ASU baseball‘s offense was non-existent during the team’s Thursday night Pac-12 opener against No. 2 Oregon State.
Here are some thoughts:
ASU’s starting line up consisted of five left-handed hitters against quite possibly the most dominant left-handed starter in the country Luke Heimlich. To Smith’s credit, he recognized how overmatched his hitters were, and pinch-hit for Ryan Lillard and Jackson Willeford. But it was still surprising to not see Andrew Snow or Tyler Williams in the lineup.
Eli Lingos again had a first inning struggle, to his credit the next six innings he threw were scoreless and border line dominant, especially late. Lingos retired the Beavers first and second hitter, but then walked the three hitter KJ Harrison, followed by an RBI-Double by cleanup hitter Trevor Lamach. For a pitching staff that has struggled with walks most of the season, their ace has been an exception. Lingos walked three on the evening, but only one of them scored.
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Let’s be honest though, if Lingos throws the best start of his career it might not have been enough against Oregon State. The Beavers are No. 2 in the country for a reason, they don’t have a glaring weakness on the roster and appear poised to make noise in Omaha this summer. Nick Madrigal Oregon State’s short stop is a name to remember. The ball makes a different sound off his bat and his speed on the bases and in the field is impressive.
Arizona State’s hitters deserve credit for grinding their at-bats against the Oregon State pitchers, the results weren’t very positive but it would be hard to argue they weren’t competing. Sometimes in sports you just won’t be able to defeat a tough opponent, and that was the case Thursday night.