SALT LAKE CITY -- Sun Devil Baseball opens up Pac-12 play this weekend, heading on the road for a three-game series against the Utah Utes. Due to field complications at Utah's home stadium due to weather in the area over the last week, Friday's opener has been moved to Provo, Utah at Larry Miller Field and will now get underway at 4 p.m. AZT (5 p.m. local). Saturday and Sunday's games are still tentatively scheduled to take place at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City pending a review of the field conditions.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
- The series will be available through the Pac-12 Live Stream operating by the University of Utah and can be found here: https://pac-12.com/live/university-utah
- All games will be broadcast live over local airwaves on KAZG 1440 AM on Friday and KDUS 1060 AM on Saturday and Sunday with Jeff Munn and Max Rossiter on the call.
- Fans are always encouraged to follow the Sun Devil Baseball team on social media for any program or schedule updates throughout the week on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account: @ASU_Baseball. This is especially encouraged this weekend with a possibility of venue, schedule and time changes throughout the weekend.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU batters struck out just 16 times in 4 games last week (4.0 per game) after averaging 8.4 strikeouts per game in the first 13 games.
2. ASU has had nine pitchers come out of the bullpen and post sub-4.00 ERAs this year. It had just three through 17 games last season.
3. The Sun Devils are 3-1 in one-run games this season, a notable tally as ASU went just 1-7 in one-score games last season.
4. ASU was giving up 3.4 two-out RBIs per game in the first 17 games before allowing just four (1.0 per game) in the last four.
5. Ryan Campos has the second-longest active hitting streak in the Pac-12 at 10 games. His .390 average is currently sixth in the league.
6. ASU is second in the Pac-12 with 23 home runs this season and also second in the Pac-12 with a cumulative .298 team batting average.
7. After 14 of ASU's first 17 homers this season were solo shots, five of the last six home runs have come with runners on base.
8. Jacob Tobias has 20 RBIs this season, easily leading the team and notable as he had 29 in the entirety of last season.
9. ASU's pitchers struck out 40 batters over the last four games while allowing just six total walks -notable as ASU averaged 4.8 PER GAME in first 13 games
10. Brock Peery led the Pac-12 in '22 with 10 saves - tied for 7th-most at ASU since 1998 and first in double digits since 2016. He has two this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
20- Jacob Tobias easily leads the team with 20 RBIs this season - tied for fifth in the Pac-12. The tally is especially notable as he had just 29 in the entirety of last season. Tobias is batting .321 on the year and second on the team with three homers. He has walked 12 times to just 11 strikeouts to post a .449 OBP that is second on the squad and 18th in the Pac-12.Tobias has also logged a team-best two triples this year - a tally that still ranks 35th in the nation and is especially notable as he has three in his short career at ASU - marking him ASU's active career leader in the category in games played at ASU.
6 - The Sun Devil pitching staff walked just six batters in four games last week compared to 40 strikeouts. That mark is particularly notable as ASU was allowing 4.8 walks PER GAME prior to the previous four games. The 10.0 strikeouts per game are also notable as ASU was striking out just 7.6 per game in the first 13 games. In four games last week, ASU held opponents to just .205 hitting with runners on base. The team also shook of a two-out RBI curse that had crippled it in recent weeks, allowing just four two-out RBI total after giving up 3.4 per game in the first 13 games.
2 - Ryan Campos posted an absurd .714 batting average on 10-of-14 hitting with a team-best seven RBIs in four games last week. He had two homers and two doubles for a 1.286 slugging percentage with three walks and no strikeouts to post an absurd 2.051 OPS. Campos 8.0 percent strikeout rate this season is the third-lowest in the Pac-12 while the .43 strikeout-to-walk ratio is second in the league. Campos' overall 1.151 OPS is seventh in the Pac-12 while he sits fifth with a .507 OBP and sixth with a .390 average overall. His 14 walks are fourth in the Pac-12.
1 - The Sun Devils are currently 3-1 in one-run games on the season. This tally is especially notable as ASU managed just a 1-7 record in onep-run games last season. ASU has not lost a game this season in which it has been leading after the sixth (6-0), seventh (5-0) or eighth (5-0) innings. The Sun Devils have also walked off opponents twice this season, a feat it did not manage last year. Will Rogers owns the honor of both of those walk-off knocks with an RBI single on Opening Night followed by his one-out solo shot in the ninth against NDSU in a game where ASU trailed 7-0 at one point.
HONORING THE PAST
- The Sun Devils will wear black SB and MG tribute patches on batting helmets throughout the 2023 season to honor the loss of two great alumni this past offseason in Sal Bando and Mike Gallagher.
LAST TIME OUT: UC DAVIS/UTAH TECH
- The bats came alive for the Sun Devils as ASU went 4-0 last week with series sweep over UC Davis followed by a midweek win over Utah Tech.
- ASU bat .368 as a team for the week, outscoring opponents 39-10 in the process. A more disciplined approach at the plate striking out just 16 times with 15 walks.
- Conversely, the Sun Devil pitches posted a 2.25 cumulative ERA through the four games, stirking out 40 and walks a paltry six batters while holding opponents to a .197 batting average against
- In those four games, Ryan Campos has posted an absurd .714 batting average on 10-of-14 hitting with a team-best seven RBIs. He had two homers and two doubles for a 1.286 slugging percentage with three walks and no strikeouts to post an absurd 2.051 OPS.
- Nu'u Contrades launched the first two homers of his career on his way to a .500 batting average for the week.
ON DECK: UTAH
- This will mark Utah's first home games of the 2023 season. The Utes took one game in their Pac-12 opening series at Washington last weekend.
- ASU owns a 51-13 all-time record over Utah, including a series sweep in Phoenix last year.
- Cameron Gurney is hitting a team-best .306 in 13 games played, bouncing between catcher, first base, third base and DH. His 12-game reached base streak came to an end in Tuesday's game at BYU, while he logged a 10-game hitting streak up through the Washington series opener on March 10.
- Sophomore lefty Micah Ashman ranks second in the Pac-12 Conference with four saves on the season, all in his last four appearances. In 32 career appearances (two starts in 2022) Ashman owns a 2.75 earned run average.
GOING CAMP-ING
- Ryan Campos has been the hottest batter in the Sun Devil lineup of late and enters the weekend with the Pac-12 second-longest active hitting streak at ten games.
- After an unreal week (see Last Time Out above), Campos is now second on the team with a .390 batting average, pacing the squad with four homers and also with 14 walks to just six strikeouts.
- Campos 8.0 percent strikeout rate this season is the third-lowest in the Pac-12 while the .43 strikeout-to-walk ratio is second in the league
- Campos' overall 1.151 OPS is seventh in the Pac-12 while he sits fifth with a .507 OBP and sixth with a .390 average overall. His 14 walks are fourth in the Pac-12.
- The sophomore also leads the team in runs, currently sitting fifth in the league with 19.
- He leads the team with 10 runs scored this year and his 11 walks are tied for fourth in the Pac-12.
- Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average last year as a true freshman – the sixth-best freshman average in program history and just ahead of head coach Willie Bloomquist's .356 average.
- It was the seventh-highest average in the Pac-12 prior to the NCAA tournament and the 11th-highest batting average for a catcher in the NCAA prior to the tournament and the fourth-highest for a Power Five catcher.
- It was the 10th-highest batting average for a freshman in the NCAA prior to the tourney and the best freshman catcher average in the country.
- He was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
- It marked the second straight season a true freshman led the team in average (Ethan Long last year) - something that has never happened in consecutive years in program history and just the fourth time in program history overall that it had happened.
- His .363 average in league-only games was the fifth-highest in the conference.
- His .438 OBP in league games was also tops on the team and ninth in the Pac-12 and tops among league catchers
- Campos had the best average on the team with runners in scoring position at 21-for-59 (.356).
- He had 20 multi-hit games last year – good for third on the team despite starting 13-15 fewer games than the majority of the other starters on the team.
- He threw out seven baserunners on the year despite catching in 10+ less games than the other league catchers.
ROGERS THAT
- Will Rogers got the Sun Devils off to a huge start on Opening Night, going 3-for-5 and a stolen base with a home run and a the game-winning walk-off single.
- He added his second walk-off of the season against NDSU with his one-out solo shot in the bottom of the ninth for a 10-9 victory.
- Rogers had nine homers last season, tied for fourth in ASU freshman school history.
- From April 1 on, Rogers had the second-highest average on the team at .373. respectively. He led the team with a .746 slugging percentage in that time with nine doubles, a triple and five homers.
- His 27 extra-base hits on the season were the third-most of any Pac-12 freshman and 19th in the league overall.
JACOB'S LADDER
- Jacob Tobias got the first RBI of the 2023 season with his RBI single in the first inning of Opening Night.
- Tobias easily leads the team with 20 RBIs this season - tied for fifth in the Pac-12. The tally is especially notable as he had just 29 in the entirety of last season.
- While not looking the part, his two triples this season give him three for his career, marking him the active career leader in the category at ASU in games played for the Sun Devils.
- Tobias was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team after being a first team selection as designated hitter last season.
- His 12 bases (two homers, two doubles) against Utah in the series finale were tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in a game last year.
- His seven homers last year were tied for eighth in ASU freshman history.
- His 23 RBIs in Pac-12 games were the second-most on the team, 20th in the Pac-12 and third among Pac-12 freshmen.
RUNNING UP THAT HILL
- Luke Hill did not at all look like a true freshman starting at shortstop over the first week of action, showing savy skills with the bat and with the glove.
- Hill leads the team with a .413 average that is fourth in the Pac-12 among eligible batters and 16th among all freshmen nationally.
- His 26 total hits are first in the league and 61st in Division I baseball
- The freshman also leads the Pac-12 with eight doubles this season - good for 20th in the country.
- He is reaching at a .472 clip - just outside the Top-10 in the league - having struck out only eight times while drawing eigh walks.
- He notched his first career homer in the series finale against Mississippi State
- He has just two errors on the season for a .972 fielding percentage on 69-of-71 fielding.
- His 44 defensive assists are fourth in the conference.
NOT SO QUIET WYATT
- Transfer Wyatt Crenshaw posted video game numbers last season at Colorado College and has quickly shown that was no fluke, speaking plenty loud with his bat despite saying approximately 18 total words in two post-game press conferences thus far thus season.
- Crenshaw is batting .328 on the season, slugging .552 with two homers, a triple and seven doubles - the latter good for second in the Pac-12
- He has also played a nice right field for ASU, recording all 22 putouts on balls flown his way thus far with no errors.
WELCOME TO THE JAM
- Christian Bodlovich has inherited 70 runners in his career at ASU, with only 23 scoring (32.9 percent), including an 11-for-37 tally last season.
- As a whole ASU has done its part to limit damage in tough scenarios, allowing just 23 of 49 inherited runners on the year (46.9 percent).
- ASU stranded 497 opponent baserunners last season - an average of 8.6 per game. That total is 132 this season - 7.7 per game.
- Brock Peery finished 10th in the nation with 34 appearances last season, a tally good for second in the Pac-12. He has appeared in 10 this season, currently tied for 5th in the nation
- Peery has yet to give up a run this season and has stranded a team-high eight inherited runners on the year.
- Peery led the league with 10 saves last season year - good for 26th in the country. He added two in the first four games this season and tacked on a win for good measure.
- The 10 saves last season were tied for seventh-most at ASU since the 1998 season and marked the first time a closer reached double digits in the category at ASU since 2016.
- Matt Tieding has been essential in saving the Sun Devil bullpen after tough outings for starters this year. As a reliever, the newcomer has team-low 2.84 ERA in 12.2 innings (min. 5.0 IP). His 14.1 total innings are most on the team.
- Jonah Giblin has also done his part as an inning eater, tossing 11.2 innings in relief with a 3.09 ERA and 11 strikeouts. The effort earned him his first weekend start against UC Davis where he spun 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball to earn his first Division I victory.
PLAYING THE FIELD
- ASU turned 50 double plays last year - a tally good for 21st in Division I and fourth in the Pac-12. The squad has turned 110 double plays over the previous two seasons.
- ASU has 17 double plays this season, good for 10th in the country.
- ASU had four fielders in the Top-30 in fielding percentage in the Pac-12 last year (min. 100 chances) in Joe Lampe, Kai Murphy, Ryan Campos and Conor Davis. That was tied with USC and Oregon State for the most in the Pac-12.
- Sean McLain had the second-most defensive of assists of any player in the Pac-12 (179) - the second straight season an ASU player accomplished that feat following Drew Swift (171) in 2021.
- For the third straight season, the majority of position players on the diamond will be new faces with only Will Rogers (left field) and Ryan Campos (catcher) expected to reprise their roles from last season. ASU had just two players start last season in the same position they finished in 2021 (Joe Lampe in CF, Nate Baez at C and Sean McLain at 2B, though McLain was playing shortstop by the second weekend while Baez moved around the field by Week Two as well). ASU's only veteran starter in 2021 was Drew Swift - who shifted over to shortstop after spending the majority of his career at second base. All other positions on the diamond that season replaced by newcomers.
HEADED TO THE GAP
- ASU is currently second in the Pac-12 with a .298 team batting average for the season and fourth in the league with a .485 slugging percentage.
- The Sun Devils recorded 134 doubles last year, good for 19th in the nation and third in the Pac-12. The 127 doubles during the regular season were the most for a Sun Devil team in the REGULAR SEASON in the BBCOR era (since 2011) and tied for the fifth-most in a regular season since 1998.
- ASU had at least one double in all but six games last season and multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.
- There were 45 Pac-12 players with double-digit doubles in the regular season, of which ASU had seven (Baez, Lampe, Rogers, McLain, Long, Davis, Murphy). No other team had more than six.
- ASU reached double digits in hits in 28 of the last 34 games of 2022 and 37 times in 58 games. They have done so in seven games this season.
CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL
- 10 different players have logged a home run for ASU already and eight have multiuple home runs.
- ASU's 23 homers are second in the Pac-12 and Top-50 nationally.
- The better news is ASU has finally started the get knocks with runners on base. Five of ASU's last six home runs have had a runner on base after 14 of the teams first 17 homers this season were solo shots.
- Of the nine position players with at least 30 starts last season, all nine had multiple home runs. ASU had ten total players with multiple homers.
- ASU had five players with at least seven homers last year, tied for the second-most at ASU since 1998.
- The timing of the home runs improved immesely over the second half of the last season. On 24 of the final 37 homers on the year, ASU had at least one runner on base. That was notable as ASU had runners on base just eight times on the teams first 27 homers. ASU will hope for some deja vu in that area with 14 solo homers on 17 home runs this season.
- The Sun Devils had four grand slams last year - the most it had had in a season since 2004 (also four).
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
- ASU has its part to shake off some of that bad mojo from last season in close games thus far, winning three one-run games and going 6-1 in games decided by three runs or less - a category ASU was 14-16 in last season and was 1-7 in one-run games
- The Sun Devils played no shortage of tight games last season - for better or worse - with 26 of the teams 58 games being decided by one or two runs - the most since it also played in 26 in 2017.
- Unfortunately, ASU was 1-7 in one-run losses and 15 of the teams 32 losses came by way of 1-2 runs. ASU is 3-1 in one-run games this season.
- That said, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits. On 11 occasions last season, ASU erased a lead of at least three runs.
- The seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal was the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona.
- ASU doubled down at that with the victory over North Dakota State this season, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in an eventual 10-9 walk-off victory.
- Three times last season ASU rallied from a deficit of five or more runs to tie or win the game - the first time that had happened since 2010 (also 3).
WHO'S THE NEW GUY?
- The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 28 new faces to the roster in 2023. ASU went hard in the Transfer Portal during the offseason, recording the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation according to several outlets.
- The new batch was highlighted by a total overhaul of the pitching staff, which will feature three transfer starters this weekend in LHP Ross Dunn (Florida State), RHP Khristian Curtis (Texas A&M) and LHP Timmy Manning (Florida). Owen Stevenson (San Francisco) also figures to find a spot in the rotation over the course of the season.
- Dunn competed for Team USA on the Collegiate National Team this past summer.
- Preseason All-American Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) highlights the incoming position players).
- Among the newcomers, freshman Isaiah Jackson ('22, Astros, 18th Round), Dunn ('19, Yankees, 11th Round) and Drake Varnado ('21, Diamondbacks, 17th Round) have all been drafted at some point in their careers.
- The Sun Devils didn't have a single freshman arm in the clubhouse last season but welcomes four this season (Ryan Hanks, Brandon Compton, Austin Humphres and Stephen Hernandez).
- After the departure of Sean McLain to the MLB Draft following last season, the Sun Devils will welcome his brother Nick McLain to the clubhouse this season with the youngster expected to be the Opening Day center fielder.
- ASU will feature an entirely new infield this season, highlighted by standout freshmen Nu'u Contrades, Luke Hill and Reese Beheler with a deep group of veteran transfers in Keaschall, Vernado, Jonny Weaver, Willie Cano and Wyatt Crenshaw.