College Update: White, Guerrero Shining in Freshman Season for WSU

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With things starting to pick back up following spring break in Lewis County, there have been several Lewis County alums currently pitching, hitting, running or jumping throughout the college ranks. Here are some updates on former local athletes:

Brandon White/Tyson Guerrero, WSU

Former Bearcats Brandon White and Tyson Guerrero have made an immediate impact since their arrival in Pullman.

White was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 MLB Draft. He decided to go to college instead and has been a big piece of the Cougars’ starting rotation. He has started seven of eight games appeared in and accumulated a 4.64 ERA with a 2-4 record.

White had 33 strikeouts and has held batters to a .286 batting average. He’s thrown 33 innings and allowed 38 hits and 19 earned runs.

His best start was on February 21 against Santa Clara, throwing 6 ⅓ innings, allowing no hits and no earned runs while striking out nine batters in a 10-0 WSU win.

Guerrero has been asked to do a little bit of everything for the Cougars. On the mound, he’s appeared in 11 games while starting in two of them. He’s thrown 15.1 innings with a 2.35 ERA for a 1-1 record and one save. He’s struck out 20 batters and allowing a .167 batting average while allowing just nine hits and four earned runs.

The lefty has played in the outfield as well and has been contributing at the plate, batting .303 with a double and a home run. He has a .424 slugging percentage and has two RBI and four runs.

Against UNLV on March 13, Guerrero threw ⅔ of an inning, allowing one hit, a walk and no runs. He also played in the field and hit a home run and drew a walks as well as scoring two runs in a 12-7 loss.

The Cougars are 7-23 overall and 0-9 in Pac-12 games this season. WSU hosts Seattle University for a single game on Tuesday before hosting Oregon for a three game series starting on Friday.

Christian Peters, University of Portland

Peters has been coming out of the bullpen quite a bit in his junior year for the Pilots. The Centralia alum has made 15 appearances this season, a career high, accumulating a 2.75 ERA in 19.2 innings of work. He has allowed six earned runs and struck out 21 batters, also a career high.

He’s holding opponents to a .171 batting average and has allowed just 12 hits and eight walks.

On April 9, Peters threw two innings against Seattle University, allowing no hits or earned runs while striking out two batters in a 8-4 Portland win. He threw 2 ⅔ innings on March 9 against Northern Colorado, allowing no hits or runs and striking out one batter in a 9-8 win.

Portland is currently 20-14 overall and 2-10 in conference games. The Pilots host Gonzaga for a three game series starting on Friday.

Wyatt Stanley, Edmonds Community College

The Napavine alum has been playing well in his sophomore season for the Tritons. Stanley has started four games this season and accumulated a 3-1 record. He has a 2.08 ERA in 26 innings of work, striking out 31 batters while allowing 24 hits and six earned runs.

Stanley started against Big Bend on March 2 and pitched 7 ⅓ innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out 12 batters in a 3-2 win. He also threw 7 ⅔ innings against Skagit Valley on March 29, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out nine.

Stanley will join Peters next year at the University of Portland. Edmonds is 18-5 overall and 3-1 in the North Division. Edmonds travels to Bremerton to take on Olympic for four games on Saturday and Sunday.

Sam/Drew Fagerness, Big Bend Community College/Pacific University

Sam Fagerness was on Napavine’s fourth place team in 2017 along with Stanley. The sophomore has been playing second base for the Vikings, collecting a .235 batting average and a .328 on base percentage. He has 12 hits, five runs and five RBI.

His best game came last Wednesday against Spokane, going 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI in a 15-5 win. He had two hits, a run and a RBI against Centralia on March 3.

Drew Fagerness is in his senior season at Pacific University. The Centralia alum is hitting .233 with a double and five RBI.

Big Bend is 10-11 overall but 7-1 for first place in the East Division. The Vikings host Yakima Valley on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.

Pacific travels to Tacoma to take on Pacific Lutheran University this weekend for three games.

Dakota Hawkins, Lower Columbia College

Hawkins finished third in state with the Bearcats last season and has moved on to play for the Red Devils this season. Hawkins has pitched 13 innings for Lower Columbia and accumulated a 4.85 ERA. He has allowed 13 hits and seven earned runs while striking out 17 batters.

Hawkins pitched three innings against Lane on March 8, allowing one hit and no earned runs in three innings of work to earn the win. He’s had two outings of allowing no runs in two innings of work.

Lower Columbia is 16-6 overall and 3-1 in the West Division this season. Lower Columbia hosts Green River on Tuesday followed by two games at Centralia on Saturday and hosting Centralia on Sunday for a doubleheader.

Jessica McKay, Boise State University

The Broncos are 23-8 overall this season and McKay is a big reason why. The W.F. West alum has started in all 22 games this season, hitting .344 with seven doubles, a triple and three home runs. She has 18 runs and 17 RBI and a .639 slugging percentage and a .481 on base percentage.



She was 3-for-4 with a double, home run, two runs and four RBI and scored the game-tying run in the 10th inning of a 9-8 win on Feb. 16. She was also 3-for-4 against Ole Miss on Feb. 17, which included two runs in a 6-4 win.

Perhaps her best game was on March 22 against San Diego State, hitting two home runs in a 7-0 win.

Boise State is 3-6 in the Mountain West Conference and hosts Utah State for a three game series starting on Friday.

Lexie Strasser, Central Washington University

The Wildcats have utilized Strasser a lot in the circle in her sophomore season. The Bearcat alum has thrown 119 ⅓ innings in 22 games, collecting a 3.62 ERA. She’s 9-8 with two saves and has 78 strikeouts.

Strasser pitched 10 innings against Western Washington on March 16, striking out 10 batters while allowing five earned runs in a 8-6 win. She threw seven innings against Simon Fraser on Saturday, striking out seven batters while allowing nine hits and no earned runs in a 3-2 loss. On Sunday, she pitched seven innings and allowed two earned runs and four hits and struck out three batters in a 6-2 win.

CWU is 22-12 overall and 13-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. The Wildcats travel to Billings, Montana on Saturday and Sunday for a doubleheader.

Ali Graham, Oregon Institute of Technology

Graham is making the most of her senior season at Oregon Tech in the circle and the batter's box. In the circle, she has a 2.01 ERA in 104 ⅔ innings. She’s allowed 30 earned runs while striking out 71 batters to collect a 11-5 record.

At the plate, she’s hitting .444 with 17 doubles and seven home runs. She has 37 runs and 43 RBIs.

On March 30, she was 3-for-3 with a double, home run, three runs scored and two RBI in a 11-1 win. She had a season high two doubles against Northwest University on March 2 and had five RBI against Northwest University on March 1. She struck out a season high eight batters against the University of Providence on March 9 in a 16-5 win.

Graham was recognized as the Cascade Collegiate Conference player of the week for March 25-31. The Owls are 30-11 overall and 15-3 in conference games. Oregon Tech travels to Vancouver, British Columbia this Friday for four games.

Roni Braun, George Fox University

Another Bearcat thriving on the collegiate diamond is Roni Braun. The junior has played in 28 games and is hitting .388 with a .500 on base percentage. She has eight doubles, a triple and 12 home runs.

She’s scored 36 runs and knocked in 38 runs. Braun was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and a run in a 13-2 win over the University of Puget Sound on Sunday. On March 16, she was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs in a 13-3 win.

George Fox is 17-11 overall and 9-8 in Northwest Conference games. The Bruins host Pacific Lutheran for four games on Saturday and Sunday.

Morgan Masters, Pacific University

A former Tenino Beaver, Masters is putting up solid numbers in her junior year at Pacific University.

Masters has appeared in 14 games in the circle for the Boxers, accumulating a 2.96 ERA in 68 ⅔ innings. She has 47 strikeouts and allowed 29 earned runs with a 6-3 record.

At the plate, she’s hitting .400 with a double and a home run. She’s scored three runs and had three RBI in 15 plate appearances.

On March 9, Masters struck out nine batters and allowed no earned runs in five innings of work in a 8-0 win over the University of Puget Sound. She pitched seven innings on March 16 against Pacific Lutheran, allowing four earned runs with two strikeouts in a 6-4 win.

Masters was named the Boxer Club Athlete of the Month in February. Pacific is 20-9 overall and 14-4 in the Northwest Conference and face Lewis & Clark College for a doubleheader on Tuesday in Portland before hosting Linfield College for the final four home games of the season on Saturday and Sunday.

Kim Frazier, Southwestern Oregon Community College

Frazier is in her sophomore season for the Lakers and is one of the top hitters on the team. She’s hitting .385 with a .506 on base percentage while playing in all 24 games. She has six doubles, a triple and six home runs to go with 21 RBI and 17 runs.

Against Centralia, she was 3-for-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on March 30, hitting two doubles and scoring two runs while knocking in a run. On March 31 against Grays Harbor, she was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI.

The Lakers are 9-15 overall and 5-6 in the South Conference. SW Oregon is scheduled to host Clackamas on Tuesday in a doubleheader and will return to Lewis County to take on the Blazers on Saturday, May 4.

Regyn Gaffney, Washington State University

Gaffney is wrapping up a brilliant career on the track at WSU. Most recently, Gaffney was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s all-academic team with a 3.19 GPA.

WSU faced Washington in a dual on Saturday and Gaffney won the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.88 seconds. The Adna alum also won the 100 at the Sam Adams invitational with a time of 11.72 seconds on March 22 and anchored the winning 4x100 relay team with a time of 46.19 seconds.

WSU is back on the track on Friday at the Pelleur Invitational in Cheney.