Coming off a series win on its first trip outside the Copper State this season, ASU baseball hosts Utah Valley for a two-game set starting Tuesday night at Packard Stadium.
The series will be last chance for the Sun Devils (10-4) to hone their skills before Pac-12 play begins against UCLA in Los Angeles this weekend.
The Wolverines (5-8) come into Tempe fresh off a three-game sweep of Southern Utah. The Great West school is led by senior first baseman Goose Kallunki (.373, nine RBI on the year), junior outfielder Sean Moysh (.339, six RBI) and junior shortstop Kai Hatch (.347, seven RBI).
“They always seem to have two or three or four really quality arms,” ASU coach Tim Esmay said. “Just looking at their stats, they’re hitting about .280 as a team, so they got some guys at the top of the lineup that can swing it a little bit.”
However, the Wolverines will have to contend with an ASU squad that has some momentum after their 7–3 win over Long Beach State on Sunday.
Junior shortstop Deven Marrero made his return to the lineup over the weekend after hurting his ankle on March 3 against Winthrop. Following a 0-5 showing in the first contest against the Dirtbags, Marrero went 3-9 in the final two games of the series.
The upcoming ball games against the Wolverines will figure to provide Marrero, as well as other Sun Devils, with an opportunity to completely settle into the rhythm of the season before conference play commences.
This is especially true for the ASU bullpen.
“To me, the biggest thing is getting our relief pitching, our bullpen throwing these next couple days and get them feeling comfortable, feeling confident,” Esmay said. “Really, it’ll be a good test for some guys to see if they’re going to be ready to help us during the (upcoming) Pac-12 weekend or not.”
Additionally, Utah Valley would be wise to look out for ASU junior centerfielder Andrew Aplin, who is coming off a scorching weekend in California. The leadoff hitter went 4-13 and scored four times in the series against Long Beach State, including notching a two-out single in the 12th inning of Friday’s contest that drove in the winning run.
Aplin and the Sun Devils are seeking to continue to progress at the plate against the Wolverines.
“We’re going to build on some things that happened this (past) weekend,” Esmay said, “I think guys will start to have some better quality at bats.”
Freshman southpaw Adam McCreery (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will be on the bump for the Sun Devils on Tuesday night, with the starter for Wednesday’s game yet to be determined. For Utah Valley, junior Adam Gunn (1-1, 2.08 ERA) gets the start Tuesday and senior Jeremy Gendlek (1-3, 4.81 ERA) will take the hill on Wednesday.
First pitch for both Tuesday and Wednesday’s contests will be thrown at 6:30 p.m.
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