(Photo: Jessica Carnivale/WCSN)
For a team loaded with what is projected to be multiple high round draft picks and with top-end talent, Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium looked a bit different than the average game for the No. 12 Sun Devil baseball team.
Thanks to nagging outfield injuries, Arizona State had freshman Seth Nager made his fourth start of the season in right field while freshman righthander Cooper Benson was throwing on the mound against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Benson was excellent in first outing of the year, giving up two runs in 6.1 innings against Michigan on February 15, a game that ASU lost 5-0 thanks to the offense’s slow start.
His next time out was less successful as he gave up three runs in two innings against Boston College last weekend. ASU got the win in that contest 10-4, but the outing jacked his ERA from 2.84 to a less than ideal 5.40.
“Last week I just didn’t have it warming up,” Benson said. “It happens to everyone.”
His start against the Cornhuskers Friday changed that number though.
Benson gave up one run in six innings, striking out six batters and getting outs with his high-80s fastball in ASU’s 13-5 win, improving the Sun Devils to 7-3 on the season while Nebraska fell to 1-6.
“He commanded the strike zone,” head coach Tracy Smith said in the postgame press conference of Benson’s performance. “His biggest thing last week was his walks really hurting him. I thought his improvement of pitching aggressively in the zone was the biggest thing for him tonight.
“He’s a good pitcher, and you expect good pitchers to be able to make adjustments.”
Benson added, “I felt good. I threw my fastball well and let the defense work. We have a great group of guys out there.”
Nager made the most of his two plate appearances. The freshman from Oro Valley, Ariz. was 1-2 with a walk, recorded his first career RBI and scored two runs.
The run Nager drove in was ASU’s first of the night in what became an offensive barrage from the Sun Devils. Knotted at zero, outfielder Hunter Jump singled in the bottom of the second inning followed by junior second baseman Drew Swift getting a single of his own. Nager then came up to the plate and drove Jump in with a single, but a bad throw home– It was a rough night overall for Nebraska catcher Gunner Hellstrom– advanced the freshman to second.
ASU had a 3-1 lead coming into the bottom of the fourth inning – the top half saw Benson give up his only run of the night on a rocket of a home run by junior outfielder Aaron Palensky.
But the Sun Devils answered back emphatically.
ASU scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth and batted around. Two runs came in on hit by pitches – junior first baseman Spencer Torkelson and shortstop Alika Williams were both hit with the bases loaded. Junior third baseman Gage Workman doubled to get the scoring started, followed by another double by junior outfielder Hunter Jump which scored Workman and junior left fielder Trevor Hauver.
“I thought we did great as a team,” Jump said. “I think we came out really strong with the bats. We attacked early, we got runs on the board, and we were way more aggressive than we have been.”
By the time the inning was over, Nebraska had used three pitchers, had hit three ASU batters, and the score was 11-1 ASU.
“A lot of it was Nebraska struggling with the strike zone,” Smith said. “I’ve been on the other side of that, so I feel the pain. Our guys put together some good at-bats and were patient with the walks that we needed to take.”
Nebraska pitchers were overwhelmed by ASU’s bats, but they certainly didn’t do themselves any favors with the sloppiness from the mound and behind the plate.
“Every 90 feet is important,” Smith said. “If we maintain that, it increases your chances to win.”
The blowout saw ASU employ most of their backups toward the last third of the game. A notable appearance was the debut of freshman right-handed pitcher Seth Tomczak. The Ione, Calif. native threw one inning, allowed zero hits and struck out one Cornhusker.
“People think opportunity sometimes just comes in games,” Smith said. “Our guys know that if you’re not pitching weekends or in competitive situations, we do simulated games.”
It was in those games where Tomczak earned his debut tonight.
“The simulated games for us – and for the athlete – are a chance to make an impression and the guys that you saw pitch tonight did well in their simulated and earned that right. Seth earned that right.”
The 6’4 righty could have been seen as a prominent piece to ASU’s pitching puzzle this season, thanks to his highly-touted scouting report and imposing size, but the Sun Devils haven’t exactly needed the freshman’s talent yet in 2020.
“When you’re talking about roles in pitching, it’s not just your starters and then your closer,” Smith said. “There’s also guys that you’re looking at in a game where you’re up a little bit or up big. We are still looking to define some roles.”
With Friday’s win, ASU has extended its winning streak to five games, and with an offense that can pop the top off games in an instant, pitchers like Tomczak become a luxury, not a necessity.
