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ASU Baseball: Sun Devils play Long Beach State in first road series

By Koki Riley

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 23: Members of the Arizona State Sun Devils wait on the mound for their manager to arrive during Game 13 of the 59th College World Series against the Florida Gators at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 23, 2005 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Gators defeated the Sun Devils 6-3. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 23: Members of the Arizona State Sun Devils wait on the mound for their manager to arrive during Game 13 of the 59th College World Series against the Florida Gators at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 23, 2005 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Gators defeated the Sun Devils 6-3. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /
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After losing two out of three against Saint Mary’s, ASU baseball hits the road on Tuesday to face off against Long Beach State.

The Dirtbags head into the series having lost two out of three on the road against No. 6 TCU.

In the three-game series, Long Beach State failed to score more than three runs in any game against the Horned Frogs.

ASU on the other hand is coming off of a seven game homestand against Miami of Ohio and Saint Mary’s that resulted in just three wins.

With both teams struggling heading into the mid-week match up, it is clear that this series will hinge on which of these teams struggling offenses will produce the most.

For Long Beach State, the Dirtbags have a remarkably low .212 team batting average to go along with only two home runs total on the young season.

In comparison, Spencer Torkelson has four home runs alone for ASU this season.

The lack of offensive production for Long Beach should not come as a major surprise as four of the Dirtbags more talented hitters were drafted last summer.

Ramsey Romano (team leader in runs batted in), David Banuelos (seven home runs and 29 runs batted in), Brock Lundqvist (4 home runs and 26 runs batted in) and Lucas Tancas (team leader in home runs) all have moved on after being selected by MLB teams.

Though the Dirtbags have struggled at the plate, a few names to watch out for are Brooks Stotler (.320 batting average) and Lane Huffman (one home run and a .300 batting average).

On the flip side, ASU trying to bounce back from a series that resulted in only eight runs scored over the three-game set against Saint Mary’s.

The Sun Devils have had their bright spots at the plate with the likes of Gage Canning and Lyle Lin (both are hitting over .460 this season), but as a whole Tracy Smith’s squad has been inconsistent offensively so far this season.

The ASU offense will need to produce this week against a Long Beach State team that has thrown the ball very well this season against stiff competition.

Against the No. 6 team in the nation in TCU, USC and Saint Mary’s, the Dirtbags have a team earned run average of just 3.54.

Thankfully for the Sun Devils, Long Beach will be unable to start their ace Zak Baayoun this series. In two starts this season, the Dirtbags star has a 1.27 earned run average to go along with 19 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched.

Outside of Boyd Vander Kooi’s 0.61 earned run average, ASU’s starting pitching has been suspect to say the least.

This week against a Long Beach State team that has struggled mightily at the plate, look for the Sun Devils pitching staff to potentially round into shape this week in Long Beach.

Next: ASU Baseball: Sun Devils avoid sweep versus St. Mary’s

As for ASU’s offense, keep an eye out for the Sun Devils to try to find a way to produce a more consistent and steady approach at the plate against a strong Long Beach staff.

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