(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
The Sun Devils went into the eighth game of the season undefeated and held on to this title after a close game against the Pepperdine Waves. Prior to this today, the Devils had six games where the offensive scored at least ten runs, but tonight, the team struggled against Pepperdine pitching.
ASU had been slugging its way through the beginning of the season with a team batting average of .398. Pepperdine’s starting pitcher Christian Stoutland challenged ASU for 6.1 innings, allowing only six hits and two earned runs while also collecting eight strikeouts.
“[Stoutland] was not overpowering, but he held down a pretty good offense and made us look foolish at times,” head coach Tracy Smith said. “That’s probably from a take away on the negative side. I was really disappointed with us offensively and our inability to make adjustments at the plate, but I’ll credit that kid for doing a really nice job.”
The Sun Devils got on the board with a home run from designated hitter, Lyle Lin, in the second inning, his second long ball of the year.
“Lyle was a ground ball double play machine last year, but you can see he is strong enough,” Smith said. “It’s just being patient enough to get the baseball in the air. He’s worked hard on it, that’s his main focus of what he is trying to do in his practice offensively.”
Lefty Erik Tolman had his first start on the mound as a Devil. The freshman went five innings, only giving up three hits in the process.
“It was fun, going out there my goal was just to pound the strike zone get ahead of the hitters,” Tolman said. “Honestly being out there playing for ASU, I’ve always dreamed about it even when I was little, and that first inning was unbelievable. I was pumped to be there, and we came out with a win and I’m happy about it.”
The Waves began a comeback in the top of the seventh with a double to right field and a single to bring a run across the plate, tying the game 2-2.
Sophomore Trevor Hauver put the Devils back on top with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 4-2. Less than two weeks into the season, Hauver already has two home runs after not having any his previous season.
“Right now, I’m just seeing it well and I’m just putting good swings on it,” Hauver said. “I’ve worked hard to get where I am at from last season to this season and it is definitely playing off so far I’m just looking forward to keep going and helping the team and doing whatever I can.”
ASU struggled in the top of the eight, giving up one run while committing two errors. The team had three errors total tonight alone after having only four going into the game.
“We know that whoever makes an error, if there is an error, they’re going to make the next play because we got really good defenders behind the pitchers,” said Hauver. “I think it was just a huge step maturity wise tonight and we were able to get the win and I’m really happy with that.”
Freshman Blake Burzell came in to close the game for the Sun Devils. The defense struggled behind Burzell, but they still came out on top with a 4-3 win.
“I just want to us to go 56-0,” Burzell said. “Every game is like the biggest game, so that felt like a championship to me even though it was my first save. I felt like that was the biggest game of the year.”
The Sun Devils improves to an 8-0 record which ties them at first place in the Pac-12 with Oregon State. ASU’s next series begins with game one on March 1 at 6:30 PM against the Michigan State Spartans at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
