Zack MacPhee and his ASU baseball teammates might be sure to pack an extra sweatshirt this time around.
Last weekend’s trip to Eugene, Ore., for a Pac-10 showdown with Oregon featured temperatures most of the No. 1 Sun Devils (27-1, 5-1 Pac-10) weren’t used to playing in.
“I haven’t experienced that since I’ve been here,” the sophomore MacPhee, a Valley native, said of the frigid temperatures accompanying ASU’s series against the Ducks, which the Sun Devils won 2-1, the loss a one-run defeat in 12 innings.
After sweeping a two-game home series against San Diego, ASU is headed back to the Pacific Northwest for its second straight conference road series — a three-game set with Washington State — and the Sun Devils said they are better prepared for the weather conditions that could await them. Weather.com predicts a high of 47 degrees on Friday.
“As far as the weather goes, we’re going to know how to play through the cold now,” MacPhee said. “We’ll be better now, I think, getting our second round at it.”
ASU coach Tim Esmay, who spent eight seasons in chilly Salt Lake City as the head coach at Utah, believes his team will have a better handle on dealing with the potentially cold conditions just a week removed from their previous trip.
“When you’ve already had to deal with that environment, and it’s still fresh in your mind … I’d much rather [make the trip] now than in three weeks when we’re acclimated to the weather in [Los Angeles] or some of those other places and then go back out there. These guys won’t be shocked, because they know what they’re getting into.”
In addition to battling the cold, Esmay said he and his staff must be cognizant of fatigue coming off a stretch that saw the Sun Devils play five games in six days with another lengthy road trip and three more games on deck this weekend.
“That’s why you saw these last two games I gave some of these guys a day off,” Esmay said. “This team is built to where giving guys a day off isn’t going to affect the overall outcome … I’m very conscience off keeping guys’ minds fresh, keeping their legs fresh.”
Senior Raoul Torrez and sophomore brother Riccio were both held out of the lineup during Tuesday’s win over San Diego. The Sun Devils were given Wednesday off and had a light workout on Thursday.
While the heavy stretches of action can induce some slight wear-and-tear, MacPhee said, the team said it’s not too concerned with the busy schedule.
“You’ve just got to fight through it, I guess,” MacPhee said. “You try to take care of your body when you get the chance, get in that whirl tub, but other than that you’ve just got to go out and grind it.”
The Cougars (15-7, 1-2 Pac-10) dropped their first Pac-10 series to in-state rival Washington and rank near the middle of the conference in most statistical categories, including fifth in batting average (.300), seventh in ERA (4.19) and sixth in fielding (.968).
Junior Seth Blair (5-0, 3.12) will start on the mound for the Sun Devils in Friday’s opener.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
