Junior catcher RJ Ybarra runs to first base after a base hit during the second inning of a game against Oklahoma State on Feb. 13, 2015, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)After dropping the last game of the Oklahoma State series, No. 17 ASU baseball (2-1) is looking to get back on track against Oklahoma (3-2) before a three-game weekend series against its third straight Big 12 opponent, No. 8 TCU.
Regardless of Sunday’s loss, the Sun Devils managed to take two of three from a higher-ranked team to christen the Tracy Smith era.
Last season, ASU’s games against Oklahoma State were high-scoring — the lowest number of combined runs was seven in the Sun Devils 6-1 win in the first game between the two teams in 2014.
Head coach Tracy Smith has preached the importance of pitching and defense in competing with tough opponents and ASU responded positively, only giving up three runs in each of its two wins last weekend.
On Wednesday, the Sun Devils face the Sooners, whose three wins have been by an average margin of 7.7 runs per game. Although the wins were over Notre Dame and SIUE, Oklahoma dominated in all phases in each of the wins.
After Darin Gillies started Sunday, sophomore right-hander Seth Martinez could be on the mound for ASU against Oklahoma, although unconfirmed. Martinez was 5-0 in seven starts and 12 appearances in his freshman year and his 50 innings pitched were ranked fourth on the team and most among freshmen.
Senior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse noted the depth in ASU’s pitching rotation, which will be a huge advantage once it reaches its full potential.
“We have the people in our rotation that will allow us to have a Friday day on a Sunday — we don’t have to slug it out,” he said. “That’s where we need to get to accomplish the goals we set out before the season.”
In the first two games of last weekend’s series, ASU’s bats were somewhat inconsistent and the relievers, mainly junior Ryan Burr, were heavily relied upon to escape potentially disastrous situations.
Just as last weekend, the pitching will be important because the Sooners, who lost 60 percent of its innings pitched and five pitchers to the draft after the 2013 season, returned more than 74 percent of its innings for this year.
On the flip side, center fielder Johnny Sewald, shortstop Colby Woodmansee and second baseman Jordan Aboites have the highest batting averages of players who started all three games thus far with .417, .385 and .286, respectively.
Woodmansee, the walk-off hero in the season opener, hit another home run in the final game of the series and will be key in giving some relief to the Sun Devils pitching staff.
As per usual, Sewald has been an on-base percentage machine, tallying an OBP of .500, which is the highest among players who have started all three games.
Aboites’s return to swinging the bat in games has been smooth thus far, with two out of his four hits being for extra bases, including a triple.
After Sunday’s loss, Smith said his team faced adversity and dealt with different situations during the series against Oklahoma State, which contributed to the overall learning curve ASU will be facing throughout the season.
“We’re still learning our personnel,” he said. “Every time we take the field, we’re learning a little bit more.”
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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