The Sun Devil baseball team rounded out its weekend series against San Diego State with a 4-3 loss on Sunday. ASU showed spurts of improvement throughout the weekend, however, with two multi-run wins over the Aztecs.
The bats are back … for now
The Sun Devils scored 22 runs through their three games against the Aztecs. This time around, it wasn’t the usual suspects leading the charge.
Shortstop Sean McLain had three runs, an RBI and a walk in Friday’s 13-5 win. McLain was just part of ASU’s hard-hitting duo this past weekend. Designated hitter Ivan Brethowr scored three runs, and added three RBIs and a walk in Friday’s game as well.
The Sun Devils’ 13 runs were the second most they’ve scored in a game this season. While the bats cracked over the weekend, they went missing in the series finale.
ASU bullpen still improving
The Sun Devils’ bullpen has been the weak link of this team thus far; a rotation that cost ASU multiple games early on this season.
That said, outside of a four-run ninth inning on Friday, the bullpen didn’t prove to costly against SDSU.
Right-hander Brock Peery saw a lot of action throughout the weekend. Peery did give up a late run on Saturday, but for the most part the reliever served his purpose better than most Sun Devil relievers have this season. Peery pitched 2.1 innings and allowed one hit.
The Sun Devils will figure it out
ASU may boast a 5-7 record through its first 12 games of the season, but it’s still far too early to label this team a bad one. It’s evident in the team’s performance last weekend that they’re capable of competing in the Pac-12.
Bad teams don’t score 10-plus runs in a road game. This Sun Devil baseball team is simply figuring itself out and trying to find a real rhythm.
Even so, it’s going to take some time for this team to reach its potential. Manager Willie Bloomquist is allowing this team to make mistakes early. Those points are clear in the bullpen struggles and inconsistent hitting.
