KALAMA — Nick LaRoy spent Tuesday afternoon chopping firewood for his grandfather.

“It keeps my shoulder loose,” said the Kalama High School pitcher, who will sign a five-year, full-ride baseball scholarship with Washington State University on Wednesday.

The Cougars are hoping that LaRoy can chop down Pac-10 lineups the same way he has dominated the state for the past three seasons.

The left-hander finished his junior year with a 9-0 record, 0.30 earned run average and 114 strikeouts in 46 innings, a season that was cut short by an injury to his pitching elbow sustained in the Chinooks’ Class 1A regional victory over Friday Harbor.

LaRoy was unable to pitch when Kalama traveled to Yakima for the Final Four, but was in the lineup as the Chinooks took second at state for the third time in four years. LaRoy batted .512 and drove in 24 runs at the plate as a junior.

After rehabbing and allowing his elbow to rest, LaRoy was back on the mound firing fastballs and snapping off those lethal breaking balls. Through it all, Washington State’s interest in him never wavered.

“We told them about the injury and they didn’t seem that concerned. They figured I would work through it, and I did,” said LaRoy, who tossed three no-hitters last spring — including a jaw-dropping 8-0 win over Stevenson in which he struck out all 21 batters who stepped to the plate.

“It (the injury) is fine. I’m throwing a couple days a week and I’m feeling good,” he added. “This is my senior year. It would be nice to get to state again and hopefully we can win it. Personally, I hope this year is injury-free for me. Last year was the first time I’ve ever been hurt.”

LaRoy said WSU head coach Donnie Marbut, an Aberdeen High graduate in his fifth season with the Cougars, and pitching coach Gregg Swenson began showing interest in him about a year ago.

“But it didn’t get real serious until the last six months or so,” LaRoy said. “They have a good program and I think I can learn a lot there. When I visited, I liked the campus and that it’s not so big that you get lost. Coming from a small town, that’s good for me.”

Former Mark Morris star Matt Argyropoulos is a third baseman and pitcher for the Cougars. He is entering his junior campaign on the Palouse.

“I know Matt. At least there won’t all complete strangers over there,” LaRoy said. “They haven’t said anything about (red-shirting) my first year. I think they expect me to come in there and pitch, if they think I can help the team.”

Playing college baseball wasn’t necessarily in LaRoy’s future plans when he was coming up through the youth leagues.

“I didn’t think too much about college at all. But in the last couple of years, when people started talking to me and everything, I thought about it a lot,” said LaRoy, who said he has “no idea” what he wants to study at WSU. “I’m glad to get this part of it over, to finally decide for sure. My mom and dad have been on my butt to let the other colleges know what’s going on.”

LaRoy paid a visit to the University of Oregon and considered playing for the Ducks, but felt Pullman and the Cougars were “just a better fit.”

The only thing that might derail his Cougar career would be if he was selected next June in the Major League Amateur Draft. After all, left-handed pitchers as dominant as LaRoy don’t grow on trees.

“If I get drafted, I’d have to see how high I got picked and how much money might be offered, and whether they’d still pay for my education later on down the road,” he said. “It would take something good like that. Otherwise, I am happy going to college and playing for Washington State, and then we’ll see what happens from there.”