BSB: Cougs host Gonzaga today

WHAT: Gonzaga (24-14) at Washington State (18-19)

WHERE: Bailey-Brayton Field (3,500), Pullman, WA

WHEN: Tues, April 25, 5 p.m. PT

TV/RADIO: 104.7 FM and 1150 AM in Pullman (Matt Chazanow); Webstream at wsucougars.com.

SERIES HISTORY: Washington State leads the all-time series 197-102-1;

LAST MEETING: Gonzaga won, 9-4, on April 17 in Spokane.

Washington State wraps up a five-game homestand Tuesday afternoon with a nonconference battle against regional rival Gonzaga.

PITCHING MATCHUP: WSU freshman lefthander A.J. Block (0-1, 5.56 ERA, 22.2 IP) makes his sixth start of the season for the Cougars. Gonzaga will throw redshirt sophomore Daniel Bies (2-2, 4.56 ERA, 23.2 IP).

LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend WSU took two of three games from rival Washington by the scores of 5-4 (11), 6-3, 1-7 in Pullman. It was WSU's third straight series win over the Huskies, and improved the Cougars to 4-11 in the Pac-12.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars went 3-2 last weekend, falling 9-4 at Gonzaga last Monday before beating Seattle 9-4 in Pullman, followed by the series win over UW. Junior first baseman James Rudkin enters the week leading the team in batting average (.329) and RBI (26) after hitting .538 in the series win over Washington.

Sophomore leftfielder Justin Harrer paces the club with 14 doubles and shares the home lead (4) with JJ Hancock. Junior reliever Scotty Sunitsch enters the week third in the Pac-12 with seven saves.

GONZAGA-WSU SERIES HISTORY: Gonzaga has won the last four meetings with the Cougars after taking all three games last season, including a 7-4 victory in Pullman, the only meeting on the Palouse in 2016. WSU will be looking for its first win in the series since posting a 4-2 win April 7, 2015 in Pullman.

PAC-12 LEADERS: Washington State enters the week among the top of the Pac-12 Conference in a couple categories. Offensively, the Cougars are second in the league in doubles (78), third in on-base percentage (.375), fourth in runs (202), and fifth in slugging (.399). The defense is fourth with 32 double plays turned.

Justin Harrer enters the week tied for third in the Pac-12 with 14 doubles and tied for 10th in home runs (4) with JJ Hancock. Freshman Dillon Plew is seventh in on-base percentage (.444), second best among Pac-12 freshmen. On the mound, Scotty Sunitsch enters the week third in the Pac-12 with seven saves while Cody Anderson is eighth in ERA (2.47), seventh in batting average against (.222) and ninth in strikeouts (45).

PAC-12 STANDINGS (As of April 25)

Oregon State 16-2

California 11-7

UCLA 10-8

Stanford 8-7

Washington 8-7

Arizona 9-9

Utah 8-10

Oregon 6-9

Arizona State 5-10

USC 5-10

Washington State 4-11

UP NEXT: The Cougars travel to Salt Lake City, UT for a three-game Pac-12 series against Utah from Thursday through Saturday. First pitch for all three games is set for 10:30 a.m. PT.