Throughout the course of a season, every team is going to encounter some key injuries. So, when freshman catcher Preston Paramore went down prior to the Whataburger Classic, ASU coach Pat Murphy looked to his bench for someone to step up.
"We were practicing and Paramore pulled his hamstring again, so I got ready," sophomore catcher Austin Stockfisch said. "I've kind of been ready to go because you always have to be if you're the backup guy."
With junior C.J. Retherford playing in the infield and junior Seth Dhaenens not experienced enough to play behind the plate yet, Murphy turned to Stockfisch to get the job done.
"Stocky went in there for those first three games and we didn't miss a beat," Murphy said. "He was very good at blocking baseballs and very good at receiving."
Stockfisch has been getting some help with his technique behind the plate from former ASU backstop Tuffy Gosewich, now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
"My demeanor and what I'm thinking, how to approach hitters, different things like that; it's all stuff he's taught me," Stockfisch said. "He's a big influence of what I've done behind the plate."
While his defense was good, Murphy got an added bonus when the switch-hitter went 5-for-13 with 3 RBIs at the plate.
"My approach at the plate was real simple, so I got some hits," Stockfisch said.
For his performance in the tournament, the Scottsdale native found his name on the All-Tournament team with five other Sun Devils.
"You want to do well especially when you get your chance and you're playing all the innings back there, but to get All-Tournament team and get some hits like that was awesome and a lot of fun." Stockfisch said. "It was the icing on the cake."
One of the pitchers who threw to Stockfisch was the Pac-10 leader in appearances, junior Brady Martinez.
"He's a very practiced catcher and at the Whataburger Classic he really stepped up for us," Martinez said. "He was in the cooler for a long time, he hadn't been playing, but he's just willing to give us all his effort and play hard for us."
While Murphy feels that his young backstop is not quite an everyday player yet, he was pleased to see Stockfisch take his role as a backup very seriously, showing his commitment to the team.
"You go out there to win games," Stockfisch said. "Winning games is the best part."
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
