(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
Tuesday night was supposed to be the time things rounded into shape for No. 13 Arizona State Baseball this season. It was the night a projected overpowering offense would show up for the first time in the new season. It was the night, for the first time this youthful season, that the Sun Devils would win a game convincingly against. It was the night that the team would start looking like the one it was supposed to be.
That did not happen.
Despite facing a starting pitcher that had a 4.46 ERA last season in a healthy amount of innings and pitched two innings three days prior, ASU mustered just one run against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Big 12 foe was a good team– a likely top 30 group in college baseball heading into a game – but one that ASU, ranked in the top 15, should have handled. That’s especially so considering the Cowboys were upset a big way over the weekend, losing a series against Grand Canyon.
ASU (2-3) now not only has to make up for the underachievement last weekend but Tuesday’s as well, and Boston College (3-1) is the opponent they must do so against.
The Eagles were fine last year. At 31-27, they missed the College World Series Regionals after getting stomped by North Carolina in the ACC Tournament 13-5.
They were small-ball reliant, ranking near the bottom third of the Division I in home runs. But that doesn’t mean the offensive didn’t produce. BC scored the 112th most runs in college baseball last season and had the 48th most hits. They finished with the country’s 54th best batting average (.288) and were 28th in triples. They also bunted and sacrificed themselves often – 83rd and 45th most respectively in the country. On the base paths, BC stole the 30th most bases in college baseball.
BC might be a bit more powerful offensively this season, though, which would give ASU something to match and keep up with. The Eagles have scored seven or more runs in three of their four games thus far this season, all coming against Northern Illinois. Their loss saw them only score three, just as many or more than the Sun Devils have scored in over half of their contests this year.
The Eagles have been, unlike ASU, involved in some high scoring games though. On the other end of eight and 11 runs scored has been five and 10 given up. BC has a team ERA of 6.43 in this youthful season, the 88th worst in the country, which is a high mark regardless of the extremely small sample size of games thus far.
One Eagles pitcher the Sun Devils will face is has been good though: sophomore righthander Mason Pelio. Pelio was good in his one start this season against the Huskies last weekend, lasting six innings while giving up two runs. Boston College got the win in its season debut that night 7-2.
It doesn’t seem to be a fluke start for the second year hurler. Pelio posted a 3.62 ERA last season in 72 innings which amounted to 13 starts. He struck out 62 batters and allowed those at the plate to hit just .194 against him.
Saturday, the Sun Devils will face another sophomore righty Joe Mancini. He struggled a bit in his first start this year, giving up three runs in four innings. Control plagued Mancini in his start Saturday night on the back of a doubleheader as he walked three batters and threw two wild pitches in addition to the seven hits he allowed.
The Sun Devils best chance of finding an offensive groove comes Sunday against yet another sophomore righthander in Emmet Sheehan. The big, 6’5 pitcher from Connecticut was lit up in his season-debut, allowing five earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched Sunday. Sheehan also struggled with his control, walking six batters and throwing two hit by pitches. In just 14 innings as a freshman, Sheehan walked 20 batters but allowed an opponent batting average of just .220.
If ASU struggles once again to perform at the plate, the pitching could very well have its back. Jason Kelly’s staff has been surprisingly excellent to start the year, and have a loaded rotation ready for the series.
The Devils’ five separate starting pitchers have each recorded quality starts in their first outing, the most since a seven-game stretch back in 2011. The ASU staff has also not allowed more than five runs in each of the first five games which has not happened since 2012.
Junior lefty Justin Fall and sophomore righthander Tyler Thornton will be looking to follow up excellent season debuts on Friday and Sunday respectively while junior Boyd Vander Kooi will look to do the same Saturday.
Vander Kooi showed a promising progression regression last weekend in his season debut– he got outs with a mix of contact and strikeouts instead of struggling like he did most of his sophomore year. If Vander Kooi keeps it up, he may finally evolve into the pitcher ASU thought they were getting when they signed him.
This weekend is a big one for the Sun Devils. Boston College is a sleeper program in the ACC, but this nonconference matchup should give the Devils the chance to show that they mean business, and that they can actually take care of it. If that doesn’t happen, things could start to get ugly and get ugly fast.
