ASU maturity concerns were on display in rough opening series

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

For the second straight series, the Arizona State Sun Devils (9-8, 1-2) captured a series-opening win. Yet as was the case with the three-game series against Tennessee, the Sun Devils dropped the final two games against Washington, giving the Huskies their first series win in Tempe since 2004.

As has been the case throughout much of the year, Brett Lilek was masterful on Friday night. The sophomore ace (yes, he has earned that title) fired seven dominant innings, only allowing four hits and one run, leading the Sun Devils to a 4-1 win.

On Saturday, the Sun Devils were knotted with the Huskies in the later stages of the game; however a six-run eighth inning for Washington doomed Arizona State, as they fell 9-3. Ryan Kellogg hurled five innings and uncharacteristically gave up four walks. He did leave in line for a win, but two errors by third baseman Dalton Dinatale led to an all-out hitting barrage from Washington.

Arizona State received another stellar pitching performance in the rubber game on Sunday. Darin Gillies threw six innings, struck out six and surrendered no earned runs. The outing was the best of his career, but it would not be rewarded with a win. After the Sun Devils rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at three runs apiece, Ryan Burr surrendered a game-winning home run to Andrew Ely to open up the eleventh inning. The Sun Devils went quietly in their half of the inning, and suffered a 4-3 loss to drop the opening series of Pac-12 play.

That was the gist; here are the details.

Player of the Series:

After dropping two-of-three for the second straight series, I hand out this week’s “Player of the Series” award a bit grudgingly. Celebrating individual accomplishment is great when the team is winning, but no one wants to be celebrated and commended after two straight losses.

Nevertheless, Brett Lilek is the obvious choice for this week’s Player of the Week. Lilek has been by far and away the Sun Devils best pitcher this season. The sophomore tossed seven innings, struck out six and allowed only four hits and one run. Lilek also extended his scoreless innings streak to an astounding 20.2 innings en route to picking up his third win. The outing was indicative of Lilek’s entire season. He leads the pitching staff in ERA (0.96), strikeouts (26) and opponents’ batting average (.129).

Biggest Concern:

Coach Tim Esmay has vehemently asserted that the pieces are all there for his baseball club. It is obvious that the Sun Devils do not lack talent. Rather, what has plagued this team, at least according to Esmay, has been a lack of maturity at the plate and a lack of mental toughness on defense. Arizona State has not strung together hits on a consistent basis, nor have they benefited from clutch hitting with runners in scoring position. A runner in scoring position with no outs should be an automatic run, but that has hardly been the case. Furthermore, errors on defense—three by Dinatale this weekend—have prolonged innings and placed unneeded stress on the pitching staff. Esmay has said that he can live with the physical errors, but the mental errors are what is unacceptable.

Unsung Hero:

As is the case with every week, many Sun Devils players made their case for this week’s Unsung Hero. Dalton Dinatale extended his hitting streak to nine games, but he struggled with errors at third base throughout the weekend. Jordan Aboites, a shortstop by trade, made two appearances out of the bullpen. However, an extremely impressive high school stat line (170.2 innings pitched, 161 strikeouts and a .96 ERA) makes his performance anything but “unsung.”

Thus, Colby Woodmansee receives this week’s “Unsung Hero.”

With Drew Stankiewicz nursing an ailing wrist and Aboites dominating on the mound, Woodmansee, a true freshman, received all three starts at shortstop this weekend. Woodmansee went only 2-for-9 at the plate, but that is exactly what makes his effort “unsung.” His contributions did not show up in the box score. After bouncing his first throw across the diamond to Nate Causey at first base, Woodmansee settled down and looked very comfortable at shortstop for the remainder of the series. Woodmansee also jumpstarted the Sun Devil offense with a key base hit in Friday’s win. There were not too many bright spots for the Sun Devils this weekend, but Woodmansee was certainly one of them.

Stat of the Series:

My English teacher engrained in my head that one must support claim with evidence. Accordingly, here is the evidence to the claim that was asserted in the “Biggest Concern” section: 10 hits, 3 runs.

In Sunday’s rubber match, the Sun Devils were only able to push across three runs on 10 hits. Those numbers indicate that Sun Devil hitting has been isolated and sporadic, and base hits with runners in scoring position have been nonexistent. Thus, Esmay’s claim that the Sun Devils have lacked mental toughness and maturity at the plate is clearly supported.

What’s next?

The great thing about baseball is that a team does not have to wait long to correct its mistakes. The Sun Devils will be given that opportunity, as they will host Wichita State (11-6) for a two-game midweek series. Both games on Tuesday and Wednesday will start at 6:30.

You can reach Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or via email at Jacob.M.Garcia@asu.edu

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