PHOENIX -- Sun Devil Baseball hits the road for a three-game Pac-12 Series in Los Angeles against the USC Trojans this weekend, beginning Friday, April 5 at Dedeaux Field. The series opener is scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m. PT on Friday, followed by a pair of afternoon games at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Follow the Action
- Each game this weekend will be streamed live by USC and available online at https://pac-12.com/live/usc
- Each game will also be available over the airwaves on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM KDUS with the Voice of the Sun Devils, Tim Healey, alongside analyst Max Rossiter.
- Fans are encouraged to follow along in-game content throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball account (@ASU_Baseball).
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU was the last undefeated team in the country, starting out the season 21-0 and matching the second best start in program history (1961).
2. @AlecMarsh8 is 12th nationally in ERA (0.94). Of 83 NCAA pitchers with 40+ innings pitched, Marsh is one of 6 with a sub-1.00 ERA.
3. @HunterBishop9 is currently first in the nation in home runs (16) and slugging percentage (1.010).
4. @AlecMarsh8 has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 25 of his last 26 appearances dating back to his freshman season.
5. .@AlecMarsh8 is holding opponents to just 4-for-35 hitting with runners in scoring position this season (.114)
6. ASU has stranded 239 opponent baserunners this season (8.9 per game), including stranding 15+ in games against WSU and Oregon.
7. .@sammmm009 has accounted for both a win (Cal Baptist, Arizona) and a save (Oregon, Arizona) in each of the last two weeks of action.
8. .@sammmm009 has stranded 17 runners his last four starts and held opponents to 4-of-26 hitting w/ RISP on the season.
9. .@Alika_Williams has 9 doubles this season, surpassing his frosh total of 8 and his .526 slugging percentage is nearly .200 points higher.
10. .@Trevor_Hauver has ASU's single game highs in hits (5), RBIs (7), home runs (2) and walks (4) this season.
A Hot Start
- The Sun Devils were the last undefeated team in the country, starting out the season 21-0 and matching the second best start in program history (1961). Only the 2010 team that started 24-0 had a better start to the year.
- ASU's 25-2 start through 27 games is the second-best start in program history.
- ASU's .551 team slugging percentage is second in the NCAA. The Sun Devils are third nationally in runs (268), scoring (9.9), batting average (.336) and on-base percentage (.429).
- ASU has hit 45 home runs this season – good for fourth in the league and already nearing its total for the entire 2018 season.
- The Sun Devils have scored double digit runs in 12 of the team's 27 games this season. For perspective, ASU scored double digit runs just 8 times in 55 games last season.
- After consecutive seasons ranked 184th or worse in fielding percentage, ASU has posted a respectable .973 fielding percentage this season that is 70th in the country.
- ASU has also made huge strides on the mound after consecutive seasons with 4.70+ team ERAs. The Sun Devils are 29th nationally with a team 3.35 ERA on the season.
- The Sun Devils were tabbed by Perfect Game as the Midseason Team of the Year on April 3.
Fear the Tork
- All-American Spencer Torkelson now has mutiple hits in 34 of his 82 career starts (.415).
- Torkelson is batting .384 on the season on 43-of-110 hitting with six home runs, seven doubles and 32 RBIs.
- His 43 hits are tied for first in the Pac-12 (37th nationally) with Sun Devil teammates Trevor Hauver and Hunter Bishop.
- He is tied for second in the Pac-12 with 32 RBIs, which sits 48th nationally.
- Torkelson has multiple hits in a team-best 15 of ASU's 27 games this season and at least one RBI in 16 of those (multiple RBIs in 9).
- Torkelson is batting .410 with runners in scoring position with a team best 16 hits on 39 chances.
- He has been an extremely tough out to end the inning, currently 16-of-36 with two outs (.444) with a team-best 21 two-out RBI on his 32 total RBIs - three of which coming on his 11th-inning walk-off home run against Michigan State.
- He is leads the team in advancing runners, doing so 48 times on 79 opportunities (.608).
- Spencer Torkelson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the Opening Week of the 2019 season. It was the second time in his career earning the honor.
- Defensively, Torkelson has also made impressive strides. He has yet to post an error on 229 chances (4th in the Pac-12) while he leads the league in helping to turn 21 double plays this season.
#TorksUp
- Torkelson led the country in 2018 with 25 home runs – two more than any other player and just one shy of the NCAA freshman record while becoming first freshman in NCAA history to lead the nation in home runs.
- Became just the sixth player to reach 25 home runs since the BBCOR batting technology changes took effect in 2011 and the only freshman in the NCAA to reach the milestone in that time.
- Slugged a gaudy .743 on the season (25 homers, 12 doubles), the third-highest total for any freshman in the NCAA in the past two decades and the highest for a freshman in the BBCOR era (since 2011). Only Rickie Weeks (.849 in 2001) and Jeremy Baltz (.771, 2010) posted higher freshman slugging percentages in the past 20 years.
- Torkelson was a unanimous All-American, as every major baseball media outlet in the nation rewarded the freshman with at least one All-America accolade (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Baseball America, NCBWA, and Perfect Game).
- Honored with Perfect Game's National Freshman of the Year award.
- Named a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, an award honoring the best player in college baseball.
- National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America named him as a third-team All-America selection; Earned third-team recognition from Perfect Game; Placed on the Perfect Game Freshman All-America First Team; Named by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper as the National Co-Freshman of the Year and the NCBWA as the National Freshman Hitter of the Year.
- Just the seventh Sun Devil in school history to be named an All-American as a freshman, joining Mike Kelly (1989) and Casey Myers (1998) as the only two ASU position players to be named All-Americans as freshman.
- The third Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, joining Ike Davis (2006) and Jason Kipnis (2008).
Hunting Party
- Hunter Bishop was named Perfect Game's Midseason Player of the Year on April 3.
- Bishop leads the nation with 16 home runs this season - seven more than any other player in the Pac-12. He is the national leader in slugging percentage (1.010) and total bases (104) as well.
- The 104 total bases are 31 more than any other player in the Pac-12 (teammate Trevor Hauver has 73).
- Bishop's 41 RBIs this season lead the Pac-12 and are sixth nationally while his .417 average is third in the league and 17th nationally. The 41 RBIs are nine more than any other player in the Pac-12.
- Bishop has scored 45 runs this season – six more than any other player in the Pac-12 and also good for the national lead as well.
- He is also a 10-for-13 on stolen base attempts - second in the Pac-12. Bishop's .552 on-base percentage is second in the league and 6th in the country. He has adrawn a team-best 26 walks - third in the Pac-12 and 20th nationally.
- Bishop is second on second on the team in advancing teammates 44 times on 72 chances (.611).
- He is the only player that has reached base in each of ASU's 27 games this season and posted the longest hitting streak at 13 games.
- He leads the team with 11 multi-RBI games (two more than any other player) and is second on the squad with 14 multi-hit games.
- His 41 RBIs already eclipse his previous career best of 26 while his 45 runs scored are 18 more than his previous career best of 27. All of this comes just 27 games into the 2019 season.
- The junior was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week three times in the month of March. Bishop's 16 homers are eye-popping considering he had just 10 in his career prior to this season and never more than five in a season. Bishop has nine doubles this season after having a previous career best of just nine and only 10 career doubles in his first two seasons.
Marshing to the Beat
- Alec Marsh was named a Midseason First Team All-American by Perfect Game on April 4.
- Marsh has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 25 of his last 26 appearances dating back to his freshman season.
- Dating back to last season, Marsh has a posted a quality start in 11 of his last 15 starts since assuming the mantle of Mr. Friday Night midway through the 2018 campaign. He has posted four consecutive quality starts on Friday nights this season.
- Had a streak of 28.1 consecutive innings pitched in series openers/Fridays ended with a solo home run against Arizona.
- Marsh is tied for the national lead with seven victories this season and a perfect 7-0 record.
- His 0.94 ERA is currently 12th in the nation and second in the Pac-12 - though he has pitched 18 more innings than the league leader. Of 83 pitchers with over 40 innings pitched this season, only six have a sub-1.00 ERA, of which Marsh is one.
- Marsh has allowed just five earned runs this season, two fewer than any other Pac-12 weekly starter on the year.
- His 42 strikeouts are currently fifth in the league as well.
- Marsh is first among Pac-12 pitchers with 48.0 innings pitched this season.
- Marsh has been absolutely dominant when runners reach base against him, holding opponents to just 10-of-65 hitting (.154) with runners on the base path.
- The junior is not hesistant about pounding the strike zone, recording a first-pitch strike 62.5 percent of the time this season while falling into 2-0 counts just 26 times on 192 batters faced on the year (.135).
- Marsh dominates when getting ahead of the count, holding batters to 1-15 hitting (.067) on 0-2 counts and 2-of-29 hitting (.069) on 1-2 counts with 20 combined strikeouts between the two. 2-2 counts have been deadly when facing Marsh this season, with opponents going 0-for-21 with 13 strikeouts.
- Opponents are just 4-for-35 (.114) against Marsh with runners in scoring position
- Marsh struck out 10 batters on Opening Night, the first time an ASU player had reached double digits in a game since Seth Martinez in March of 2016. Marsh also became the first Sun Devil in at least 20 years to throw 10 strikeouts on Opening Night. Since at least 1998 (as far back as readily accessible records go), no Sun Devil had struck out more than eight batters on Opening Night until Marsh's performance.
#LINSANITY
- Lyle Lin has embraced his new role as the team's designated hitter this season, currently second the Pac-12 and 48th in the nation with 32 RBIs.
- Lins 32 RBIs are an incredible tally considering the junior had just 18 RBIs total during the 2018 season, despite starting every game. He has multiple RBIs in 8 games.
- Lin is 12-for-16 this season in bringing runners from third home with less than two outs, a notable area of struggle for the junior was was just 2-for-12 in the category last season despite starting every game in the middle of the lineup. The 12 RBIs in that spot this year are five more than any other Sun Devil.
- Lin has advanced baserunners 40 times on 72 chances (.556).
- Lin recorded the game-winning RBI (the RBI that put ASU ahead for the remainder of the game) in all three of ASU's games against UC Davis.
- Lin became the first Sun Devil since 2014 to hit a grand slam with his round-tripper in the second game of the UC Davis series.
Put Me In, Coach
- The consummate team player, fans can expect to find Carter Aldrete all over the diamond this season. Aldrete has seen time in right field, second base, third base and on the mound this season
- Aldrete is currently 6th in the Pac-12 with 29 RBIs this season. Of those 29 RBIs, 16 have come with two outs.
- Has four home runs on the season, already a career-high and tied for 10th in the Pac-12.
- Aldrete is second on the team in advancing runners home from third with less than two outs, doing so 7 times.
- Had a monster game in Game 2 against Notre Dame, posting his first multi-home run game of his career while adding a career-best six RBIs in the process.
Just Like He Drew It Up
- Despite missing three weeks to injury, Drew Swift returned to the lineup and continued to show he is one of ASU's most improved hitters.
- He has six doubles this season, already a career-best, despite missing several weeks to injury
- Swift has been a part of 10 double plays this season, despite the time missed, and sits just outside the Top-10 in the Pac-12 in the category.
- Became the first Sun Devil since Jake Peevyhouse in 2014 to have three doubles in a game, doing so against San Diego.
A Lot to Alika
- Alika Williams has quietly continued to put up impressive numbers as a sophomore, embracing his role as a cleanup hitter with a .371 batting average with 28 RBIs - already a career high in the category. He had just 20 total RBIs last season.
- Williams has homered twice this year and recorded nine doubles. He is slugging .526 on the season - just outside the Pac-12's top-10 in the category and nearly .200 points higher than his freshman total of .333.
- The sophomore's nine doubles are already a career high and currently tied for third in the Pac-12.
- Williams is currently 7th in the Pac-12 with a .479 on-base percentage
- Williams is currently 6th in the Pac-12 with 61 defensive assists this season.
Putting in the Work
- On the year, Gage Workman is batting .324 with 21 runs scored, three home runs, a triple and five doubles for a solid .472 slugging percentage.
- After not having a home run in the first four weeks of the year, Workman erupted for three in the Washington State series (two coming as a left-handed batter and the other as a right-handed batter).
- The sophomore is 13th in the Pac-12 with 55 defensive assists this season.
- Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American in 2018
- Collected seven triples as a freshman, tied for the fifth highest total in the country and second on the team behind the national leader in the category, teammate Gage Canning.
- Did not ground into a double play all last season, the only ASU regular that can make that claim.
Filling the Boyd
- Boyd Vander Kooi is current 3-0 on the season and second on the team with 34 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched.
- Vander Kooi has 17 strikeouts looking on the season, good for 4th in the Pac-12 Conference while his 34 strikeouts are tied for 12th.
- Vander Kooi is tied for third in the Pac-12 in fewest double allowed, giving up just two this season.
- Made 10 appearances as a freshman last season, including five starts, finishing the campaign with a 3-3 record.
- His 3.00 ERA tied him for the lowest on the team among those with at least 36 innings pitched as a freshman last season
- Stuck out 35 batters, allowing just 12 earned runs in 36.0 innings pitched.
Trev Lightly and Carry a Big Stick
- Perhaps no player on the Sun Devil roster has shown as much improvement this season as sophomore Trevor Hauver.
- The leadoff man has a .500 on-base percentage this season - a total good for 5th in the Pac-12 and in the Top-50 nationally.
- Hauver has drawn 24 walks on the season - currently 5th in the Pac-12 and 38th nationally.
- Hauver is batting .391 on the year, fifth in the Pac-12 and in the Top-50 nationally and has been the the Top ASU player in games in several categories, posting a seven-RBI game, a five-hit game, a four-walk game and a two-home run game.
- He is the only player to record a five-hit game this season, doing so against Long Beach State.
- Hauver has scored 39 runs this season, second in the league and 6th nationally.
- Hauver has also showed plenty of pop in the bat, second on the team with 7 home runs this season - fourth in the Pac-12.
- As a leadoff batter in an inning, Hauver has reached base 24 times this season on 52 chances (.462).
- Hauver has been very productive for his teammates as well, successfully advancing runners 31 times on 57 chances (.544). Of ASU's day-to-day starters, Hauver's 14 runners left stranded this season are the fewest on the team.
Pay the Tolman
- Erik Tolman has been thrust into several crucial spots as a true freshman this season and responded best when the lights were on.
- Tolman is 3-0 with a save this season and third on the team with a 1.40 ERA - less than 2.0 innings pitched away from being fourth in the Pac-12
- Tolman has struck out 25 batters and in 25.2 innings pitched.
- Opponent's .141 batting average against Tolman this season would be the lowest in the Pac-12 he had 1.2 more innings pitched this season.
- Tolman has allowed just four extra-base hits this season - all doubles.
All That Chaz
- Chaz Montoya has quickly developed a role as the team's stopper in several crucial scenatios this season.
- Montoya leads the squad with 14 appearances in 27 games, posting a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts.
- Montoya has inherited 17 runners this season, allowing just one of them to score
- In his 14 appearances, Montoya has retired the first batter he has seen on 12 occasions.
- Montoya had a streak of 11 straight games not allowing a run ended in the series finale against Arizona.
- Montoya is 2-0 on the season with a team-high two saves as well.
A Ferri Tale
- Forced to sit on the bench with injury for the majority of his first two seasons, catcher Sam Ferri has quickly established himself as a gamechanger as a regular in the ASU lineup.
- Ferri is batting .291 on the season with 18 RBIs and nine extra-base hits on his 23 total hits this season.
- More importantly has been his effect on the game behind the plate, where he is sixth in the Pac-12 with five runners caught stealing this season and just one error on 180 chances.
- Ferri notched his first career home run in walk-off fashion, a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to help clinch the series over Washington State.
Sam I Am
- Sam Romero has quietly put up impressive numbers this season, giving ASU solid midweek starts while being able to turn it around and eat some quality innings on the weekends as well.
- In each of the last two weeks, Romero has accounted for both a win (Cal Baptist, Arizona) and a save (Oregon, Arizona).
- Romero is 2-0 with a two saves this year with a 0.99 ERA over 27.1 innings pitched. He is 15th in the nation in ERA and third in the Pac-12 in the category
- Romero has struck out 24 batters to just five walks while allowing just three total earned runs on the year - second in the Pac-12.
- In his last four appearances (2 wins, 2 saves), Romero has stranded 17 baserunners.
- Romero is tied for third in the Pac-12 in allowing just two doubles this season.
- Opponents are batting just 4-for-26 (.153) against Romero with runners in scoring position.
The Brady Bunch
- Brady Corrigan has quickly asserted himself as one of ASU's go-to players out of the pen, appearing in 14 of ASU's 27 games this season.
- Corrigan has inherited a team-high 20 runners this season, allowing just three of them to score.
- Corrigan has a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts with a 2-0 record and a save while sitting third on the team.
Bend But Don't Break
- Opponents haven't been without their chances to score runs this season, but the Sun Devil defense and pitching rotation have been exceptional on the year in getting out of innings with minimal damage caused.
- ASU has stranded 239 opponent baserunners this season (8.9 per game), including stranding 15+ in games against Washington State and Oregon.
- Opponents are batting just .203 against the Sun Devils with runners in scoring position. Comparitively, ASU is batting .340 against opponents.
- The Sun Devil pitching rotation is holding opponents under .240 hitting on the season with any runners on the basepath.
- Leading that charge is Chaz Montoya (4-for-44, .167), Erik Tolman (5-for-37, .135) and Alec Marsh (10-for-65, .154).
Chicks Dig The Long Ball
- ASU's power numbers this season have been at another level with ASU already posting 45 home runs through 27 games - a total that is currently fourth nationally.
- Nine different Sun Devils have gone yard this season, with seven of those doing so 3 or more times.
- ASU's 44 home runs are 12 more than any other team in the Pac-12 (Cal is second with 33).
- The Devils' .551 slugging percentage as a team is nearly 72 points higher than any other program in the conference.
- ASU had 50 home runs last season, a mark that the current roster is well on pace to demolish as the season goes on.
On The Ground
- The Sun Devil pitching staff has been exceptional at inducing soft contact this season and allowing balls to go into play for the defense to handle, currently leading the Pac-12 with 1,048 defensive chances this season.
- The frequent groundouts (243) have put the pressure on a Sun Devil defensive infield that had struggled with errors in recent seasons but the group has responded admirably to the extra chances this season.
- ASU has record 278 defensive assists this season, a total that leads the Pac-12.
- The roster has turned 24 double plays on the year, second in the Pac-12 and 12th in the country.
- ASU is 70th nationally in fielding percentage (.973), which is not where the team wants to be but is a far cry from the team that was 230th last season and 184th the season before.
Long Beach State (3-23, 0-0 Big West) | USC (10-16, 3-6 Pac-12) | #5 ASU (25-1, 8-1 Pac-12)
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THIS WEEK
Tuesday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Long Beach State (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream
Friday, April 5, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at USC (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Saturday, April 6, 2 p.m. | Arizona State at USC (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Sunday, April 7, 1 p.m. | Arizona State at USC (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
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NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, April 9, 6:05 p.m. | Arizona State at UNLV (Las Vegas) | LISTEN LIVE: UNLV Radio
Friday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Oregon State (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Saturday, April 13, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Oregon State (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
Sunday, April 14, 12:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Oregon State (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM
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LAST WEEK
Friday, March 29 | Arizona State vs. Arizona (Phoenix) | W, 8-2
Saturday, March 30 | Arizona State vs. Arizona (Phoenix) | W, 8-3
Sunday, March 31 | Arizona State vs. Arizona (Phoenix) | W, 17-16