(Photo: Nick Badders/WCSN)
No. 12 Arizona State baseball is on the way to redeeming themselves after a tough start to the season. After underwhelming at 2-3 in it’s first five games, the Sun Devils have ripped off four straight wins and are starting to look like the preseason powerhouse they were projected to be.
The winning streak is put on the line against Nebraska this weekend– a team that is struggling to start the new season at 1-5.
It’s been an interesting year for the Cornhuskers. Despite their lowly record, practically every game they have been involved has a positive that could be taken away from it. They scored 19 runs in their season opener against Baylor but lost a close 8-7 game in extra innings in the next contest. Their series-closer against the Bears represented the only real bad loss of the year as they fell 7-2. Nebraska comes in on a four game loss steak against ASU, but its past three haven’t been gimmies for opponents. The Cornhuskers lost 12-11 against San Diego, then dropped a close game against San Diego State 4-2, and another tight one against Arizona 3-2.
Nebraska’s offense is legit, though the season’s small sample size could be a factor in that. It has scored eight or more runs in three of its games thus far. That’s the same mark as ASU, and the Sun Devils have played four more games. The run production is good enough for 45th highest in the Division I, at 7.2 per game. The Cornhuskers have the 71st highest team batting average and are 92nd in team slugging percentage in the country.
At the heart of those impressive statistics are sophomore infielder Cam Chick and junior outfielder Aaron Palensky. Chick is hitting .379 through six games with 1.077 OPS while Palensky is batting .333 with a 1.092 OPS. The junior has 10 RBI in six games.
The batters will be faced with a revamped ASU pitching staff that is so far receiving the benefit of new pitching Jason Kelly. Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Sun Devils coming into the season has turned into their strength thanks to the offense’s hot start. Kelly and the Sun Devils have gotten a turnaround from junior Boyd Vander Kooi and has seen impressive outings from multiple freshman, including projected starter Friday starter Cooper Benson.
ASU went off script last weekend with their starters though, throwing junior right hander Justin Fall on Sunday night instead of his scheduled Friday start. This weekend is expected to see Benson, then sophomore Tyler Thornton before Fall on Sunday, but ASU manager Tracy Smith could pull anything out of his pocket.
Nebraska’s pitching is not what ASU’s is, nor has it kept up to par with the offense’s success. The staff as a whole ranks 237th out of 300 DI teams in team ERA at 6.31 and struggles to strike batters out.
The Cornhuskers do have at least one pitcher who they could tie some hope to this weekend. Sunday starter Cade Povich has been excellent this year, pitching to the tune of a 2.79 ERA and striking out 15 batters in his 9.2 innings pitched on the season. The sophomore left-hander is striking out over a third of the batter he’s faced this season, and he has allowed just three earned runs in two starts.
Friday and Saturday features two of Nebraska’s less successful starters on the mound: Gareth Stroh and Colby Gomes, respectively. Stroh, a senior lefty, has a 6.10 ERA on the year and is has allowed seven earned runs in ten innings. Gomes has been worse, putting up a 7.71 ERA in two starts, with six earned runs in seven innings pitched. Additionally, the sophomore righty has only recorded one strikeout this year.
ASU is back on track, and instead of looking to prove themselves this weekend, they’ll be expected to beat up on a team ranked well below them. But it’ll be the Cornhusker bats looking to play upset in Tempe this weekend. If they heat up, the Sun Devils could be looking at a high scoring series. Nebraska certainly knows how to at least compete in games like those.
