(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils will begin its final home series of the season this weekend and will take on the Washington State Cougars.
ASU has struggled as of late, losing six of its last eight games. It has lost its last two Pac-12 series after winning the first six. The Sun Devils must win the series in order to keep their hopes of hosting a regional alive.
They are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-12 standings with Cal and USC. A series win likely will not get them into a tie with UCLA for first place, but the Sun Devils could be alone in second place with a successful weekend.
Tracy Smith has changed up the rotation for the series, deciding to start Ryan Kellogg in the series opener, followed by Brett Lilek and Seth Martinez. Kellogg has been consistent all season long while Martinez has hit a rough patch and could benefit in a less pressure-filled spot in the rotation.
This weekend is an enticing opportunity for a ASU to gain ground that it recently lost, but could also viewed as a trap series. The Sun Devils have played most Pac-12 teams fairly evenly throughout the stretch of conference games, and generally play to the level of their competition.
They will face a WSU team that is ahead of just Utah and Stanford in the Pac-12 standings. The Cougars are 9-15 in conference play and 27-23 overall.
The Cougars have had a rough go of it in the Pac-12, winning just three series. Their defining series win came on the road against Cal.
Only two pitchers have made more than ten starts; Joe Pistorese and Sean Hartnett. Pistorese has posted a strong 2.58 ERA, but doesn’t strike out many hitters, giving reason to believe that a portion of his success can be attributed to good fortune.
Ryan Walker has eased his way into the Sunday starter role after multiple pitchers had been maneuvered in and out of the position. The freshman has been a pleasant surprise, and it looks like he could be a building block in the rotation for the next couple of seasons.
Washington State is towards the bottom of the Pac-12 in almost every offensive category, and are dead last in home runs, batting average and slugging percentage.
Senior Ian Sagdal has five home runs, but only one other player on the team (Cameron Frost) has more than one. Sagdal is the only regular starter on the team hitting above .300. The Cougars are hitting a paltry .246 as a team.
The weak hitting tendencies of WSU should be an advantage for the Sun Devils pitching staff, and potentially allow them the opportunity to get back on track after a taxing weekend against UCLA.
Diverting from the typical Friday-Saturday-Sunday format, the first game of the series will be on Thursday, with the final game taking place on Saturday.
