ASU baseball hopes to heat up against Utah at home

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

Every baseball team endures ebbs and flows throughout a long season, but Arizona State’s fluctuation in Pac-12 play has been drastic, to say the least.

ASU is coming off a series against No. 5 Oregon State in which it was swept in Corvallis. This is not surprising considering that playing on the road is always difficult, especially when it is against by far the best team in the Pac-12.

Before the OSU series, Washington State swept ASU in Pullman on March 22-24 and ASU swept California in Tempe on March 28-30. It’s been all or nothing for the Sun Devils (15-18, 6-9 Pac-12) as of late, but they better hope they get something closer to the former against Utah (21-10, 7-5 Pac-12) this weekend.

ASU does not necessarily need to sweep Utah, but it at least needs to win the series, especially with it being at home. The Sun Devils cited how cold it was in Pullman with the temperature being in the low 50s and Corvallis was much of the same, but they come home to the weather being sunny and 80 degrees, so that may be what they need to heat back up and play well down the stretch.

In late March, the bats were hot in a five-game win streak over teams like UNLV, Cal and Grand Canyon, scoring at least nine runs a game in that span. However, the hitting cooled off as of late by scoring three runs or less in two of the last three games, including when OSU junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Kmatz threw a Maddux — a complete game in less than 100 pitches — on April 6 and a loss to crosstown rival GCU on Tuesday.

ASU’s lineup is bound to bounce back with a plethora of options such as sophomore outfielder Kien Vu and graduate infielder Eamonn Lance breaking out in recent weeks, but it is a different story for the pitching staff.

The Sun Devils relied on freshman right-handed pitcher Thomas Burns and senior left-handed pitcher Connor Markl as weekend starters all season, but they might still be without the former this weekend. Burns did not play against OSU as head coach Willie Bloomquist called the injury an “irritated bicep tendon,” so he could miss the upcoming series against Utah too.

Markl is expected to start Saturday as usual, but the Friday and Sunday spots are up for grabs. Ten Sun Devil pitchers started a game this season and all of those starters have an ERA above four.

ASU has uncertainty with its weekend rotation, but Utah has more clarity with three starting pitchers with at least seven starts. Redshirt senior Bryson Van Sickle is the ace with a team-high 42 ⅔ innings and a 2.95 ERA, but he only has 27 strikeouts. Conversely, sophomore right-handed pitcher Merit Jones has been the team’s second-best starter with a 3.89 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 37 innings, so Utah’s top two pitchers are both effective despite different strikeouts numbers.

The wild card of the rotation is senior right-handed pitcher Brett Porthan, who has a 8.21 ERA and 1.91 WHIP in 34 innings. Those numbers skewed lately as the righty allowed 20 earned runs in his last four starts, including five earned runs in one inning against CSUN in his last start on April 7.

Utah’s rotation is a mixed bag and the lineup is more of the same, but it does have a clear leader with senior outfielder Kai Roberts. The Lehi, Utah native leads the Utes in just about every hitting category as he makes solid contact with a .370 batting average, has good power with five home runs and is speedy with 21 stolen bases.

Despite Roberts’ fabulous play, Utah’s offense ranks ninth in the Pac-12, which is even worse considering that the conference only has 11 baseball teams. The Utes do not get a lot of extra-base hits as they are last in the conference in doubles and home runs, so they need to utilize small ball if they are going to outscore the Sun Devils.

On the other hand, ASU has one of the best offenses in the Pac-12 as they are top three in conference in categories like home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. The Sun Devils lead the conference with 44 doubles, which is 14 more than the next team, so they are certainly capable of generating extra-base hits when the offense is rolling.

ASU needs its offense to carry with the team’s pitching struggles, and it has the opportunity to produce against a solid pitching staff. The Sun Devils do not need to sweep, which is going to be difficult anyways as Utah has not been swept in a three-game series this year. This is even more impressive considering that they also played Oregon State and were able to get a win in Salt Lake City.

The Sun Devils do need to win the series though if they want a chance of competing for a regional spot down the stretch. ASU was in the First Four Out according to Baseball America as of April 3, but it lost four-straight games since that article was published. There is still over a month left of the regular season and the Sun Devils already have their fair share of ups and downs this year, so the team’s hope is that it can get off the schneid when the Utes come to town this weekend.