ASU Baseball: Freshman Boyd Vander Kooi shines in Sun Devil debut

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

The Sun Devils won the first game of Sunday’s double header against Miami (Ohio) in the 7 innings, 11-1, as a result of the 10-run rule. Although the bats shined throughout the game, freshman pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi played an impressive game.

Vander Kooi was the only Sun Devil pitcher too see the mound as he struck out five and only allowed five hits and zero earned runs in his career debut for ASU.

The freshman started with a quick and quiet first inning to ease into the game in which the first batter grounded out, then he struck out the last two batters.

Boyd’s calmness and poise shined throughout the game as well. The RedHawks scored their first run through an error in the third inning and the freshman did not panic as only allowed 4 players on base for the rest of the game. Boyd was also able to stay calm in the fourth inning as the RedHawks had a player in scoring position with one out as Vander Kooi struck out the next two batters to finish the inning.

The most impressive stat of this freshman’s outing was his pitch count. The freshman averaged less than 12 pitches per inning, which allowed head coach Tracy Smith to keep him in the mound for the whole game and for the offense to keep its momentum at the plate that led to 11 runs in just 7 innings for the Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils bats were hot from the start, scoring their first two runs in the first inning. Freshman Spencer Torkelson continued to showcase his power at the plate, hitting another home run after hitting two in the second game of yesterday’s double header. Left fielder Trevor Hauver also had a huge game, going 2-4 with a double and a single and 3 RBI’s.

If Vander Kooi can produce quick innings like the ones he had today for the rest of the season, and his offense can break away with leads like the ones they had today, this will allow for Smith to keep his bullpen fresh, which is especially important in doubleheaders as such as the one ASU had today.