Devils in Detail
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ASU Baseball: What Went Wrong?

By Hunter Robinson

Mar 3, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach/manager Tracy Smith against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach/manager Tracy Smith against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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After being eliminated by TCU, ASU Baseball returned to Tempe in defeat. But with a great end to the regular season, and pitching that started to come together at the right time, what went wrong for the Sun Devils?

One thing that went wrong for the Sun Devils was their hitting.

The Sun Devils had a great overall season when it came to swinging the bat. During the regular season the Sun Devils have a batting average of .262, with seven players averaging .250 or better.

These numbers support the thought that the Sun Devils should have had more success making contact with the ball, but during the Fort Worth Regional, bats didn’t show up consistently.

Another thing, or player, that went wrong for the Sun Devils was David Greer.

Coming into postseason play, Greer had one of the hottest bats in the nation. He was batting over .325 and he had racked up 23 doubles on the season, the best in the Pac-12. He was on fire and ASU rode his hot streak into the postseason, but he then went ice-cold.

Greer started the postseason going 0-4, and he finished the postseason 4-12.

When your best hitter doesn’t continue the success they had in the regular season, it is going to be hard for your team to overcome that loss.

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ASU also had some struggles pitching wise.

The Sun Devils struggled all season with depth of starting pitching, but it seemed to improve towards later in May.

Seth Martinez, ASU’s ace during the regular season, started things off for the Sun Devils in game one of the regional against Gonzaga.

Martinez looked uncomfortable on the mound and was unable to control the ball around the plate like ASU fans were accustomed to seeing after his stellar regular season. He was pulled in favor of Eli Lingos after only 2.1 innings.

The Sun Devils had solid pitching for their next two games, but then were dismantled by TCU’s lineup in the regional championship game. A combination of wanting to preserve pitchers in case their was a second game, along with leaving Eder Erives, the starting pitching for the game, in the game too long spelled out a doomed situation for ASU.

Looking back, having such a poor first game is what destroyed the Sun Devils. By not being able to gain momentum early and having to play in a do-or-die situation for three straight games caused pressure on both sides of the baseball, which led to players cracking under the pressure.

Next: What If Thon Maker Was A Sun Devil?

Another disappointing season for the ASU Baseball program, but with a bunch of high-quality players coming in thanks to a great recruiting class, next season could be the one that ASU baseball fans have been waiting for.

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