Colleges: ASU baseball drops game to Cal State Bakersfield in quest to reach .500.
Arizona State baseball had a second consecutive 4-0 week within its grasp.
Instead, the Sun Devils went 2-2, losing a game they led by three runs in the ninth inning at UNLV on Tuesday and falling 8-6 in a nonconference series finale Sunday to Cal State Bakersfield at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
So instead of being .500 or above with five weeks left in the season, ASU is 18-20 and still trying to eliminate mistakes that at times defy common sense.
Two freshman baserunners were thrown out trying to advance on fly balls Sunday including Hunter Bishop in what instead became a game-ending double play.
Bishop reached on a one-out error and took second on a wild pitch. Taylor Lane’s fly ball down the right-field line was caught by Sergio Robles, who had enough time to double Bishop off second via relay.
“That’s just not understanding the game,” ASU coach Tracy Smith said. “You’re down two runs, your run means absolutely nothing. To get doubled off in a situation like that is inexcusable.”
Bishop also was pulled from Saturday’s game after one at-bat for not running hard to first base on a ground out.
In the sixth, Lyle Lin tried to take third on a fly out with ASU in the midst of a rally and was thrown out by right fielder Cole Valletta. Bishop crushed a threerun homer to center over the College World Series sign to somewhat mask Lin’s mistake, but the Sun Devils could have led 7-6 at the end of that inning instead of being tied.
“These kids don’t play a lot of baseball (before college),” Smith said. “They do showcases. You learn to play the game by playing the game. A lot of guys come in with tremendous skill sets but lack some instincts. The instinct piece of it certainly caught up with us today. You can talk about things, but it’s simply understanding situations of the game and reacting to that with your own instincts because you can’t be standing out there telling them exactly where to throw every play. Still no excuse for it, but it killed us today.”
Cal State Bakersfield (20-15) scored five runs in the sixth. Reliever Ryan Hingst walked the first batter he faced on four pitches when Max Carter was trying to sacrifice.
“If they’re going to give you an out, take the out,” Smith said.
Freshman Sam Ferri, a catcher who also was a closer at Notre Dame College Prep (Ill.), pitched for the first time. He gave up two hits and got the final two outs of the sixth and likely will throw again for pitchingthin ASU.
The Sun Devils last were .500 on March 17, standing 9-9 after a loss to No. 1 Oregon State. They’ve had several chances to get back to .500 since but failed and were as many as six games under (12-18) on April 9. Winning six of the past eight has brought .500 back within reach, but that’s not where ASU expects to be more than two-thirds into the season.
“You see some things that drive you insane,” Smith said. “I’m confident where we’re going, but it’s not pretty to watch sometimes. We have to play sharper to give ourselves the best chance to win. That’s where we have to get better.”
The Sun Devils are at Oregon for a series starting Friday. They still have four games remaining against No. 7 Arizona.
Utah 2, ASU softball 1
No. 23 ASU softball fell 2-1 to No. 10 Utah in the rubber game of a series Sunday at Farrington Stadium.
Freshman Alyssa Loza threw her first complete game for ASU (27-14, 6-9 Pac-12) in her first conference start.
Utah’s Bridget Castro homered in the seventh for what stood up as the winning run. Nichole Chilson doubled leading off the ASU seventh, just missing a game-tying homer, but was stranded at third.
ASU is at No. 3 Arizona starting Friday.
Wildcats hosting Pac-12 women's golf
Arizona hosts the Pac-12 women's golf championships starting Monday at Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson.
ASU is ranked No. 2 nationally with Stanford No. 3, UCLA No. 5 and UA No. 13. The Sun Devils last were Pac-12 champions in 2009 and the Wildcats in 2015. USC is the defending champion.