(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
After getting swept by BYU, things won’t get any easier for Arizona State Baseball as it welcomes No. 4 ranked Oklahoma State to Tempe for a two-game mid-week series on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Sun Devils are currently on a two-game losing streak against the Cowboys. The two teams last matched up on Feb. 18, 2020, which resulted in a 2-1 victory for Oklahoma State.
After finishing 36-19-1 in 2021, Oklahoma State comes into the series on a two-game winning streak, including a dominating doubleheader that took place on Sunday afternoon against Wright State. The Cowboys outscored Wright State 33-9 during the set.
Offensively, the Cowboys are led by graduate student left fielder Jake Thompson. Thompson returned to the team this season after having the second-highest batting average on the team last year with a .342 average. He also has elite plate discipline, as he had a team-leading 38 walks drawn and an astounding .571 on-base percentage.
While it may still be early this season, Thompson has been getting on base at an unconscious rate – the senior has played in all six of Oklahoma State’s games and leads the team in batting average at. 429.
Graduate first-baseman Griffin Doersching is also in the midst of a very productive first year with Oklahoma State. After spending the last four seasons with Northern Kentucky, Doersching has been red hot to start the season.
He is second on the team with a .421 batting average, and out of his eight hits this year, five of them have gone for extra bases. Doersching also leads the team with an absurd .895 slugging percentage.
Pitching wise, Oklahoma State typically runs a four-man rotation that consists of sophomore right-handed pitcher Bryce Osmond, junior left-handed pitcher Mitchell Stone, sophomore right-handed pitcher Victor Mederos and sophomore right-handed pitcher Justin Campbell.
With Campbell and Osmond starting both games on Sunday, it’s likely Mederos and Stone will take the hill against the Sun Devils.
Mederos, who is the projected starter for Tuesday, has made only one start this year – a game against Vanderbilt in which he received a no-decision. He went 4.0 innings, striking out six batters as well as surrendering four walks and one earned run.
Stone has made one start this year, which came against Sam Houston. Stone went 4.0 innings, gave up five hits and no earned runs as he picked up a no-decision in the loss.
Offensively, ASU is led by graduate first-baseman Conor Davis, who after missing all of last season due to injury, has come out and been the Sun Devils’ best hitter thus far. Davis leads the team with a .455 batting average, 1.327 OPS and a .727 slugging percentage.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Nate Baez has also been swinging the bat exceptionally well for the Sun Devils. Baez is second on the team in batting average at .364 and is tied for the team lead in RBI with six.
On the mound, sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Meyer is slated to start on Tuesday night for the Sun Devils.
Meyer has pitched on three separate occasions to start the season, including his start against Nevada one week ago where he pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and fanned six batters.
ASU has not yet announced who will start Wednesday night’s game, and there are different scenarios the Sun Devils could throw at Oklahoma State.
They could elect to start redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Luckham, who last pitched Tuesday against BYU where he had his best start of the season, or their another top arm in redshirt junior left-hander Adam Tulloch.
The Sun Devils could also throw a bullpen game on the second night of the series, which has been a major cause for concern to the start of the year for ASU. Out of the 45 runs given up from the ASU pitching staff, the bullpen has given up 28 of those, resulting in some ugly losses for the Sun Devils.
Other wild-cards could be redshirt senior right hander Boyd Vander Kooi or sophomore righty Jared Glenn, both of whom have been nursing injuries but could be ready for a ramp-up. Redshirt junior right-hander Will Levine also has starting experience if ASU doesn’t want to risk the still-healing right-handers, or if it doesn’t want to tap into its normal weekend rotation.
Redshirt senior Jacob Walker is another possible option as well.
First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. MST as the Sun Devils look to change the course of their season.
