(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
The long awaited Territorial Cup series is upon us, and both teams enter the series having impressive seasons so far.
No. 5 Arizona State (21-9, 9-3) is going through its roughest stretch of the season, going just 2-2 in its last four games against Utah and UNLV. Both victories over Utah came in extra innings, with the bullpen being put to the test multiple times.
A rare occurrence was showcased on Thursday against the Utes when Ryan Burr blew a save, his first of the season. Burr was recently named to the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
Despite the blown save, the Sun Devils were able to pull out the win in that game thanks to Andrew Snow’s home run in the 12th inning.
The starting pitching was uncharacteristically poor in the rest of the series and into the UNLV midweek game. Offensively, ASU continued to receive various contributions up and down the lineup but most of the time found itself unable to string runs together.
Nevertheless, ASU has still won all four of its Pac-12 series and continues to surprise some preseason doubters.
Arizona (22-9, 7-4) has struggled as of late but have surpassed expectations after finishing below .500 last season. The Wildcats are coming off being swept by USC, but they had swept Oregon at home in the series before that.
The Wildcats have beat up many bottom dwellers in non-conference play but have struggled against powerhouses Mississippi State and Rice, posting just a 1-4 record.
Their pitching staff is on the weaker side, as they are eighth in the Pac-12 in ERA and 10th in strikeouts.
Cody Hamlin has held down the Friday starter job for most of the season and has posted a 4.26 ERA in seven starts. However, he only has 33 strikeouts and has allowed 45 hits in 50 and 2/3 innings pitched. He will get the ball in Saturday night’s opener.
Beyond Hamlin, the rotation has had stability but lacks star power. Both Tyger Talley and Robby Medel have started all eight games that they have pitched in, but they have posted a 4.36 and 5.40 ERA respectively. Neither are expected to start this weekend, as Xavier Borde is the scheduled starter on Sunday while Bobby Dalbec (the team’s former closer) is expected to start on Monday.
The bullpen has not had the same success that ASU’s group has had, either. Dalbec has five saves but has a 4.34 ERA and has allowed about one hit per inning.
Despite the lackluster pitching staff, Arizona’s offense has made waves across the Pac-12 this season.
Like Burr for ASU, middle infielders Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman were recently named to the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
Kingery leads the NCAA in batting average (.477) and has four home runs on top of that. His sidekick Newman is hitting .403 with 25 RBI. Dalbec, who is a two-way player, provides the power with seven home runs on the season. That trio alone is enough to consider the Wildcats offense fearsome.
Currently Arizona leads the Territorial Cup Series with a record of 226-193-1 against ASU, and the two teams are 5-5 against each other over the last two seasons.
The Sun Devils will keep their weekend rotation in order with Seth Martinez starting Saturday, Ryan Kellogg on Sunday, and Brett Lilek on Monday. The games will be televised on ESPNU Saturday and the Pac-12 Networks for the final two games.
