Nothing seemed to work for ASU baseball on Wednesday night as the team was never able to recover from an early deficit in a 13-4 loss to No. 7 Cal State Fullerton at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
It was the Sun Devils' (6-7) second loss in two tries against the Titans, who earned the sweep in the midweek set by pounding ASU's pitching once again. The Sun Devil pitching staff gave up 18 hits and four walks leading to the 13 runs scored.
Not surprisingly, ASU head coach Tracy Smith wasn't impressed with his team's pitching.
"We're pitching behind and we're pitching up," Smith said. "It's a very good opponent in Cal State Fullerton, they're going to take advantage of your mistakes."
Smith also mentioned how the team was thin on relievers, forcing him to keep those who were available in for longer stretches, even if they were pitching poorly.
"We're just not that deep and it showed up tonight against a very, very good opponent," Smith said.
Sophomore starting pitcher Fitz Stadler didn't have a great start. He lasted just two innings and gave up seven runs, although only four were earned.
But Stadler's showing on Wednesday was a deviation from the norm. The 6-foot-9 right-hander had been very effective out of the bullpen in previous games and entered the contest with a 2.89 ERA.
However, Smith knew Stadler wouldn't be 100 percent.
"He's very consistent up until, he was dealing with an oblique strain and wanted the baseball anyway," Smith said. "He's going to be a guy that's going to help us out on the weekends, but maybe the starting is not the best role for him."
Fullerton continued to have success once Stadler exited. The Titans clobbered junior reliever Grant Schneider to the tune of six runs on six hits and three walks.
ASU hurt themselves early on, coming out of the gates sloppy with two errors in the its first two innings.
"We have a dropped third strike, they score off a (muffed) double play ball, next thing you know they have five runs," Smith said. "So we've got to eliminate those."
Sun Devil batters didn't hit the ball well either. ASU mustered just six hits on the night, with only two of them coming after the second inning. All four runs for the Sun Devils came in the second inning.
B2 | It's Lillard ⏰
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 9, 2017
Lillard nails a double to left to plate Canning and McCuin (1B).
7️⃣-4️⃣ CSF@Pac12Networkhttps://t.co/dyzNjgNA0Q
On a night where nothing seemed to work for the Sun Devils, freshman pitcher Tanner West was a rare bright spot.
West pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without giving up a single hit or earned run with just one walk to his detriment.
The Sun Devils now look ahead to their next series at home this weekend against Long Beach State starting on Friday.
Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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