(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
It has been ten years since Arizona State baseball has had a season sweep over University of Arizona. On May 7, the Wildcats had the chance to defend themselves against the series sweep but fell to the Sun Devils 10-7, securing the season sweep for Arizona State.
This has been a historic season for the Devils, especially after the first back-to-back losing seasons in program history.
The team started their season strong while being the final undefeated Division 1 baseball team in the nation this season, getting out to a 21-0 start.
Even though the Devils my not be nationally ranked at the moment, they currently still have a chance to make it into the College World Series for the first time since 2010. A recent postseason projection by D1Baseball.com put Arizona State as a two seed in the Stillwater regional, joined by Duke (3), Oklahoma State (1), and Harvard (4).
This upcoming weekend the Devils will travel to Nebraska for a three-game series. Smith and his team have a great opportunity in front of them to improve their RPI with three weekends remaining in the regular season, as Nebraska currently sit third in the Big Ten with a 24-18 overall record. The Sun Devils come to Hawks Field with a 34-12 mark.
Nebraska is coming off a win from earlier in the week against Northwestern, but the Huskers have had trouble finding a way to win this season struggling both offensively and defensively.
This sets Arizona State up well for a series win this weekend. The Devils are riding a bit of momentum having salvaged the final game of their series with No. 1 UCLA last weekend prior to the midweek victory in Tucson.
The bats have stayed hot, and there has been a new addition to the lineup for the Devils, as Cole Austin made his Sun Devil debut after sitting out last season due to his transfer from West Virginia.
Austin wasn’t expected to play until next season due to a back surgery that he had in January. He went hitless in the game, but is expected to find himself in the fold for Smith for the remainder of the season and might be seen in right field, according to AZCentral.
Hunter Bishop has moved into a tie nationally for second in home runs after two long balls in the game against the Wildcats gave him 21 for the year. He trails Vanderbilt’s JJ Bleday by two.
Spencer Torkelson launched a home run of his own against Arizona, giving him 17 on the season and 42 in his collegiate career.
This upcoming weekend will be the last non-conference games of the regular season for Arizona State. The Devils first game in the series against the Huskers begins at 4:35 PM MST on Friday.
