(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
As they chase the goal of a trip to Omaha, the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will open their seasons on Friday in Tempe. The two teams are set to meet for the first time since 2003 in a clash of two baseball titans. A clash between two programs that share plenty of commonalities.
For both programs, 2019 will be a chance to improve. As recently as 2015, both Notre Dame and ASU were top competitors in the teams’ respective conferences. The Irish finished the 2015 campaign with a 37-24 record while ASU dominantly finished the same season at 35-23.
It appeared to be the pinnacle of success. Two schools at the top of the recruiting charts were proving their worth, but what would follow for both ASU and Notre Dame was a paralleled downfall rivaled only by that of the other program.
For Notre Dame, it went quickly. In 2016, The Irish increased their season loss total by 11 percent and finishing the season at 27-27. In 2017, the Fighting Irish were hardly fighting. They finished the season at 26-32 and in 2018, the record was 24-30.
For ASU, it was much of the same. From a triumphant .603 win percentage in 2015, the Devils began giving themselves hell. In 2016 their record improved, winning one more game than the year prior. However, for Arizona State, the downfall was far more rapid. In 2017 and 2018, the Devils trudged along with a 23-32 record, dipping under expectations and putting doubt on Tracy Smith’s name.
But as every winter gives way to spring it is time once more for a new season of baseball. For both schools, the hope is this spring will push the teams into high gear, improving upon what has been a cumbersome last few seasons.
They will start that journey on Friday with Opening Night. ASU will put junior righty, Alec Marsh, on the mound to start the season. He will be followed up by sophomore Boyd Vander Kooi in game two and sophomore transfer RJ Dabovich in game three of the series.
“The rotation is set and ready to go,” manager Tracy Smith said. “RJ has really impressed me and he’s solidified his spot in this rotation.”
Dabovich played in ASU’s final tune-up game of the offseason where he impressed using his breaking pitches and a fastball that sat in the mid to low 90s.
With the bats, ASU will look to rekindle the fire from 2018. The Devils were in the top three of almost every offensive category last season. Led by now sophomore, Spender Torkelson, the Devils’ sluggers will have to work to give a thin pitching staff some cushion heading into the late innings.
The Devils will “give (Torkelson) a shot early” at hitting from the two-hole.
Onto the other side of the diamond, the Fighting Irish also have some tricks up their sleeves. While their rotation is still unknown, Notre Dame possesses one thing the Devils do not: depth. ASU will tackle 2019 with just 27 players on the roster. Notre Dame? Well, they will bring 35 players to Tempe.
Among the 35 is senior utilityman, Eric Gilgenbach. Gilgenback, a right-handed batter, led Notre Dame with 10 home runs last year, a feat he will look to repeat this year.
The series will be an interesting one as there is a large common ground for both teams: turn your trend around. For the Devils, it to bring pride back to the desert and for Mik Aoki and the Irish, it is to bring triumph back to the diamond in Indiana.
The Devils will be under the light of Phoenix Municipal Stadium for the first time in 2019 on Friday, Feb. 15 with the game slated to start at 6:30 p.m. against Notre Dame.
