There is no track and field meet taking place at Sun Angel Stadium this weekend, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been plenty of running going on in Tempe.
The No. 1 ASU baseball team (49-8) has exploited the base paths during the first two games of the postseason to apply heavy pressure to opponents.
The Sun Devils have stolen seven bases, including four by sophomore Riccio Torrez, giving opposing pitchers more to think about than the batter in the box.
“We've done it all year,” sophomore Zack MacPhee said of the running game. “We like to put pressure on the defense. It's a great tool.”
Heading into the postseason, the Sun Devils ranked 10th in the nation (first in the Pac-10) in stolen bases, with 34 swiped bags coming from sophomore Drew Maggi, whose steal of second of second in the first inning Saturday helped set up ASU's first run that sparked a four-run frame.
“That's the talent they have is speed up and down the lineup,” said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso, whose team had trouble handling that speed in a 12-1 loss on Saturday. “Eight of their nine guys can really run … they're relentless on the bases.”
Still a freshman?
ASU coach Tim Esmay said this week that by this point in the season freshman are no longer, well, freshman.
Deven Marrero has made his coach look wise during this weekend's Regional, as the first-year player has made big-time impact.
After coming up with a clutch two-out double that drove in two early runs in ASU's opening win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marrero — tied for the team lead with a .402 batting average — came up big out of the designated hitter spot during his team's rout of Hawaii on Saturday. He followed a first-inning RBI single with a mammoth two-run home run in the ninth, his fifth long ball of the season.
Marrero began the season playing sparingly, but his stellar play toward the middle portion of the schedule has forced Esmay to find a spot for in the lineup for the Florida native on a regular basis.
“They're not freshman anymore,” Esmay said of Marrero and the rest of ASU's rookies. “They've been in the fire and they've been in the Pac-10 season, so he's been battled tested and he's answered the bell.”
Pick your poison
Senior Kole Calhoun is certainly finding his stroke in the power department. His second home run of the Regional on Saturday gave him 15 on the season, already three more than a season ago.
As Esmay pointed out, though, teams are still forced to pitch to the slugger because he is sandwiched in the lineup between a pair of hitters in MacPhee (.399, nine home runs, 62 RBI) and Riccio Torrez (.402, nine home runs, 62 RBI) who have been equally dangerous of late.
“It forces the other dugout to figure out who they want to pitch to,” Esmay said.
“The other thing with Kole when he's really going well is he's taking pitches … he's really being patient. It's fun to know when you come to the plate that you're not the only guy they are worried about.”
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
