The Sun Devils took game 1 from the Beavers at Muni in dramatic fashion as Ethan Long hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to seal the 9-6 win.
@Devil Dust seems to stay on top of the conference standings and he will be happy to know that means ASU jumps to 4th and within semi striking distance of 1st place with 8 games remaining.
In game 1 I found myself thinking "these are the kind of games we need to win". The Devils found a way. happy for them.
But as nice as game 1 was, game 2 and 3 matter, as we all know and here are some things that I'll be watching in game 2 as the Devils go for the series win.
1) Justin Fall: The Red Shirt Junior was likely the series MVP against Cal after getting the complete game win on Saturday. But, it took him 133 pitches to finish the game which is absurd for any time let alone a regular season game. I don't have any credibility in these matters, but as a fan of the kid I hope JK takes it easy on him this week. If he only throws 50 pitches how well equipped is the Sun Devil bullpen to handle the Oregon State line up in game 2? I wouldn't be shocked if he was moved to Sunday just to get him an extra day.
2) Defense or Hitting: After several years of poor defense, Smith has a fantastic defense in Tempe this year lead by 4th year man Drew Swift who is a wizard at SS. Catcher and RF are in similar points right now in that Ferri and Murphy are plus defenders but have been a liability at the plate. at catcher Baez is the hot bat but is a downgrade defensively while Higgins in RF also has the much better hitting statistics while Murphy is really fantastic defensively. If you are Smith do you go with the gloves or the bats at C and in RF?
3) 30 wins: If the Sun Devils win Saturday by my count they will win that 30th game which is important to some people.
What are you watching in game 2?
@Devil Dust seems to stay on top of the conference standings and he will be happy to know that means ASU jumps to 4th and within semi striking distance of 1st place with 8 games remaining.
In game 1 I found myself thinking "these are the kind of games we need to win". The Devils found a way. happy for them.
But as nice as game 1 was, game 2 and 3 matter, as we all know and here are some things that I'll be watching in game 2 as the Devils go for the series win.
1) Justin Fall: The Red Shirt Junior was likely the series MVP against Cal after getting the complete game win on Saturday. But, it took him 133 pitches to finish the game which is absurd for any time let alone a regular season game. I don't have any credibility in these matters, but as a fan of the kid I hope JK takes it easy on him this week. If he only throws 50 pitches how well equipped is the Sun Devil bullpen to handle the Oregon State line up in game 2? I wouldn't be shocked if he was moved to Sunday just to get him an extra day.
2) Defense or Hitting: After several years of poor defense, Smith has a fantastic defense in Tempe this year lead by 4th year man Drew Swift who is a wizard at SS. Catcher and RF are in similar points right now in that Ferri and Murphy are plus defenders but have been a liability at the plate. at catcher Baez is the hot bat but is a downgrade defensively while Higgins in RF also has the much better hitting statistics while Murphy is really fantastic defensively. If you are Smith do you go with the gloves or the bats at C and in RF?
3) 30 wins: If the Sun Devils win Saturday by my count they will win that 30th game which is important to some people.
What are you watching in game 2?
