No. 6 ASU baseball will head to Utah riding a four-game winning streak and looking to improve upon the consistency shown in the final two games of its series sweep against Stanford.
In the Saturday and Sunday games of the Stanford series, the Sun Devils (19-7, 7-2 Pac-12) played the baseball they were expected to play — solid pitching and opportune hitting.
Specifically, junior starting pitcher Brett Lilek looked like the ace everyone expected him to be entering the season. He held a no-hitter through six innings and only gave up three hits in seven total innings pitched.
However, the Sun Devils needed a ferocious ninth-inning rally to defeat the Cardinal in the Friday game after giving up a three-run lead.
Last season, ASU swept Utah (9-17, 3-6) Pac-12) at Packard Stadium.
This year, the Utes have shown glimpses of being a middle-of-the-road Pac-12 team, which was shown when they took two of thee games from Arizona, who just swept then-No. 25 Oregon. However, Utah has also assumed its place near the bottom of the conference by getting swept by No. 7 UCLA.
ASU has let inferior teams hang around this year, but the team is finding ways to win.
After Tuesday's win over New Mexico State, ASU head coach Tracy Smith said the team's even-keel mentality has helped it pull through in close games.
"You try to create an environment where you just keep playing," he said "You don't get too excited about big innings and you don't get too down about going (down in order). We just keep preaching good at-bats, don't fear the result, and I don't see any panic in our guys. ... That's a sign of maturity — we're growing up and I like it."
Smith said he hopes ASU carries its professional attitude with it on the upcoming road trip.
"This is very much a business trip — we're not looking at records or opponents," he said. "This is a tough series on the road in one of the best conferences in the country. If you don't go ready to play, I don't care who it is, you're going to struggle. We're going to go in there and concentrate on Friday night and try to get that first game.
In the beginning of the season, many were focused on ASU's two aces, Lilek and junior Ryan Kellogg. However, the focus has somewhat shifted as the team has not been averaging as many strikeouts as before.
After his 5-for-5, two-home run day on Sunday, catcher Brian Serven said there is more of a focus on defense.
"Our defense has really settled in and everyone is feeling comfortable," he said. "It's probably just due to a comfortability factor, that's why it's gotten better."
Utah's most consistent hitter is junior outfielder Wyler Smith, who averages .362 and leads the team in hits with 34.
However, infielders Dallas Carroll and Cody Scaggari are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 18 each.
While they have a few good contact hitters, the long ball is not the Utes' strength as they only have eight home runs in their 26 games played, which makes them tied for 197th in the NCAA.
Easily Utah's weakest aspect is its pitching, though. Out of their nine-man pitching staff, six Utes pitchers hold ERAs of 5.00 or higher, which ranks 224th in the NCAA.
The Utes' projected starters are Bret Helton, Jayson Rose and Dalton Carroll. Helton (1-4) has a 6.98 ERA in seven starts, while Rose (2-3) has a 4.00 ERA, which is the lowest on the pitching staff.
Although not a large sample size of games thus far, this could be trouble coupled with the fact that ASU has scored 34 runs in its last four games, largely aided by the 14-run Sunday game against Stanford.
Redshirt senior outfielder Trever Allen said the team needs to continue taking it one pitch at a time while making sure to not take anything for granted.
"It's short games within a long game and I think if we continue to have fun and play well, the solution and finish will be good for all of us," he said. "I know we're statistically better than (Utah) on paper, but baseball is a funny sport and anyone can win and lose at any time. Just going out there, playing hard and playing our game, and I think we'll win."
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter.
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