(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
Arizona State Baseball has played some chilly games to start off their season, but their bats could not be hotter.
Seven games into the season, the team has scored 91 runs, and they remain undefeated after sweeping Notre Dame and UC Davis sandwiching a single win against San Diego. The Devils have only given up 22 runs while scoring on average a little over four times as much as their opponent.
The Devils finished their series against UC Davis with a 17-2 win where they collected 18 hits from 11 different players.
UC Davis had to pull their starting pitcher, Chris Brown, in the third inning after giving five runs to the Devils. UC Davis brought in Justin Smith, but this did not affect ASU’s offense. The team continued to bat around and had four more hits in the third inning to give them a commanding 12-0 lead.
Arizona State continued to pile on runs in the forth as sophomore Trevor Hauver launched a three-run home run, giving him his third hit and sixth RBI of the game. Hauver continues to lead the team in walks with 13, and an on-base percentage of .595 average.
“I’ve worked so hard to get to this point from last season to this season, fall, spring, and I’m just happy it’s paying off,” Hauver said.
Another stand out offensive performance was given by sophomore Spencer Torkelson. He has remained constant throughout the beginning of the season, leading the team with a .548 batting average and a .710 slugging percentage.
Starting pitcher RJ Dabovich recognized the team’s hitting performance saying, “It helps a lot knowing your offense has your back if you make a mistake.”
Although the team only has 25 active players on the roster, head coach Tracy Smith has confidence in the guys they do have.
“We are stronger because we are smaller,” Smith said. “[The players] are good enough and willing enough to move around.”
In the final game of the series, 16 players came to the plate, including two pitchers, only leaving nine on the bench.
The team’s offensive performance was matched by the defensive. Dabovich had an impressive start on the mound, with a perfect first three innings. He lasted seven innings, giving up only four hits, one run and one walk, good enough to earn him the title of “player of the game” from Smith.
Despite the high scoring effort from ASU, Dabovich was unaffected by his team’s hitting performance and kept his intensity throughout. Smith said after the game, “no matter what the score is you pitch like it’s 1-0.”
Dabovich only faced 25 batters, keeping his pitch count to a mere 78 pitches. In his previous outing for ASU, he threw 88 pitches in five innings and walked five batters.
“I was very pleased with him to make the jump on being aggressive in the zone,” said Smith.
Smith referenced the great Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax when talking about Dabovich’s performance this time out compared to his last start.
“Koufax said, ‘I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started to make them to hit it.’, and I think [Dabovich] did that,” Smith said.
Up next, the Devils host the Pepperdine Waves in a mid-week matchup. The game is slated to start at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
