(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
It’s hard to win games when a starting pitcher puts up a quality start, yet, can’t receive any run support by his hitters.
That’s how freshman starting pitcher Cooper Benson and No. 9 Arizona State (1-2) felt on Saturday night as the Devils fell to No. 13 Michigan (3-0) by a final score of 5-0 in the second game of a doubleheader. After losing to Villanova earlier in the afternoon 2-1, the Devils failed to salvage a victory on Saturday.
Benson threw 6.1 innings, allowing six hits, three runs (two of them earned), no walks, and eight strikeouts. The 6’0, 200 pound freshman from San Luis Obispo, Calif. and the number three lefthanded pitching prospect according to Perfect Game mixed in his high 80s to low 90s fastball with a sharp curveball and changeup.
“I think it went good,” Benson said. “I attacked most of my hitters. It just didn’t go our way tonight, but I was proud of the way I pitched and if I do that every time, we’ll have a good chance to win every game.
“I felt ready and prepared going into the start. It wasn’t too big of a moment, so I just stayed composed and did what [Jason Kelly] called and followed that and did pretty well.”
Head coach Tracy Smith liked what he saw from his young southpaw.
“We didn’t play real well behind him at times, and it did not rattle him,” Smith said. “I loved his mentality. We did not help him on the defensive side, and we certainly did not help him on the offensive side. But it did not phase him. He just kept doing his job which is to give his team a chance to win, and we did not do that for him today. But I liked his composure.”
For Sun Devil hitters, they recorded only five hits while stranding seven base runners against Michigan pitching while hitting plenty of balls right at Michigan’s defense which has proved to be the norm so far in three games for ASU’s offense. The offense scored only one run in 18 innings today.
“It’s baseball,” ASU first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “No panic. Balls aren’t finding holes and aren’t finding gaps. This game we found a couple barrels, but it’s just a matter of time until they fall.”
Michigan starting pitcher Steve Hajjar made the usually potent Sun Devil offense quiet. The lefthander went six innings, allowing no runs, three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. Jack White slammed the door on any potential Sun Devil threats with three scoreless innings in relief.
“It’s three games in, and it’s certainly not a time to hit the panic button,” Smith said. “Losing is not fun, but when you score one run in 18 innings, that’s pretty tough to win. I’m pretty confident we have some good offensive players so we’re going to keep grinding to hopefully turn it around.”
With the exception of a solo home run by Danny Zimmerman in the third, Michigan’s two other runs off Benson came across with help from ASU defensive miscues. A Zimmerman double plated in a run in the fifth off an error by left fielder Trevor Hauver after he lost a handle trying to make the relay throw. In the sixth, right fielder Myles Denson slipped and fell attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Jack Blomgren, resulting in a double which would then lead to him advancing to third on a fly ball and eventually scoring on a Riley Bertram RBI single.
“We muffed a couple balls defensively on each corner,” Smith said. “That to me is going to be the takeaway and the teaching point that our identity should not and will not be set around an offensive club. It’s pitching and defense.”
The Sun Devils still have a chance to take the series against the Villanova as they will play a third and final game tomorrow afternoon with first pitch slated for 12:30 p.m MST.
