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Team meeting after series loss to Oregon State motivated ASU baseball

Head coach Tracy Smith emphasized consistency and execution in a team meeting after the Beavers swept the Sun Devils

ASU freshman infielder Lyle Lin (27) swings the bat during game two of a baseball series against the Oregon State Beavers at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix on Friday, March 17, 2017. ASU lost 10-1.
ASU freshman infielder Lyle Lin (27) swings the bat during game two of a baseball series against the Oregon State Beavers at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix on Friday, March 17, 2017. ASU lost 10-1.

Getting swept in the conference home opener isn't great for any baseball team, and it's much worse when one run is scored through the whole series.

That's exactly what happened to the ASU baseball team this past weekend. The team had some disappointing performances earlier in the season, as seen by its 9-10 overall record (0-3 Pac-12), but getting swept by No. 1 Oregon State meant more.

That's why head coach Tracy Smith called a team meeting after the third loss to OSU and refocused his team.

"We're just going to talk about making sure we do things the right way, and this game is about consistency and execution," Smith said at a press conference after Saturday's loss. "You've got to be able to weather the bad times, as well as keep yourself on an even keel during the good times, because this game will kick you in the teeth."

After a series sweep of Long Beach State in the previous series, the Sun Devils might have been overconfident when they faced OSU. 

OSU pitchers Luke Heimlich, Bryce Fehmel and Jake Thompson allowed just one run in combined 23.1 innings.

The poor showing by ASU was taken as a learning experience which was emphasized in the team meeting.

"It kind of got us in the mood to be motivated to get some more wins under our belt," sophomore pitcher Fitz Stadler said.

Even though the bats were silent, not every aspect of the team was bad against the Beavers.

Outside of the 10-1 loss on Friday, ASU pitched well. The Sun Devils gave up six combined runs to OSU in the other two games, keeping each match close despite the lack of offensive production.

"Usually, if you hold somebody to four runs or less in a game, you're doing pretty good," junior pitcher Grant Schneider said. "You've got to give Oregon State credit, they're the number one pitching staff in the country. Our hitters did the best that they could, but sometimes you just fall out and lose." 

Moral victories only go so far, however. If one part of the team is doing well and the other isn't then wins will be few and far to come by. 

For ASU to shake off its losing record it'll have to rise to it's potential with complete team baseball, which is something the team meeting stressed.

"It kind of just put us in perspective," Schneider said. "One, we're a good team and we have a lot of potential and we need to touch that potential. Skip said it all along, we have a lot of talent on this team, we're just not putting it together fully in games, there's glimpses of it."

The Sun Devils get their first chance to redeem themselves when they play USC at 6 p.m. PST on Friday in Los Angeles. 


Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.

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