(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
A crowd of just under 4,600 came rushing through the gates of Phoenix Municipal Stadium Tuesday night, with hopes of seeing the Arizona State Sun Devils defeat their in-state rivals, the Arizona Wildcats and move to above .500 on the season.
But the Maroon and Gold faithful walked away empty-handed, with the result of the game being suboptimal. The Wildcats (10-6) would go on to take down the Devils (8-9) by a final score of 6-2.
The repeated mistakes of the early-going for ASU was what handcuffed them once again in their midweek matchup versus the Wildcats. Errors and free passes were on full display with Arizona taking full advantage of every miscue.
“We’ve got to have a tougher mindset and be able to overcome that,” ASU Head Coach Tracy Smith said. “Bad plays are going to happen, people are going to make errors, but when you put four or five of those together in one inning that’s pretty tough.”
The Sun Devils totaled three errors and eight free passes on the night. The backbreaker came in the fifth when Gage Workman spiked a ball on a throw across the diamond that scored two Wildcats after a walk and a hit batsman had been issued earlier in the inning.
“It looked like he goosed it a little bit, and that’s going to happen from time to time,” said Smith on Workman’s error. “But I don’t worry about him. I guarantee he was saying, ‘Hit the next one to me.'”
After ASU starter Alec Marsh came out of the game after 4.2 innings with the bases loaded, Fitz Stadler could not prevent further bleeding, allowing two walks in just 0.1 innings of work. The three Wildcat runs in the fifth all occurred while he was on the mound.
“When you look at our losses this year, your eyeballs take you to two spots. They take you to errors and walks,” Smith said
Arizona plated an additional run in the sixth on an RBI single from Nick Quintana after Smith decided to intentionally walk left-handed hitter Alfonso Rivas, who was hitting .318 on the year.
The offense has been on a cold streak through the Devils’ last three games, plating just three total runs in that span. Much of it has to do with the struggles of Gage Canning and Lyle Lin, who have anchored the team’s offense at the top of the lineup through non-conference play.
Canning and Lin combined to go 1-for-9 in the loss, with Canning’s season-long hit streak of 16 games ending after Lin’s ended at 15 Sunday.
“Those other guys have to step up,” said Smith. “We need more consistency out of Carter Aldrete. I think if we get Hunter Bishop back in there we’re a different lineup.”
Alika Williams went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Spencer Torkelson chipped in a solo shot, but the rest of the crew did not pick up the slack. Williams was the only Sun Devil to record a multi-hit game Tuesday night.
Their strongest opportunity to cut at the lead came on a single from Lin in the bottom of the sixth with two runners on base, but Drew Swift got hosed at the plate attempting to score from second, on what many in the stadium considered a questionable call.
One bright spot for ASU was the return of sophomore Zane Strand. Strand came on in relief for the first time in over a year and tossed a scoreless eighth inning for his team.
“That’s a positive for us when we get him back [to full form],” said Smith. I’m extremely proud of everything that he has overcome to get back out there. He’s going to help us.”
Strand threw just 0.2 innings in last season’s opening series against Northwestern before leaving with an elbow injury. It was later diagnosed as a torn UCL, resulting in Tommy John surgery.
The Sun Devils look to turn things around starting Friday night when the Oregon Ducks come to Phoenix for a three game homestand to open up Pac-12 play. They will play two night games Friday and Saturday with a day game Sunday afternoon. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
