Club baseball faces tough road trip
The University of Idaho club baseball team travels to Western Washington Saturday to compete in a three-game series with the Vikings.
The Vandals (0-3) enter the matchup seeking their first conference win of the season.
“Because this is the first regular season series, it would be nice to pick up a couple of wins this weekend,” said team captain Drew Fagan. “It would be awesome to sweep them to keep us in the hunt for the postseason, but we are just going to try and put together two solid wins to win the series.”
Idaho lostto Washington State 12-7 and 6-5 earlier this month, before falling 9-0 to the Cougars in the third game between the two programs.
Pitcher Daniel Hasenoerhl led the Vandals against the Cougars by throwing six scoreless innings.
Western Washington (3-3) enters the matchup riding a three-game win streak following a sweep of Seattle University.
“Western Washington has a solid team right now from what I’ve seen in the numbers, so it will be difficult,” Fagan said. “We have a lot of depth in the bullpen though, so I’m hoping that can give us some low-scoring games where we can manufacture a few runs to win a couple games.
The Vikings currently sit fourth in the North Pacific — North league of the National Club Baseball Association. The Vandals are fifth in the league standings, boasting a four-game lead over conference rival Montana.
“The playoff spot is up for anyone to grab,” Fagan said.
Men’s lacrosse travels to Canada
The Idaho men’s club lacrosse team travels to Simon Fraser Friday to face the Clan in an international matchup.
The Vandals (2-5) enter the competition following a 19-15 victory over Nevada last Friday. The Vandals relied on 11 second half goals to claim the victory.
Simon Fraser (5-4) hosts Idaho after four straight home wins in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Junior attackman Tyle Kirkby leads the Clan with 30 goals and 26 assists, while sophomore attackman Greg Lunde has provided 31 goals and 16 assists with the team this season.
Junior goalkeeper Jeremy Lashar leads Simon Fraser with 104 saves and a saves-per-game percentage of 11.6.
Hausmann recognized by Big Sky
Idaho freshman golfer Sophie Hausmann was named Big Sky Golfer of the Week by the conference on Wednesday.
Hausmann finished in a tie for 28th during the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational last weekend. The freshman returned from a back injury to produce a 9-over-par 225 during the tournament.
“Sophie has rebounded from her injury this spring with some impressive play,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said. “Her putting has greatly improved since last semester and her work ethic is second to none.”
The distinction marks the second time this season that Hausmann has received Golfer of the Week honors.
“The Big Sky Player of the Week honor is hard-earned, and we are proud of Sophie for her dedication to her game and Vandal golf,” Johnson said.
Local talent to walk-on at Idaho
Lewiston High School senior fullback Mason Ulrich will commit to the University of Idaho as a walk-on during the fall season.
The 6-foot athlete played at fullback during the 2015 season for the Bengals, scoring a team-high 16 touchdowns. Ulrich also played linebacker and was responsible for 130 tackles last year.
Ulrich boasts a 40-yard dash time of 5.06 seconds and a SPARQ rating of 79.77.
The senior recruit led the Bengals to a 9-2 record and earned the 5A League Defensive Player of the Year award. Ulrich was also awarded First Team All USA Inland Northwest honors.
During an interview with KLEW reporters Monday afternoon, Ulrich said he expects to enter the Vandal football program as a linebacker.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom