ASU returns home to face Cal in must-win series

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

The last week of Arizona State baseball has been extremely disappointing. Beginning with a midweek loss to Utah Valley, the Sun Devils have lost four of their last five games, needing a six-run comeback over UNLV to get their lone win. ASU is returning to Phoenix Municipal Stadium this weekend, hoping to get back on track with a series against the Cal Golden Bears.

Entering the season, Cal was picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12, two spots behind ASU. However, head coach Mike Neu has led the Golden Bears to a 15-7 start with several impressive wins, including series sweeps over UConn and UCLA. Cal has since slowed down, losing series to both Oregon and Utah in Pac-12 play.

Offensively, Cal is led by a quartet of bats, two of which are juniors and two of which are freshmen. The veterans are junior infielder Peyton Schulze and catcher Caleb Lomavita. Schulze began his career at Long Beach State before transferring six hours north and starting 51 games. In 2024, the Poway, California native has stepped up his offensive production, slashing .333/.400/.548 and hitting four homers, over halfway to last season’s total of seven.

After a freshman season that saw him selected as the first Golden Bear to the All Pac-12 first team since current Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn, Lomavita’s sophomore season saw him take a large power jump with the bat, hitting 16 homers and slugging .612.

In 2024, it seems Lomavita has taken another jump at the plate. The Hawaii native is crushing the ball, hitting 10 home runs and slashing .348/.402/.685. The backstop is an extremely aggressive hitter, walking just four times with 20 strikeouts this season.

Arguably, the biggest reason for Cal’s early season success is the contributions they are getting from their freshman pair-up in the middle of the infield. Shortstop PJ Moutzouridis and second baseman Jarren Advincula attended rival high schools in San Jose, California at Valley Christian and Archbishop Mitty respectively, but the pair has put that aside and played amazing baseball to begin their careers.

Moutzouridis leads the team in batting average (.377), is second on the team in RBI (22) while also slugging four homers. While Advincula has been the least productive offensively of the four, he is fourth on the team in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

If the Sun Devil staff can get past those four, Cal’s lineup has struggled, and ASU should be able to take advantage. However, the Phoenix Municipal jet stream might play into things.

The Golden Bears’ rotation is led by ace graduate southpaw Luke Short. The Los Gatos, California native is in his first year at the Division 1 level after spending four years at two separate junior colleges at West Valley and St. Edwards. Short has made a quick first impression at the top level, starting six games to the tune of a 2.96 ERA and allowing just eight runs across 24.1 innings.

Friday will be an entertaining battle between the strikeout-heavy freshman righty Thomas Burns and the more crafty, pitch-to-contact lefty short. However, Saturday and Sunday are when the ASU lineup should be able to take advantage of a weak starter.

Freshman righty Trey Newmann has been shaky in his first season. In 22.0 innings pitched, Newmann has a 6.75 ERA. Graduate righty Tom Mayer will pitch on Sunday, but, like Newmann, Mayer has struggled through his 21.0 innings, posting a 5.57 ERA.

However, the Princeton, New Jersey native has displayed strong control, striking out 20 batters to just nine walks.

Friday night should be an entertaining pitching duel, but Saturday and Sunday could be a pair of high-offense games due to these teams’ struggles with starting pitching. If ASU wants to bounce back from its struggles in recent weeks, the onus will be on the Sun Devil lineup to find its spark again and take advantage of its weak Cal arms.

These two teams’ start to the seasons could not have been more different, with the Sun Devils disappointing and the Golden Bears surprising. But at home against an opponent with a weak staff, if the Sun Devils want a chance at Omaha, they have to win this series and get back on track in the Pac-12.