Washington Baseball hopes to finish strong

Washington baseball started out well in February and the first half of March playing mostly non-conference games, but they’ve cooled off since then. Their goal this year was to make it back to the College World Series, but those chances are looking slim right now

Washington baseball did a good job going 14-6 in their first twenty games which included beating Oregon and USC in the first two series of Pac-12 action. The end of March and the first half of April they didn’t play very good ball, but they started to pick it up towards the end of the month.

The Huskies ended April by beating cross-town rival Seattle Redhawks at home 6-1. Last weekend they beat the Washington State Cougars winning the first two games then losing the final game on Sunday 13-2. The Huskies are in sixth place in Pac-12 of 9-12, 23-19 overall.

This weekend the Huskies play the Utah Utes at home. The Utes are next to last in the Pac-12 with a record of 4-20 so the Huskies are hoping to sweep them in the series.

The Huskies will finish the season by playing New Mexico State at home followed by three next weekend at UCLA. Then, they finish up at home against Cal from May 23 through the 25th. And for them to have any chance to make the College World Series once again they will probably have to win all eleven games.

Junior catcher Nick Kahle leads the team with a batting average of .352, which is good for ninth in the Pac-12. He hasn’t hit a home run since the middle of April, he’s still standing at six.  He still leads the Huskies in RBIs with 42, though he had 34 on April 17th.

Senior designated hitter Joe Wainhouse continues to struggle at the plate this year with an average of .165. Last season where he had 19 home runs, 61 RBIs and an average of .306, and right now he’s got nine home runs and 22 RBIs. Last week against Washington State he had two hits each in the two wins including a home run. If the Dawgs want to have a shot at getting to Omaha in May, Wainhouse is going to be a key piece in helping them get there.

Freshman right-hander David Rhodes has a record of 4-4 and an ERA of 3.99. His last decision was on April 12 in the first game of the series against Stanford, where he gave up 8 runs on 8 hits over five and two-thirds innings. In his last two outings against Arizona State and Washington State, he didn’t make through the four innings. The Huskies were fortunate to come back and win both games.

Sophomore right-hander Josh Burgmann who got off to a good start has struggled since then. On April 17 he had a record of 3-2 in 9 starts with a 2.62 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Burgmann now has a record of 3-5, an ERA of 4.09 and 89 strikeouts. In the last three games, he has thrown 15⅓ innings and given up 25 hits so it will be important that he rebounds if the Huskies expect to win.

Though the starters have struggled lately, the three main relievers out of the bullpen have had good seasons. Sophomore right-hander  Stevie Emanuels struggled in his last outing giving up five hits in one and a third innings against Washington State on Sunday in a losing effort. The Cougars scored four runs off of Emanuels, however, the defense made three errors so the runs were unearned. Emanuels has a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 2.45 in 27 appearances over 47⅔ innings with 54 strikeouts.

The next reliever in line is another sophomore right-hander Jack Enger. He has appeared in 22 games going 35⅔ innings. Enger has an ERA of 2.52 with 53 strikeouts. Also, he has only walked 13 batters and given up two extra-base hits a double and a home run. In his last three outings, Enger has gone six and two-thirds innings giving up four hits without surrendering a run and strike five batters.

The third primary reliever is junior left-hander Chris Micheles, who, in his last four outings, has gone six innings and given up only two hits. On May 5, Micheles gave up 3 runs over a third of an inning while walking two batters but none of the runs were earned. Micheles has a record of 5-2 in 28 appearances over 42⅓ innings. His 64 strikeouts are second on the staff behind Josh Burgmann.

Micheles’ longest outing on the season was against Arizona State, where he went three and one-third innings giving up three hits and a walk while striking out six.

Washington baseball has only two seniors on the team, designated hitter Joe Wainhouse and outfielder Mason Cerrillo, who is tied for third on the team in batting average of .291.

We’ll find out soon if the Huskies are up to the task of getting back to Omaha.