(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Sun Devil baseball will begin its second series of the season this Friday at 6:30 p.m. local time against Saint Mary’s (California).
Both teams are currently 2-2 heading into the matchup and will look to improve as they gained some much-needed experience in each of their first series of 2018.
The Sun Devils split two doubleheaders last weekend against Miami (Ohio), in a series compressed into two days as Miami was unable to travel to Phoenix until Saturday morning due to poor weather conditions on the East Coast. ASU’s bats were inconsistent throughout the series as some returners Sun Devils including sophomore Hunter Bishop struggled at the plate. Freshman Spencer Torkelson was impressive however, as he hit two home runs in his first series ever as a Sun Devil.
Other positives from the series for the Sun Devils was their starting pitching. Freshman Spencer Van Scoyoc, Senior Eli Lingos and freshman Boyd Vander Kooi combined for just four earned runs in their respective starts.
Defense however was a huge struggle for the Devils. ASU led the Pac-12 with eight errors in their four games against the RedHawks which cost them nine runs throughout the series. ASU head coach Tracy Smith did not seem worried about the poor plays made in the field however as he still believes the defense will be a strong point of his team this season.
“I’m not giving up on these guys because (the talent) is there,” Smith said. “It’s just about getting these guys settled down, comfortable, focused on what you got to do and what you’ve been doing the entire time, and play the game of baseball.”
That will definitely be the message for the team heading into the three-game series against the Gaels this weekend. Pitching has been a strength for St. Mary’s in their first four games of the year. The team hasn’t lost a game when scoring 4 or more runs this season. Their worst loss in the short season was came in their season-opener against Long Beach State by a score of 4-1. The Gaels’ starting pitcher for that game, junior Nick Frank, allowed two earned runs and zero through the first six innings, while finishing without a walk and striking out four.
With how talented Saint Mary’s pitching seems so far in 2018, the Sun Devils will surely try to match its success on the mound. The Gaels only have two starters with a batting average over .300 this season in just four games played. Keeping the score low might be the Sun Devils’ best chance to have a chance to win games this weekend.
A position to keep an eye out for the Sun Devils in this series is the left field starting position. Head coach Tracy Smith gave freshmen Trevor Hauver and Scott Mehan both opportunities at left field against Miami and both struggled at the plate.
The first game of the series will be this Friday night with first pitch at 6:30 p.m., followed by an afternoon game Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and another Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
