ASU Baseball: Team USA Baseball Exhibition Notebook

(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)

Arizona State baseball played the USA Baseball Olympic Team at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday night in the final game of ASU’s fall baseball schedule. Here are notes and takeaways from the exhibition matchup as Team USA used a four-run seventh inning to beat the Devils 7-3.

• Junior Boyd Vander Kooi started for the Devils and pitched only the first inning although his outing didn’t go quite smoothly. He faced eight hitters and walked three of them, including walking in two runs. Vander Kooi did strike out two hitters but threw 36 pitches. His command was shaky but he made strike out pitches when he needed to and limited the damage. The Devils will need Vander Kooi to make a big step forward with the departure of ace Alec Marsh to the MLB Draft.
• Saint Mary’s transfer sophomore Tyler Thornton was the most roughed up of the pitchers in his outing. He took the loss for Arizona State. Thornton gave up three hits and a walk on four earned runs while striking out two. Thornton showed promise with his stuff but with two runners on and in a 3-2 count to Bobby Dalbec, he threw a fastball right down the middle and Dalbec crushed it into the right-field bullpen for a three-run home run. The Devils will need the 2019 National Freshman of the Year (Collegiate Baseball) and National Freshman Pitcher of the Year (NCWBA) to heavily produce this upcoming season for the pitching staff.
• Left-handed pitcher junior Justin Fall from Brookdale Community College looked very sharp, throwing two scoreless innings while allowing only one walk on no hits as well as two strikeouts. The 6’6”, 210 pounder was efficient with 23 pitches in two frames, and he looks to be a potential pitcher to watch, who could perhaps start for this team come spring time.
• Returning pitchers junior RJ Dabovich and sophomore Erik Tolman both made one-inning relief appearances. Dabovich gave up a first-pitch home run to Taylor Gushue but did not give up more than that, allowing two walks and striking out one on 21 pitches. Tolman threw a perfect inning, including a strikeout on just six pitches.
• Junior outfielder Hunter Jump led the offense with two hits, hitting for a double and a single. His leadoff double down the left-field line in the first inning started a rally in which Trevor Hauver drove him in with an RBI double. Jump, who played with ASU in 2018 but then transferred to Central Arizona Community College in 2019, will look to solidify himself in the offseason as ASU’s potential leadoff hitter.
• Junior, standout first baseman Spencer Torkelson went 1-for-5 on Friday. He hit a double into the right-center field gap but also struck out twice.
• Sun Devil hitters struck out 18 times against Team USA pitching. Junior shortstop Alika Williams was the only Sun Devil to strike out three times while five other Sun Devils struck out at least twice.
• Manager Tracy Smith inserted three freshmen position players into the game. Freshmen outfielder Sean McLain started and Seth Nager came in to replace him later in the game while infielder Brian Kalmer also made a pinch-hit appearance. None of them recorded a hit.
• Team USA put out a lineup of 11 hitters in order to get in as many at-bats as possible. Notable prospects that played Friday include Chicago White Sox’s Andrew Vaughn (No. 21 MLB prospect), Atlanta Braves’ Drew Waters (No. 23 MLB prospect), Philadelphia Phillies’ Alec Bohm (No. 34 MLB prospect) and San Diego Padres’ Xavier Edwards (No. 72 MLB prospect).

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