TEMPE -- The Sun Devil baseball team continues a lengthy homestand with a three-game series against Long Beach State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium this weekend, carrying on a streak of 11 home games in an 18-day span in the month of March. The Devils have not played 11 games in the month before March 20 since the 2013 season. The series will get underway Friday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. MT with Saturday's tilt set for a 3 p.m. AZT first pitch and Sunday's at 2 p.m. AZT.
Follow the Action
- Fans will be able to view the first game in the series via the Pac-12 Network Live Stream, available for free at http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university-2.
- Saturday and Sunday's contests will both be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks. Check with you local provider for listings.
- Fans located outside of Arizona are reminded that Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 12. While this does not affect Arizona locals, Arizona will move from Mountain Time to Pacific time for Sunday's contest, affecting TV times for the broadcast.
- Fans are also encouraged to follow along on Twitter (@ASU_Baseball) for live updates throughout the weekend.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. 26 of ASU's 60 total RBIs in the 2017 season have come with two outs, led by Lyle Lin's six total.
2. The Devils of 25-of-77 (.325) w/ RISP in the team's wins compared to just 16-of-65 (.246) in losses.
3. .@elingos15 has already matched his 2016 win total with 3 in just 3 starts w/ 0 earned runs in two of three starts.
4. ASU is 41-13 all-time in its series against @LBDirtbags and have faced LBSU in each of the last 7 seasons.
5. The Devils have scored 53 of their 65 total runs this season in innings 4-9 and just 12 the first three innings.
6. .@elingos15 has three quality starts in his three starts, allowing just two earned runs and a W over #1 TCU.
7. .@lin_lyle is the only Sun Devil to reach base in each game this season and leads the Pac-12 with 20 hits.
8. The Devils have lost five straight games just once since the 2006 since, something they will try to avoid on Friday.
9. .@lin_lyle has multiple hits in eight games this season already. No other Sun Devil has done so in more than three.
10. .@ASU_Baseball has won at least 30 games in 56 consecutive seasons, two more than Florida State in second.
Scouting the Dirtbags
- The Dirtbags picked up a huge series win on the road at No. 7 North Carolina. Long Beach State won the first two games of the series with a solid pitching effort, allowing just three runs on 10 hits combined in the first two contests.
- Sophomore 2B Jarren Duran (.348) and Junior 3B Ramsey Romano (.371) have been the top two hitters for Long Beach State this season, and hit 1-2 in the lineup every game at North Carolina.
- Duran is on a five-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in nine of his last 10
- games. He is also 6/7 in stolen base attempts. During the Fordham series, he either set or matched his career highs in hits (3), runs (4) and RBIs (4) in a game.
- Romano has played his way into the starting gig at third base, and is currently on a six-game hitting streak. he recorded a double and an RBI in all three games at UNC.
- All-American and former USA National Member Darren McCaughan (1-1, 3.79 ERA) is set to pick up the start on Friday against the Devils.
Devils vs. LBSU/Big West
- ASU and the Dirtbags are no strangers, meeting over 50 times in history with the Devils dominating the overall series, 41-13.
- This will be the third consecutive season featuring a series between the two programs and the sixth time in seven years that it has happened, though the two teams did play a single game in 2014 in the lone season that didn't feature a series in that stretch.
- Long Beach State won last year's series vs. Arizona State at Blair Field, winning the final two games after dropping the opener.
- The Devils have habitually had an exceptional track record against the Big West, holding a 213-99 all-time record against opponents currently in the conference and not having a losing record against any of the nine teams in the league.
Eli's Coming
- Eli Lingos, who earned first team Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2016, has quickly solidified himself as the team's ace this season after entering the year as the Friday Night Starter
- Lingos has opened the 2017 season with a bang, going 3-0 with three quality starts in his first three appearances of the season. Among those wins (currently ranked second nationally) are an upset over unaminous No. 1 TCU and a career-best 7.2 IP outing against LMU in which he allowed no runs.
- Lingos has gone over 6.0 IP in each of his appearances this season after neving having consecutive games over 6.0 IP in his career prior to this season.
- The junior lefty has allowed no earned runs in two of his three starts this season, something he had done in a start just once in his career prior.
- His three wins this season match his 2016 total while he has issued no walks in two of three starts this season, something he had accomplished in just two starts prior to 2017.
- Lingos is currently sixth in the Pac-12 with a 0.89 ERA.
Mr. Friday Night
- Lingos is the sixth pitcher since 2014 to assume the Friday Night role, joining Ryan Burr, Brett Lilek, Seth Martinez, Ryan Kellogg and Hever Bueno.
- ASU used four pitchers in the Friday night role in six seasons between 2008 and 2013 with Mike Leake ('08, '09), Seth Blair ('10), Brady Rodgers ('11, '12) and Trevor Williams ('13).
- Lingos joins a long and illustrious line of Mr. Friday Night's at ASU that includes nine Major Leaguers and numerous ASU Hall of Famers, including Eddie Bane, Floyd Bannister, Kendall Carter, Mike Esposito, Larry Gura, Gary Gentry, Mike Leake, Trevor Williams and Brady Rodgers.
Lin-Sanity
- True freshman Lyle Lin continues to be the highlight of a young freshmen class, leading the Pac-12 Conference with 22 hits this season.
- Lin has had three or more hits in three games on the year while registering multiple hits in nine of 13 games on the season overall. No other Sun Devil has more than three such games.
- Through 13 games in 2016, no other Sun Devil had more than six multi-hit games and only one freshman (Gage Canning) had a single multi-hit game to that point.
- Lin has started every game this season, one of just three players to do so - batting .435 with a team-leading 12 RBI in the process, ranking 11th and 6th in the Pac-12 Conference in those categories, respectively.
Re-LYLE-able
- Lyle Lin has an approach at the plate that is tough to find in many freshman. The youngster lead's the team's starters with a .476 average this season with two outs on the board on 10-of-21 hitting. No other Devil has more than six 2-out hits.
- Lin leads the team with six two-out RBIs and also holds a team-leading 11 hits with runners in scoring position on 21 at bats (.524), five more than the next closest Devil.
- Lin is the only Sun Devil to reach base in each of ASU's 13 games this season.
Clutch Hitting
- The Sun Devils have lived and died by their clutch hitting this season, currently batting 25-of-77 (.325) with runners in scoring position in the team's wins but struggling to plate runners in the team's losses at just 16-of-65 (.246).
- The ASU offense has accounted for 26 two-out RBIs out of the team's 60 total RBIs in the first seven games this year (43.3 percent).
- On the flip side, ASU has struggled defensively to get out of some innings, allowing 35 two-out RBIs of the 79 total by the opposition this season while allowing opponents to bat .320 (49-of-153) with two outs.
12-Gage
- Gage Canning holds the Devils longest hitting streak this season at seven games. Canning had a team-best 13-game hitting streak as a freshman in 2016.
- Canning has spent time at the leadoff spot and turning the order backaround in the nine-hole this year and done exactly what's expected of him in that role, stealing two bases, leading the team with 11 runs scored and laying down two sacrifice bunts.
- Canning also leads the Devils with four doubles and two triples this season.
Shaps Blasts
- After missing the first five games of the season to suspension, junior Andrew Shaps has reached base in all eight of his appearances this season.
- The outfielder enters the weekend with a team-leading five game hitting streak while batting .281 on the season.
- Despite missing five games, Shaps leads the Devils with five walks this season.
Freshmen Frenzy
- There were plenty of fresh faces on the diamond during the first couple games of the season for the Sun Devils. Ten true freshmen made their Sun Devil debuts, including six who made their first career starts (Sam Ferri, Carter Aldrete, Lyle Lin, Hunter Bishop, Myles Denson and Spencer Van Scoyoc).
- Chaz Montoya also received his first action in a closing role, responding with his first career save in his debut.
- Additionally, three junior college transfers made their debuts as Sun Devils in RHP Jake Godfrey, INF Jackson Willeford and INF Taylor Lane. Godfrey earned his first victory in his first appearance in the second game against Northwestern, not allowing a run in three innings pitched in the team's walk-off victory.
Small Ball
- The Devils have done the majority of their damage by manufacturing runs this season. Despite having the third-fewest extra base hits in the conference this year (25) entering the Fullerton contests, the Devils sat third in total hits (110).
- The Devils were third in the conference with 85 singles entering the Fullerton contests as well fourth in stolen bases (10), third in sacrifice flies (5) and have advanced runners a solid .471 percent of the time (99-of-210 oppurtunities).
Getting Their Bearings
- The Devils have scored 53 of their 65 runs (81.5 percent) in innings four through nine this season.
- The 12 total runs in the first three innings of games were greatly enhanced by scoring six in two games against Fullerton, doubling ASU's season tally of runs in the early innings of games entering those contests.
Not Wasting Time
- Freshman Spencer Van Scoyoc became the first Sun Devil freshman to start a game in the Opening Weekend since Adam McCreery against Western Michigan in 2012.
- Van Scoyoc pitched a gem in his start against #1 TCU, going 6.0 innings with four strikeouts and no earned runs allowed in his first career quality start.
- Van Scoyoc currently sits eighth in the Pac-12 with a 1.35 ERA, good for third among all Pac-12 freshmen hurlers.
- Van Scoyoc was selected in the 19th round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays but elected to attend ASU instead.
- He was rated the #1 LHP and #1 overall player in Iowa and the #8 overal LHP in the nation.
Baseball's in Their Blood
- There are eight Sun Devils on the 2017 squad who have a history of baseball in their family: Ryan Hingst (father, David, UT El Paso), Andrew Snow (cousin, Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox), Garvin Alston Jr. (father, Garvin, MiLB), Eli Lingos (brother, Angelos, UC Riverside), Jackson Willeford (brother, Guy, Palomar JC; brother, Alex, Palomar JC/SDSU), Hunter Bishop (brother, Braden, Seattle Mariners), Fitz Stadler (Brothers Sullivan and Walker, Indiana), Carter Aldrete (father, Rich, MiLB; uncle, Mike, New York Yankees).
Keeping It Interesting
- The Devils had a knack for success in close games last season and that continued on Opening Weekend. The Sun Devils scored the winning run in the eighth inning or later twice against Northwestern, including one walk-off win.
- Since 2016, the Devils are 6-1 in extra-inning games, with five walk-off wins (1 this season) and are 14-2 (2-1 this year) in one-run games including 5-1 in Pac-12 play. ASU has driven in the game-winning run in the eighth inning or later 12 times (twice this year).
- Arizona State has notched eighth wins since 2016 when trailing after six innings (twice this season).