(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
Arizona State secured a series win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday night. Another offensive breakout gave the Sun Devils the win 14-2.
While every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit and the team combined for 16 hits, a couple of guys stood out in the constant noise of bats hitting the ball.
Gage Canning and Gage Workman both did a lot of damage against the Oklahoma State pitchers. Combined, the two went 6-9 at the plate and were responsible for seven of the 14 runs.
Canning, who was relatively quiet in the batter’s box during the first game against the Cowboys, did not repeat his Friday night performance Saturday night. He went 3-5 with two runs and four RBIs.
“Last night, it was tough. I mean I felt like I just couldn’t hit really,” Canning said. “I just had to go back to my approach and stick with that and just being confident and just sticking with what I had to do.”
He doubled once and tripled twice. Those two triples were his fourth and fifth of the season and the second time he has had two triples in one game this season. He is now at 19 total triples for his career and is three shy of the Sun Devil record.
Canning also leads the NCAA in triples with five. He has one more than Texas A&M freshman, Zach Deloach.
Workman, who had a stellar performance Friday night coincidently with two triples as well in one game, came back again Saturday showing off at the plate. The freshman went 3-4 and is now batting .303 on the season.
Working as the designated hitter the last couple of games may have helped Workman’s focus at the plate.
“It’s probably easier because you have that whole time to look what the pitcher is doing and all you’re focusing on is your at-bat,” Workman said about the difference he has felt going up to the plate when he’s playing third versus when he is the DH. “So when you come to the plate, you’re kinda solid at what your approach is.”
The whole team is really coming along at the plate and even when they are not getting a hit they are starting to put up more quality at-bats. The line up brought the strikeout total down to seven Saturday, compared to the 11 Ks they had Friday.
Everyone is enjoying the offensive surge but common sense says numbers this high cannot last all season. Coach Tracy Smith knows this.
“Sixteen hits, you know, I’m not gonna expect that every single night. But it’s good to see the offense catch fire a little bit,” Smith said.
What has been impressive about the last two games is the ability of the team to get the big hits when needed. Early in the season, leaving guys on base was a big problem for the Sun Devil offense. The last two games, 12 guys have been left on base; seven on Friday and five on Saturday.
That may seem like a lot but with a 14 hit night and a 16 hit night and nine runs one night and 14 the other, a lot more could have been stranded.
“I thought we did a good job, just team execution, moving guys up when exposed to situational hitting,” Smith said about one of his takeaways from the offense Saturday.
Oklahoma State is known for having a good pitching staff and this young Sun Devil line up has found a way to dig deep and crack into it. They hope this trend continues Sunday when they face the Cowboys for the last game of the series. If they get the W again, ASU would have their first series sweep of the season.
