Series win sends Huskies into Spokane

Apr 23, 2013, 12:00 AM

The Washington baseball team sent a slight tremor through the college baseball landscape by beating No. 5 Oregon State in two of three games over the weekend. Now, the question is: Can the Huskies do it again? After their best weekend of the season, the Huskies will head east on I-90 to play two midweek games against a red-hot Gonzaga team. The games are on Tuesday and Wednesday night, with both scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Last weekend, the UW had one of its best series in recent memory, taking two of three at home from the then-No. 5 Beavers. It was the Huskies’ first home series in almost a month after an 11-game road swing, and it was a glorious homecoming for the Huskies. After a rainout Friday, the two teams met for a doubleheader Saturday, which the Huskies swept. They rode the arm of starter Jared Fisher to a 5-1 win in the opener, then used an eight-run eighth inning to take the second game 10-3. An 8-0 loss in Sunday’s finale did little to dampen head coach Lindsay Meggs’ spirits after the success on Saturday. “It’s nice for our guys to get rewarded for the time they put in,” Meggs said. “It’s been kind of a struggle for us. To be able to get them twice in the same day, a nationally ranked team, just reinforces the fact that, if we do what we can do on a daily basis and keep working, good things can happen.” His team will get another shot at a nationally ranked team this week with its trip to Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga is 26-11, with a 13-5 record in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. Before losing a 10-4 game to Pepperdine on Sunday, the Bulldogs had won 11 consecutive games to vault into the top 25. This Gonzaga team is solid in all aspects of the game. It has a .272 team batting average, third in the WCC, and a 3.09 team ERA, second in the conference. The Bulldogs have struck out the fewest times in the WCC and have the most sacrifice bunts in the conference, so the UW defense will have to be on its toes. On Tuesday, Meggs will give the ball to right-hander Troy Rallings, who will make his second career start. A freshman from Carlsbad, Calif., Rallings has a 3.21 ERA in eight appearances this season. He started April 8 at Cal State Northridge, where he gave up three runs (one earned run) on three hits in four innings. He walked just one batter while striking out seven that afternoon. Rallings pitched two innings Sunday, allowing just one hit. Meggs said he is still unsure who will start Wednesday’s game. Despite Gonzaga’s recent run, Meggs said that, for his team, the focus will remain on themselves. “We’re talking about a team that just won 11 straight,” Meggs said. “We’re going keep doing what we’re doing, which is concentrating on the things that we do and not worry about them. We are just trying to play the game one pitch at a time, and whatever happens, happens, and we hope we can build on this.” Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

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