With a three-game tournament in Surprise this weekend, the No. 5 ASU baseball team and head coach Pat Murphy know they cannot take any opponent lightly.
"It's definitely one at a time, you have to be ready for something different every night," Murphy said about playing three schools in one weekend. "There's a psychological difference when you're playing a team three times, it's a lot more mental. We get to wipe it clean after each game this weekend."
The three foes ASU (14-1) will match up against include Gonzaga University (0-0) tonight at 7 p.m., Oklahoma State (1-1) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday against Oregon State (1-2) at 3 p.m.
After a remarkable opening 12 games from the starting pitching, the bullpen needed to come up big for ASU last weekend and that's exactly what they did, posting a 1.08 ERA in 16.2 innings.
"I think our pitching staff has been pretty good," Murphy said. "It's been pretty consistent and deep, and I like that. It's hard to continue over a six month period but certainly I like our guys' chances of continuing to do well."
Senior right hander Ben Thurmond will make his first start in a Sun Devil uniform tonight after throwing five innings in relief. Coming off a junior season at Winthrop University that was cut short due to a sore arm, Thurmond has allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out five.
"We're still trying to get guys innings and still trying to figure out who's going to be our rotation," Murphy said.
"There's a lot to this game besides percentages and numbers. The psyche of the team and the mental state of each and every kid is important. We're trying to work with individuals and help them start believing more in themselves and what they can do on the baseball field."
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
