(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
The final game of the Territorial Cup series for baseball will commence on Tuesday in Tucson.
No. 6 Arizona State (28-12, 13-5) will take on Arizona (24-17, 9-12) in the fifth game of the season between the rivals. ASU currently leads the season series 3-1 and has claimed the Territorial Cup point for the 2015 season.
The Sun Devils are coming off a series win against Tennessee Tech. While a series win is always satisfying, ASU wanted to come away with a sweep, and played with an increased sense of urgency on Sunday after losing on Saturday. The series outcome dropped them a spot in the national rankings, but won’t hurt them in the conference standings, where they sit 1.5 games behind UCLA.
ASU set a season high with 16 runs scored in the final game of the series against the Golden Eagles. The Sun Devils received a strong offensive output from top to bottom in the lineup, with Brian Serven’s six RBIs leading the charge. David Greer and Colby Woodmansee also chipped in. All three starters were serviceable and did their job in keeping ASU in the game.
Arizona is playing their worst baseball of the season, and are going through a five game losing streak. For the Wildcats, it’s tied for their longest losing streak of the season. While ASU had their non-conference weekend with Tennessee Tech, Arizona was competing in conference and was swept by Cal at home. Arizona only managed four runs the entire weekend while ASU collected 26 – so it is safe to say that the Sun Devils are catching the Wildcats at the right time.
The Wildcats pitching staff has gradually improved over the course of the season, although it is still on the weaker side compared to the rest of the Pac-12. Bobby Dalbec seems to have found a home in the rotation after serving as the closer for the first half of the season. He will remain at third on Tuesday night as Cody Hamlin (4-3, 4.18) will take the mound.
Middle infielders Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery have continued to carry Arizona’s offense and solidify themselves as two of the top hitters not only in the Pac-12, but also in the country.
After torching ASU in their three game series, Bobby Dalbec has continued to rake. His average has risen to .329 to go along with 12 home runs. The sophomore is also very successful against Sun Devil pitching this season with six hits in 15 at bats and four homers. He is proving himself to be incredibly versatile in what has been a breakout season for him.
Outside of those three, Arizona is thin when it comes to offensive threats. Riley Moore in the three hole and speedy Justin Behnke at the bottom of the order have been solid but have not reached the point to which they can be considered serious threats.
The key for the Wildcats to snap their losing streak will be to get their offense going against a Sun Devils pitching staff that will feature a bevy of underclassmen, some whom have been more impressive than others.
First pitch will be at 6:00 on Tuesday night. Ryan Hingst (3-1, 2.50) will be on the mound for the Sun Devils.
