ASU will face one of the best pitchers in the country when it hosts No. 17 Cal this weekend.
Cal junior ace Daulton Jefferies is undefeated in six starts. He boasts a 1.29 ERA, allowing only six earned runs on the season. It has not passed the notice of ASU head coach Tracy Smith.
He said that against Cal's talented pitching staff, ASU will focus on on "doing the little things" and "competing in the zone."
Both teams are coming off weekend series losses, ASU against Washington and Cal against Oregon. Tuesday night, however, both teams had midweek wins that can serve as momentum going into the weekend.
ASU’s win against Arizona was big for the Sun Devils in more than just the usual rivalry sense; they showed their ability to compete at the plate.
Junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee went 2-3 with two RBIs, while junior first baseman David Greer hit his third homerun of the season going 1-2 with two walks.
“It was good to see those focused at bats carried on inning after inning and to tackle on the runs,” Smith said after the game. “Hopefully, we can build on that in what’s going to be a very very competitive, very good Cal team this weekend.”
Related links:
ASU baseball takes season's first Territorial Cup opener behind early runs, Aboites
ASU baseball gets set to host Arizona midweek
Reach the reporters at haley.stesiak@asu.edu or follow @haley_stesiak on Twitter and at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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