Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN
The Arizona State Sun Devils have had a season full of peaks and valleys. Losing four of the first six games was not part of Tracy Smith’s blueprint for the revitalized program.
But coming off a strong week that included two dominating wins at home over Oklahoma State and a ten-run outburst to defeat Pepperdine in Malibu, the Sun Devils are primed for a strong weekend against UNC Wilmington.
The pitching rotation for ASU has been inconsistent. There has been showings of mastery from guys like Boyd Vander Kooi and Eli Lingos, but there has also been great struggles from Spencer Van Scoyoc and Grant Schneider.
The mound visits have been frequent and often, and the rotation will surely change this weekend.
This weekend, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks are coming to Phoenix red-hot.
The Seahawks have won five of their last six, including a four-game sweep over Princeton last weekend. A few weeks ago, they earned an extremely impressive 5-4 victory over the then-ranked number six North Carolina Tar Heels.
UNCW’s offense is powered by infielders Zack Canada and Mason Berne. Canada leads the team with a .344 batting average, while Berne is first on the squad with 12 RBI to go along with three home runs.
Speaking of the long ball, freshman Spencer Torkelson has been the catalyst for ASU’s offense recently, as he has launched eight home runs in just 13 games. He was the Pac-12 player of the week for the period ending on March 4th, and is one of five players tied for the national lead in home runs.
The key for Arizona State is simple, although it may be a little easier said than done: clean things up on the mound, and keep things up at the plate. As the 7-6 Sun Devils are trying to gain some momentum before they begin Pac-12 play next weekend, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
This weekend should prove for great competition for the Sun Devils, but also competition that can be beat.
First pitch Friday night will be at 6:30pm MST at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. For coverage of the Arizona State University Baseball team all-weekend and all-season long, you can follow it here at cronkitesports.com, or follow WCSN on Twitter at @CronkiteSports.
