Cougars as an offensive disappointment? Probably not. But they did set themselves up for it.

In 2002, WSU hitters produced surprisingly good numbers. They hit .308, a jump of 24 percentage points over the previous season, and they averaged 6 1/2 runs per game.

With many of those individuals returning in '03, similar marks, if not better ones, were expected. So although the Cougars hit a respectable .271, they came off as distinct underachievers.

"There's no doubt we thought we'd be better," says coach Tim Mooney, whose team, 19-37 last year, scored two or less runs in 16 games and was shut out eight times. "It's not like we were horrible all season, but there were a lot of games where we struggled to put something together."

If the Cougars hope to be more consistent this season, which for them gets under way Thursday against the University of San Francisco in the Oakland A's College Classic at Scottsdale, Ariz., their core of veterans will have to produce.

Considering who those players are, this shouldn't be a stretch. Four position starters return, with three of them reprising the roles they aptly played last year. And with two other regulars in the fold along with some talented newcomers, Mooney believes he can put a capable, perhaps even stellar, lineup on the field.

The linchpins will be Grant Richardson, a senior infielder who led the '03 Cougars in home runs (13) and runs batted in (50), and sophomore outfielder Jay Miller, that team's leading hitter (.341) and one of its primary run generators (36 RBI, 40 runs scored).

Richardson, the principal first baseman last year, will split time between there and designated hitter while Miller will hold down one of the outfield corners.

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How those two are used will directly affect another critical cog, senior Justin Hart. WSU's leading hitter in 2002 (.370) and No. 2 guy last year (.338), Hart will see duty in both left field and at first.

The fourth returning starter, senior Jeremy Farrar, may be limited by an injury that initially derailed his WSU career. After missing virtually all of 2002 with knee problems (he also sat out the first month of last season with a broken hand), Farrar suffered another ACL tear in fall workouts. He has been medically cleared to play, but will probably be used at DH until his mobility indicates he's ready to return to the outfield.

Senior Brandon Reddinger, the Cougars' oft-used backup catcher the past two years, will take over the primary role. And Collin Henderson, a senior whose athletic focus at WSU had always been football, will for the first time devote his attention to baseball and is one of the prospects in center field.

The outfield, clearly this team's positional strength, will also feature transfers Kaeo Ruben and Zach Kostorus along with sophomore Chad Spellman, who sat out most of 2003 with a hip injury. Spellman, however, will miss the season's first few weeks with a shoulder injury.

The infield, in comparison, is extremely young -- its first string is likely to include a sophomore and a pair of true freshmen.

Jeff Miller, the younger brother of Jay Miller, and Justin McClure, look to be the starting second baseman and shortstop, respectively. And Zach McAngus, a sophomore transfer from Air Force (he earned freshman all-America recognition as a second baseman), will probably get the nod at third.

Junior transfers Jeremy Burress and Jason Freeman will add infield depth, while sophomore Zach Franklin will be the No. 2 catcher.

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Browitt may be contacted at jbrowitt@lmtribune.com

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