Phoenix Area Sports
PHOENIX, ARIZONA (February 17, 2018) - The 2018 college baseball season started February 17-18 with a four game series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium between the Arizona State University Sun Devils and the visiting Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.
Fans were treated to perfect baseball weather. It never reached above 72 or dipped below 67 degrees.
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| Photo by Tony Espinoza |
The RedHawks won the first game of the series by a score of 4 - 2 on Saturday afternoon. The Devils were plagued with three errors in the game, coming at inopportune times while the RedHawks produced only one error and six hits. RedHawks pitcher Nick Ernst, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio was the winning pitcher with six innings pitched, allowing four hits, one run, and six strike outs.
In game two, the Devils scored first when Freshman Spencer Torkelson hit his first career home run in the bottom of the second inning, clearing the 410 ft center field fence. In the top of the third, Dallas Hall singled up the middle for an RBI followed by a two run home run by Ross Haffey putting the RedHawks up 3-1. In the bottom of the 4th, the Devils' sophomore catcher Lyle Lin hit a home run over the left field wall followed by Torkelson's home run over the same wall tying the score, 3-3. In the bottom of the 6th, Jeremy McCuin reached base safely while scoring two unearned runs by Scott Mehan and Carter Aldrete. McCuin scored on a bunt perfectly executed by Drew Swift. This made the score 6-3. The last score of the game came in the bottom of the 7th. Carter Aldrete hit a triple up middle to center field, scoring when Lin singled to center field making the final score 7-3.
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| Photo by Tony Espinoza |
Lin is now 9-for-16 in his career in games played on Opening Day (DH today, DH last year) with 5 RBI, 3 runs scored and a home run.
In the third game, the first game of the double header on Sunday, the Devils started early, scoring two runs in the first inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Devils extended the lead when Gage Canning knocked in two runs on a single to left field. In the seventh, the Devils ended the game by adding five runs, putting the rarely seen 10-run rule into effect, winning 11-1.
In the final game of the series, the Devils jump on the board first but the RedHawks score eight in the top of the second to take the lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Devils scored three runs on wild pitches, shrinking the RedHawks lead to 9-6. In the top of seventh, the RedHawks added three runs, which increased the lead to 12-6. The Devils added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning when Torkelson hit a 2 RBI double to CF wall. The RedHawks added four runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach for the Devils, winning 16-8.
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| Photo by Mike Stockman |
During one of the post game press conferences, Devils Coach Tracy Smith, a four-year letter winner at Miami (Ohio) as a pitcher and an infielder for the RedHawks, was asked what he thought of Lyle Lin's efforts at the plate in the opening weekend series. He stated "One game does not make a career, or a season, but that's what he (Lyle Lin) can do. He's been showing flashes of that all spring. More importantly, I like his at bats...he has the ability to change the game".
The Devils travel across town to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb 21 at 1:00pm.
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