(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) It’s tough to sustain much success in baseball if the very core of a team’s play is flawed from a fundamental standpoint. Though the 2015 Sun Devils have shown flashes of dominance and elite potential, mental breakdowns in different facets of the game have held them back from experiencing extended periods
Jacob Garcia
ASU Baseball: Providing protection and finding bench depth critical for Tracy Smith
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) If there’s one thing we’ve learned by now about Arizona State baseball coach Tracy Smith, it’s that he’s a perfectionist. His team is 9-5 and has beaten some high-caliber opponents, and yet he still echoes two constant displeasures in post-game press conferences. The first, “We’re thin right now,” Smith succinctly
ASU Baseball: Sun Devils pound out 13 hits and take game one over LBSU
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) A year removed from a sluggish offensive season and an inability to string together quality and situational at-bats, the 2015 Arizona State bats continue to mash. The Sun Devils pounded out 13 hits on Friday night, and combined with the pitching tandem of Seth Martinez and Darin Gillies, earned
ASU Baseball: Exhibition game with Dbacks provides value for Sun Devils
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) As part of a newly-adopted six-year exhibition series between Arizona’s Division I universities and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the ASU baseball team visited Salt River Fields on Tuesday to square off against the Chip Hale-led squad. Though the Sun Devils were stifled offensively by the Diamondbacks and dropped the contest
ASU Baseball: Woodmansee’s game-winning double and Burr’s history-making evening propel Sun Devils to 7-4 win
(Photo: Kimmy Davis/WCSN) Colby Woodmansee hit .200 a season ago, and despite his defensive wonders at shortstop, was benched in the latter half of the season because of his offensive struggles. In 2015, he’s not only been a transformed hitter, but arguably the Sun Devils' best hitter. Woodmansee went 3-for-4 with two singles and
ASU Baseball: Examining the projected use of the wealth of freshman bullpen depth
(Photo: Kimmy Davis/WCSN) The now-No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devil baseball team may have taken two of three from formerly-No. 5 Oklahoma State this weekend, but an interesting, counter-intuitive, stat revealed itself. ASU’s starting pitchers combined for 12 innings pitched, while the bullpen accumulated 16 innings of work over the three-game series. This reliance
ASU Baseball: New coaching staff, new stadium. Tracy Smith and Co. react
ASU Baseball: With a changeup added to his arsenal and improved command, Ryan Burr has transformed from a thrower into a pitcher
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) Making the leap from thrower to pitcher may be the single most important step in the development of a young hurler. The difference—between thrower and pitcher—may seem trivial, but the 2015 season for Arizona State baseball (and Ryan Burr, in particular) will be the perfect opportunity to showcase its importance. Left-hander
ASU Baseball: Season preview, part three
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) Today concludes the three-part series previewing the 2015 Arizona State baseball team. If you happened to miss the first two parts, Wednesday’s edition covered coaches’ and players’ takeaways from the first practices of the season and how the team is handling numerous off-the-field distractions, and Thursday’s centered on
ASU Baseball: Season preview, part two
(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN) As promised in yesterday’s part one of the 2015 season preview, today’s part two features pitching and hitting outlooks for the Sun Devil baseball squad. The ASU pitching staff will feature left-hander Brett Lilek on Friday nights, left-hander Ryan Kellogg on Saturdays, and either right-hander Darin Gillies or right-hander