Get excited, get nervous for Cougs vs. Hogs

NORMAN, Okla. -- In hockey, stats geeks love to rattle off plus-minus numbers. In its most simple form, a player receives a plus for every goal his team scores when he’s on the ice and a minus for every goal scored against his team when he’s on the ice. We’ve applied the plus-minus idea, with a twist, to the Washington State-Arkansas opener at the Norman Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament.

Instead of “Plus” and “Minus,” Cougar fans might think in terms of “Get Excited” and “Get Nervous.”

The 24th-ranked Cougars and 23rd-ranked Razorbacks square off Friday at 11 a.m. PDT at the University of Oklahoma. The game will not be televised but it will be webcast live, for free HERE. Also, KXLY 700 AM of Spokane and KQQQ 1150 AM of Pullman will broadcast the game live. In addition, the WSU radio feed is available for free at www.wsucougars.com and an electronic GameTracker is available there at no charge.

OK. On to the pros and cons of Friday's tilt ...

Get Excited:
The Cougars are 31-23 and have won nine of their last 12 games.
Get Nervous:
The Razorbacks are 34-20 despite losing 10 of their last 13 games, and they are 3-0 against Washington State.

Get Excited: The Cougars have advanced to NCAA post-season play 15 times and reached the College World Series four times, including a runner-up finish in 1950.
Get Nervous: The Razorbacks have advanced to NCAA post-season play 22 times and reached the College World Series five times, including a runner-up finish in 1979.

Get Excited: Matt Way, who is scheduled to start on the mound against Arkansas, is 8-4 and ranks ninth in NCAA Division I with 114 strikeouts.
Get Nervous: Dallas Keuchel, who is scheduled to start on the mound against WSU, is 7-3 and beat Way in the season opener.

Get Excited: The Cougars finished second in the Pacific-10 Conference, which sent three teams to the NCAA tournament.
Get Nervous: The Razorbacks finished fourth in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference, which sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament.

Get Excited: Arkansas’ leading hitter, senior shortstop Scott Lyons (.313), may be limited or absent due to a shoulder injury.
Get Nervous: Washington State’s leading hitter, senior first baseman-catcher Alex Burg (.355), may be limited or absent due to a knee injury.

Get Excited: The Cougars are ranked 24th by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper, which does not have Arkansas in its Top 30 poll.
Get Nervous: The Razorbacks are ranked 23rd by Baseball America magazine, which does not have Washington State in its Top 25 poll.

Get Excited: WSU went 1-2 against Arizona State when the Sun Devils were ranked No. 1.
Get Nervous: Arkansas went 2-0 against Arizona State when the Sun Devils were ranked No. 1.

Get Excited: The Razorbacks often start three freshmen and two sophomores.
Get Nervous: The Cougars often start one freshman and four sophomores.

Get Excited: Andy Wilkins leads Arkansas with 15 home runs, but he strikes out every 4.2 at bats.
Get Nervous: Derek Jones leads WSU with 11 home runs, but he strikes out every 3.5 at bats.

Get Excited: Washington State has a better team batting average, earned run average and fielding percentage than Arkansas.
Get Nervous: The Cougars stand 248th among 288 ranked teams with a .278 batting average, and 432nd-ranked Jared Prince (.350) is WSU’s leading hitter among official NCAA qualifiers.

Get Excited: The Washington State pitching staff ranks in the top 50 nationally in ERA and strikeouts, and the Cougars are 34th in fielding.
Get Nervous: The Arkansas pitching staff ranks in the top 50 nationally in ERA and strikeouts, and the Razorbacks are 79th in fielding.

Get Excited: The Cougars are playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 19 years.
Get Nervous: The Razorbacks are playing in the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive year.

NOTABLE:

The 25-man All-Pac-10 team was announced Wednesday and three Cougars were tabbed: senior pitcher Matt Way, senior right fielder Jared Prince and redshirt junior Jeremy Johnson. All three are expected to turn pro this summer. Four Cougs earned honorable mention recognition: senior catcher Greg Lagreid, senior first baseman-catcher Alex Burg, redshirt sophomore pitcher Chad Arnold, sophomore shortstop Shea Vucinich and freshman outfielder Derek Jones.

To help keep the Cougs coming back to the post-season, WSU is encouraging alums and supporters to donate TO the Athletic Director's Fund for Baseball Excellence. Click HERE to contribute.