Devils Lose Two Game Series Against #7 Titans

Mike Stockman
Phoenix Area Sports

PHOENIX, AZ (March 8, 2017) After a heart breaking three game series loss this past weekend to Loyola Marymount Lions, the Arizona State University Sun Devils baseball team fell to #7 ranked Cal State Fullerton Titans in a two game series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 7th and 8th. The Devils are now below 500, with an unusual record of 6 wins and 7 losses on the season.

In game one on Tuesday evening, the Devils took a 4-1 lead going into the fifth inning but were unable to hold on as the Titans scored nine unanswered runs on a total of 11 hits. The Titans won by a final score of 10-4.

In game two, the Titans took an early 7-0 lead, scoring five runs in the second inning.

The Titans got 18 hits against the struggling Devils.

In the bottom of the second inning, Gage Canning got two RBI on a stand-up double to right field. It was shortly followed by a shot to the opposite corner in left field by Ryan Lillard which scored two more, giving the Devils' 2100+ fans hope as the gap closed to 7-4.

In the top of the third, the Titans poured on more runs, expanding the lead by a score of 9-4. By the end of this inning the Titans had a total of 12 hits, highlighting the struggle the Devils have faced this year with a young, inexperienced pitching staff.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Titans extended the lead to 13-4, emptying half the stadium.

The Titans would go on to win in a big fashion, by a score of 13-4 on 18 hits over the Devil's struggling 5 hits.

The Titans scored 13 runs in game two, sweeping the series.

After the game, Coach Tracey Smith responded to questions stating "We're not going to panic. We're a good baseball team". He went on to say "we're going to have to get more consistent on the mound". When asked how his leaders are communicating in the locker room to the younger players, he started his response with "It was good". His response was a positive message, stating "we addressed this as a team...last night was a bad loss because of maybe how we handled some of the internal things and how we were handling a little bit of a bad stretch. Whether it's our immaturity...whatever the case is, that was a really big focal point with us today".      

After this series, the Titans (7-4) head back home to host Gonzaga in Fullerton, CA for a three game series starting Friday, March 10 at 7 p.m.

The Devils (6-7) are hosting Long Beach State in a three game series with first game on Friday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. This game can be viewed on Pac-12 Live Stream.