It’s one of baseball’s unwritten but best-known rules.
As a pitcher stretches into the latter innings of a game with a no-hitter in tact, it’s best to stay away. Let him sit at the edge of the dugout, a jacket sleeve draped over his arm. Most importantly, don’t mutter the words “no-hitter.”
But with a 20-0 record, one game away from matching the best start in school history, the No. 1 ASU baseball team says talking about the early season streak is anything but taboo.
“It’s funny, we’ve actually been talking about it,” senior infielder Raoul Torrez said. “I kind of think it’s like, ‘Let’s talk about it and get it out there so everybody isn’t out there thinking about it on their own.’”
The Sun Devils will have the opportunity to match the school record Friday night when they open Pac-10 play with a three-game series against visiting California at Packard Stadium.
ASU couldn’t have envisioned a better nonconference portion of the schedule. The 20-game stretch — one that did not feature an appearance by senior pre-season All-American Josh Spence (arm soreness) — was not only completed without a number in the loss column, but also provided first-year coach Tim Esmay an extended look at a talented array of newcomers.
“The first [20] games are really just trying to get ready for the Pac-10,” Torrez said. “We try to figure out what kind of team we have, who is going to be key … so far we’ve been taking it day by day, but you look at see 20-0, and [you say], ‘Wow, that’s pretty exciting.’ We’ll see how far we can take it.”
In Cal (12-7), ASU faces an opponent with a pair of talented arms in freshman in Justin Jones (4-1, 2.92 ERA) and sophomore Erik Johnson (3-0, 2.22).
Sophomore Chadd Krist is fourth in the Pac-10 in hitting with a .452 average.
The Sun Devils say they have developed a mantra, regardless of opponent.
“We have a motto: We are going to lose, just not today,” Torrez said. “We’re just going game by game.”
No sophomore slumps
Zack MacPhee doesn’t make much of tear he has been on to begin the season.
The sophomore second baseman is batting .484 with three home runs and 28 RBI.
Well versed in ballplayer-speak, MacPhee told reporters Wednesday there is no overwhelming secret to be revealed to explain his early-season success.
“I’ve just been trying to get on base and help my team,” MacPhee said. “I’ve found an approach at the plate that works, and I’m going with it. I just try to stay patient.”
MacPhee’s lack of concern over individual stats — he calls his eight triples “lucky” — has been a theme on this year’s team, but those numbers represent the improvement of a number of second-year players on the Sun Devil roster.
MacPhee, Riccio Torrez (.377), Zach Wilson (.441), Drew Maggi (.377) and Johnny Ruetigger (.358), all sophomores, are the team’s top five hitters.
With four home runs this season, Riccio Torrez leads the team in long balls and is just two short of his total from a season ago.
“I think he’s just settling in,” Raoul Torrez said of his younger brother. “He’s a great player. I think he’s just settling in and getting comfortable, and that comes in your second year of playing college baseball — knowing what to expect and just maturing and coming into his own.”
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
