ASU Baseball: Sun Devils Win Seventh in a Row
By Mike Slifer
Last night, the ASU baseball team beat Abilene Christian University 4-2 for their seventh win in a row.
This has been a crucial run for this Sun Devil team. For the last two weeks, Devils in Detail expressed the opinion that the ASU baseball team really needed to win out the season after the series with Oregon. Doing so would all but guarantee the selection committee picking ASU to play in a regional.
This current winning streak began with game two of the Oregon Series a week and a half ago. ASU took that series from a good Oregon team two games to one. Since then, the Sun Devils beat UNLV in Las Vegas, then swept Utah at home, three games to zero, and then last night in somewhat dramatic fashion beat Abilene Christian.
In that respect, ASU has “checked the boxes” to finish their season. Frankly, they have been far from perfect in their execution. But that’s college baseball; figure out a way to win. ASU realistically controls their own destiny. They have three games left–a three game series against Washington State in Pullman this coming weekend. If they can win all three of those games, there is no way they miss the post-season. Anything else, especially a series loss, and they leave their fate up to a committee that may or may not care for them.
The Washington State Cougars are not a powerhouse baseball team. Not even close. But they have been competitive this year. Being at home, senior weekend, perhaps intrigued by the thought of playing the role of spoiler for ASU…expect Washington State to be ready to play.
All ASU has to do is come out and play hungry and they’ll get rewarded with a second season. Once again, coach Tim Esmay has to manage the attitude and mental approach of this team in order maintain confidence, yet stay humble enough to play like underdogs.