As the saying goes, it's not about how hard you get hit, but how you get back up.
That is surely going through the minds of Arizona State players after a tough weekend that saw them drop their first ever Big 12 series, losing 2-1 to rival Arizona and dropping out of the Top 25 in the process.
Despite losing the series, the Sun Devils are still in decent shape. They're in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12 and rank 22nd in RPI with the ninth strongest schedule in the nation. If they can get on a bit of a run from here on out, they should be in a good position to punch their ticket to Omaha.
That journey starts today, with a home game against the California State-Northridge Matadors.
CSUN hardly represents a tough opponent. They come into this game with a 7-20 record. They just got swept by Cal State Fullerton, who fell to Arizona State in seven innings exactly a week ago. The Matadors have struggled all season, winning just one series on the year and being swept four times.
Now they run into a Sun Devil team that's surely feeling angry about their missed opportunity this weekend and hoping to kick off a hot run to finish out the second half of the season. Expect Arizona State to come out looking to prove something in this one.
Where to watch Arizona State vs CSUN
The Sun Devils (21-11) and Matadors (7-20) will throw out the first pitch at 1:00 PM MDT in Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.
The game will air on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Betting information
There is no betting information available for this game.