No. 19 Arizona State baseball vs. No. 21 Oregon State is a tipping point for Sun Devils
Now that the foundation has been laid, it’s time for Arizona State baseball to finish off its work.
ASU has knocked out Pac-12 opponents in its climb to the top of the standings with an 11-3 record, putting the Sun Devils just ahead of No. 9 Stanford.
The Sun Devils cruised through the start of conference play, sweeping Arizona and Washington State, while taking series wins over Utah and California. Last weekend’s series finale against Washington got postponed because of weather, but it was a split series.
It’s been a promising start for the Sun Devils, but conference play will only get harder from here. All five teams that ASU faced occupy the bottom five spots in the conference. Of the next five teams, four are currently ranked in the Top 25.
The series against No. 21 Oregon State starting on Friday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium will provide a more accurate look at how the Sun Devils respond to a tougher schedule in the Pac-12.
“We’re in a good position now, but we get to find out how good we are when we start playing against these better teams in conference and seeing how we stack up against them,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
In need of power
Wednesday’s 20-0 loss at Arizona was a wake-up call. The Sun Devils only benefited from the midweek matchup labeled as non-conference, which still keeps the team in first.
However, it’s not the effort that ASU wants heading into its most crucial stretch. The Sun Devils went down 6-0 in the first inning and couldn’t stop the bleeding from the Wildcats. ASU’s offense went quiet and didn’t have a hit after the fifth inning.
It hasn’t helped that ASU has been without catcher Ryan Campos (oblique tightness) in the last three games. Campos leads the team with a .413 batting average and 40 runs.
Aside from Wednesday, ASU’s offense has been one of the most potent in the conference with a .310 team batting average, good for second. The Sun Devils rank within the top five in several offensive categories, including hits (387), runs (253), doubles (70), triples (8), home runs (50), and runs batted in (237).
Junior Luke Keaschall and senior Wyatt Crenshaw lead the Pac-12 in doubles with Keaschall recording 15 and Crenshaw adding 14.
Scouting the Beavers
The Beavers (25-11, 10-8) fell into a rare slump to start conference play. Losing the opening series to Washington State didn’t translate well as the Beavers then were swept by Stanford.
OSU sits at sixth in the conference, but has begun to heat up with seven consecutive wins. Pitching has carried the Beavers with a conference-best in ERA (3.11) and strikeouts (356). The staff has given up the least amount of home runs (19) and ranks third in hits allowed (266).
The team’s bats haven’t matched up to its pitching with a .263 batting average that ranks ninth in the Pac-12, but it’s an improvement from .191 at the lowest point of the season for the Beavers.
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No place like home
ASU avoided a sweep last season at OSU with a 3-1 win in the series finale. The home atmosphere has played a big role this season with the Sun Devils going 17-3 this season and outscoring opponents, 145-93.
“This is the time of the year where we need as much support as we can get,” Bloomquist said. “When our guys get to play in front of that atmosphere and our fans show up and it’s a fun crowd and they’re starting to get into it, it helps.”
OSU last came to Municipal Stadium in 2021 where ASU won the series 2-1. Overall, ASU is 16-13 against OSU at home.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State baseball vs. Oregon State is a tipping point in Pac-12
