(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
After coming off a weekend sweep at home against the Oregon Ducks, the Sun Devils traveled north to the city of Angels where they took on the UCLA Bruins in their second Pac-12 series of the season.
The first two contests did not swing in favor of the Maroon and Gold, dropping a 10-inning thriller 5-4, only to turn around and get pulverized the next day 12-1.
But the grit and flat-out dominance of senior southpaw Eli Lingos drove the Sun Devils (12-12, 4-2) to a 4-0 win in the Sunday matinee.
Right-handed starters Sam Romero and Boyd Vander Kooi got the respective nods in the Friday and Saturday games, but both had what was by far their worst outings of the year. Romero lasted 1.1 innings while surrendering three earned runs on four hits and four walks, while Vander Kooi survived 2.1 and allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and one walk.
The young freshman infielders also looked slightly tense in Friday’s opener against the Bruins (15-5, 5-1), combining for four errors.
“It was just disappointing,” said ASU head coach Tracy Smith. “It’s just the Friday piece of it, the way we started was not how we wanted to start.”
Regardless, avoiding the sweep and staying above water in conference play became the key going into the final matchup.
Lingos anchored his team to do just that, piecing together the longest and most transcendent start of his collegiate career.
The veteran left-hander tossed eight innings of shutout ball, while allowing just five hits and striking out a season-high eight batters.
“To have an experienced senior that’s been through this league multiple times, being able to give us that outing – that’s exactly what we need because we were so disappointed in how we played (on Friday and Saturday),” said Smith.
The offense Sunday was led by a two-out, two-RBI single from Alika Williams, and two doubles from Spencer Torkelson.
The biggest splash Torkelson made during the weekend, however, was his 11th long ball of the season on Friday night off UCLA starter Jake Bird. The home run put Torkelson into a tie with MLB’s home run king Barry Bonds for the most round-trippers during a freshman campaign at ASU.
“He’s a really good hitter,” said Smith. “He’s a smart hitter. He knows how guys are trying to get him out. He’s going to be a guy that we’re going to be able to lean on for the next couple years here.”
Speaking of a smart hitter, Torkelson also possesses 13 walks in 2018, coming in at second on the team behind fellow freshman Drew Swift (16). The freshman power-hitter has found his way into the shared hold of the record in less than half of a season. ASU still has 31 games remaining in the regular season.
The Devils will have a short week at home before flying to Pullman to face off with the Washington State Cougars (5-14, 1-5) for another conference road series going Thursday-Sunday. First pitch on Friday is slated for 6 p.m. MST.
