(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
This Thursday begins the first annual Phoenix Muni Classic, which will bring Gonzaga, Bakersfield and Purdue to town to face off against Arizona State. The Sun Devils will face Bakersfield twice over the three-day tournament and the other two schools just once.
ASU is coming off its first February series loss since 2005, although it was also arguably its hardest series since then as well, losing two out of three to top-ranked TCU.
The Sun Devils are currently 4-3, but are playing better than their record may indicate.
R.J. Ybarra caught fire in the last two games of the TCU series, raising his batting average to .412 and taking over the team-lead in home runs with three. Johnny Sewald and Colby Woodmansee have both stayed hot offensively throughout the season, hitting .346 and .333 respectively. Sewald has made his mark getting on base (.452 OBP) and stealing bases (3 SB), while Woodmansee has two home runs and seven RBI in the early going.
All three starting pitchers delivered solid outings in ASU’s last series. Brett Lilek lowered his ERA to 2.53, while Ryan Kellogg struggled in the beginning and end of his start but was fantastic in the middle. Sunday starter Darin Gillies perhaps saved his weekend role, pitching 5 and 1/3 scoreless innings. The three weekend pitchers will look to build on their success against offenses that are not as heralded as TCU’s.
ASU will face Bakersfield on Thursday and in the night cap of the Friday doubleheader. The Roadrunners enter the weekend with a 3-5 record, with all three wins coming against Northern Kentucky.
Bakersfield’s biggest weakness is their power, as they have yet to hit a home run this season. Soloman Williams and Chance Gusbeth are the two RBI leaders, and figure to be the most potent hitters in the lineup.
Starting pitchers Hayden Carter and Steven Gee have both put up solid numbers in their first two starts. Carter has posted a 2.57 ERA while Gee’s ERA is at a 2.70 clip. Joe Rogowski, who has not had the same success as the other two (7.94 ERA), is another pitcher likely to get a start in the Phoenix Muni Classic.
The Purdue Boilermakers will be facing ASU in the day game of the Friday doubleheader. This will be a big game for Tracy Smith, as the Boilermakers are the arch rival of his former team, the Indiana Hoosiers. There is likely still some animosity between Smith and Purdue, which will make this game potentially the most anticipated of the four that ASU will play this weekend.
Purdue enters the tournament with a 3-4 record, and has struggled on the mound.
Brett Haan and Matt Frawley have each made a pair of starts for Purdue. Frawley has been respectable, posting a 3.86 ERA in seven innings, while Haan’s ERA is up to 10.12 and he has allowed 14 hits in just eight innings. Gavin Downs was the expected Friday starter coming into the season, but he has struggled as well.
Junior Kyle Johnson is one of the lone bright spots for this offense and is one of its few MLB Draft prospects. Brandon Kreig and Michael Vilardo have also produced early on.
The third and final team coming to town for the Phoenix Muni Classic is the Gonzaga Bulldogs, which ASU will face on Saturday.
After finishing 26-29 last season, the Bulldogs are currently 4-4. Head coach Mark Machtolf has three very solid starting pitchers on the team, with right-handers Brandon Bailey and Andrew Sopko being the standouts.
Third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus is off to a hot start at the plate, hitting .471 over the first eight games. In addition, juniors Caleb Wood and Dustin Breshears have started the season off well. But like Bakersfield, Gonzaga lacks power, with only one home run so far this season.
After playing powerhouses Oklahoma State and TCU in its first two series of the season, ASU will get a bit of a breather with the three teams it faces this weekend. Given the unpredictability of the sport, however, the Sun Devils will need to play their best baseball in all four games to come away with a sweep of the Phoenix Muni Classic.
