PHOENIX -- Sun Devil Baseball will have a busy week ahead, scheduled for a midweek tilt against Seattle U in Seattle on Tuesday before heading home for a Territorial Cup Clash against No. 15 Arizona in Phoenix beginning Thursday. The final midweek and non-conference game of the season against the Redhawks is schedule for a 4 p.m. PT first pitch. The Sun Devils will open the three-game series against the Wildcats on Thursday at 6 p.m. followed by tilts Friday and Saturday beginning at 7 p.m.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. .@Connor_Higgins7 had a 27.00 ERA in his first three games this year. Since he has a 3.04 ERA with 3 wins, 3 saves in 11 relief app..
2. The 11 Devils who've combined for ASU's 34 homers this season entered 2017 with seven D-I collegiate homers between them.
3. The Sun Devils have 24 home runs and 80 extra-base hits in last 25 games after 10 and 55 in first 24 games.
4. The 34 @asu_baseball home runs this season with seven games remaining is notable as the Devils had 35 in the entirety of 2016.
5. @CarterRoo21 has four games this season with 3+ RBIs, notable as no other Sun Devil has more than two.
6. ASU is slugging .460 with 24 homers over the last 25 games after straight the season slugging .361 with 10 HRs in first 24 games.
7. .@gagecanning is the first Devil to have at least 9 games with 3+ hits since Zach MacPhee and Drew Maggi in 2010.
8. Sun Devil base leads the Pac-12 with 21 triples this season, six more than any conference team and 10th nationally.
9. Carter Aldrete leads the team with 30 RBIs this season, 12 of which have come with two outs - also leading the team.
10. .@t_lane17 leads the team with a .324 average in Pac-12 games this season and is batting over .400 in the last 10 games.
Follow the Action
- The three-game series against the Wildcats will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network with Daron Sutton on the call alongside analyst Dean Stotz.
- The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast each game against the Wildcats on NBC Sports 1060 AM and100.7 KSLX HD 2. The games will also be available through the TuneIn app on TheSunDevils.com. Broadcaster Tim Healey is set to serve his 19th season as the "Voice of the Sun Devils" on baseball broadcasts and will be joined for the second-straight season by color analyst Max Rossiter, who was an all-conference catcher for the Devils from 2012-13.
- Fans are encouraged to follow the Devils on Twitter @ASU_Baseball for updates throughout the week.
Scouting the Wildcats
- ASU is 199-129 all-time against Arizona since 1959, including 11-5 in three-game series' (with two sweeps) against the Wildcats since 2000.
- ASU has won the last two five-game Territorial Cup Series against the Wildcats. The Devils went 3-for-5 vs. U of A in 2015 and 2016, including 1-1 in midweek games both seasons and 2-1 in the threegame conference series each year. ASU went 1-1 in midweek games vs. the Wildcats in 2014 in Tempe (W, 14-6; L. 9-10).
- The Devils dropped the first midweek contest against Arizona this season back in April.
- The Sun Devils will look to limit a Wildcat offense that leads the Pac-12 in the majority of offensive categories, including JJ Matijevic, who is ranked in the Top-25 nationally in batting average, doubles, hits, runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases.
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 been solid in 2017, going 6-4 with six quality starts in his 13 appearances of the season. No other Sun Devil has more than one quality start this season.
- Among those wins were an upset over then-No. 1 TCU and a career-best 7.2 IP outing against LMU in which he allowed no runs.
- Lingos went over 6.0 IP in his first five appearances this season after neving having consecutive games over 6.0 IP in his career prior to this season. He has seven games over 6.0 IP this year, six of which were wins.
- The junior lefty has allowed no earned runs in two starts this season, something he had done in a start just once in his career prior.
- His six wins this season doubles his 2016 total while he has issued no walks in two of his starts this season, something he had accomplished in just two starts prior to 2017.
- He is ninth in the league with 77.1 innings pitched this season and ninth in the conference with 61 strikeouts. He is tied for fourth nationally with 14 starts this year.
12-Gage
- Gage Canning has been among the hottest Sun Devils in the lineup - and the Pac-12 - in recent weeks.
- His 12-game hitting streak this season is tied for the longest by a Sun Devil on the year.
- In that 12-game streak prior to the Oregon series, he was 28-for-52 (.538) with three home runs, three triples and three doubles while slugging .885 in the process. The junior outfielder tallied a team leading 13 RBI's, scored 12 runs and was a perfect 4-for-4 attempting to steal and flashed the leather as well, making highlight reel plays in right field leading to a perfect fielding percentage on 26 attempts during the streak.
Canning Do It? Yes, He Can
- Canning now has nine games with three or more hits on the season which is four more than any other Sun Devil and surpasses the team lead from last season (6).
- The nine three-hit games is tied for the most for an ASU player since Zach MacPhee and Drew Maggi did it in 2010.
- Canning currently fourth nationally with seven triples this season and surpassed his total from last season (6). With 13 career triples, Canning is just seven out of cracking the all-time top-five at ASU in the category.
- The sophomore has multiple hits in 13 of ASU's last 23 games, notable as he leads the team with 18 total this season - five more than he had as a freshman last season.
- Canning has spent time at the leadoff spot and turning the order back around in the lower part of the lineup this year and done exactly what's expected of him in that role, leading the team with sevennstolen bases and 33 runs scored.
- Canning's recent hot streak has him ranked ninth in the Pac-12 with a .333 batting average and seventh with a .533 slugging percentage.
Lin-Sanity
- Lyle Lin has had three or more hits in four games on the year while registering multiple hits in 16 games on the season overall - second on the team in the category.
- The four 3+ hit games are tied for sixth among all ASU freshmen since the 2000 season.
- Lin had streak of reaching base in 24 consecutive games ended in the Oregon series. It was the longest active streak by a Sun Devil and third-longest by any ASU freshman since 2000, trailing only Gage Canning (28, 2016) and Dustin Pedroia (26, 2002).
- The 24-game streak was the fourth longest by any Pac-12 player this season.
- Lin has reached base in all but five games this season and has a hit in 36 of the team's 47 games.
Re-LYLE-able
- Lyle Lin has an approach at the plate that is tough to find in many freshmen. The youngster leads the team's starters with 21 two-out hits and is third with a .341 average (21-of-64) with two outs on the board.
- Lin is third on the team with 10 two-out RBIs and also holds a team-leading 17 hits with runners in scoring position on 56 at bats (.303).
- Lin has started every game this season, one of just three players to do so alongside Gage Canning and Carter Aldrete.
And All That Chaz
- In his first eight appearances, freshman Chaz Montoya struggled with a 14.29 ERA and an 0-1 record.
- In his last nine appearances, Montoya has a 4.89 ERA and a 4-2 record, striking out 31 - second on the team in that span - in the process.
- Of ASU's 12 wins since Montoya became a starter, five of those have come in games in which the freshman started.
- He had a streak of 17.1 innings without allowing a run come to an end in his start against UCLA.
Zach Cer-Bomb
- One of the most pleasant surprises of 2017 has been the emergence of senior catcher Zach Cerbo, a four-year veteran who is seeing his most significant action as a Sun Devil this season.
- Cerbo's .309 average is third on the team with a .410 on-base percentage that leads the team. He leads the team with 20 walks.
- Cerbo had an 11-game reached base streak and an eight-game hitting streak snapped against Oregon.
- Cerbo's defense has been another much-needed component of the team as the senior has thrown out 11 batters attempting to steal a base this season compared to just 21 stolen bases against. Those 11 caught stealing are tied for the lead in the Pac-12.
- The senior also has three pickoffs this season - tied for the third in the Pac-12.
Taylor Made
- Taylor Lane has been among the hottest hitting Devils in the lineup and leads the team with his .324 average in Pac-12 games this season.
- The junior has been the top offensive player on the team in the last 10 games. In that span, he is batting .368 with a team best 14 with two home runs, a triple, a double and a team-leading eight runs scored while slugging a team-best .605.
- Lane has hits in nine of those 10 games, including a career-best seven-game hitting streak that came to an end against Washington.
Big Willie Style
- Tyler Williams has provided some much needed pop in the lineup this season, leading the team with five home runs on the year after having none in his freshman campaign - a total good for a tie for 11th in the Pac-12.
- His 28 RBIs this season are second on the team and he has a knack for pushing runners across even with an out, logging 10 RBIs despite an out and second on the team in advancing runners with an out, doing so 16 times.
- Williams leads the team when it comes to advancing runners from a percentage standpoint, doing so 33 times on 58 chances (.569).
- The sophomore has also brought home a runner from third with less than two outs a team-best 13 times on 17 chances (.765).
- Williams had a career high four RBIs in the team's midweek victory over Arizona in May.
#BISHETE
- Another pair of freshmen have certainly been making the presence know this season in the form of Carter Aldrete and Hunter Bishop.
- Aldrete currently leads the team with 30 RBIs this season and leads the team with four games with season with 3 or more RBIs. In fact, he has four games this season with three or more RBIs while no other Sun Devil has more than two. His seven multi-RBI games are third on the team.
- Aldrete is second on the team with 16 hits with runners in scoring position and tied for the team lead with 12 two-out RBI.
- He has advanced runners a team leading 49 times of 95 chances, a .516 average that also leads the team
- In the last 10 games, Bishop is batting .308 with two triples and 12 hits.
- Bishop is currently tied for fourth on the team with four home runs this season and second on the team with four triples - also good for fourth in the Pac-12.
- The freshman is second on the team with a .355 average with runners in scoring position (11-of-31)
- Bishop and Aldrete had history before coming to Arizona State. Both hail for Northern California and played in the 2015 Under Armour All-American games and selected to play for the Oakland Athletics' Area Code team in 2015.
Turning The Tides
- Connor Higgins was in pretty dire straights in the first 13 games with a 27.00 ERA in three appearances with just 1.1 innings pitched.
- Since then, Higgins has a 3.04 ERA in 11 apperances with 22 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched while picking up three wins and a team-best three saves in the process.
- In the 32 games since that tough start, Higgins leads the teams relievers in strikeouts, innings pitched, wins and saves.
They Can Mash Too
- Eleven Sun Devils (Tyler Williams 5, Andrew Shaps 5, Gage Canning 3, Hunter Bishop 4, Carter Aldrete 3, Zach Cerbo 2, Ryan Lillard 2, Jeremy McCuin 2, Taylor Lane 2, Lyle Lin 2, and Jackson Willeford 1) have combined for ASU's 33 home runs this season - an interesting note as those 10 combined entered the 2017 season with just seven Division I career home runs between them (Canning 3, Shaps 2, Lillard 1, McCuin 1).
- Despite the not-so-home-run-friendly confines of Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the Sun Devils are currently fourth in the Pac-12 with 33 home runs this season.
- The Sun Devils easily lead the Pac-12 with 21 triples this season - six more than any other conference team and 10th in the country.
- The power numbers have been night and day in the second half the season. Through the first 24 games, ASU slugged .361 with just 10 home runs and 54 extra-base hits. In the last 24 games, ASU is slugging .454 with 23 home runs and 78 extra-base hits.
Clutch Hitting
- The Sun Devils have lived and died by their clutch hitting this season, currently batting 87-of-250 (.348) with runners in scoring position and 91-of-260 (.350) with two outs in the team's wins but struggling to get timely hits in the team's losses at just 39-of-219 (.178) with runners in scoring position and 52-of-267 (.195) with two outs.
- On the flip side, ASU has struggled defensively to get out of some innings, allowing opponents to bat .302 (168-of-557) with two outs.
Baseball's in Their Blood
- There are seven 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 this season
- Since 2016, the Devils are 7-2 in extra-inning games (1-1 in 2017), with six walk-off wins (two this season) and are 21-5 (9-4 this year) in one-run games including 7-4 in Pac-12 play. ASU has driven in the game-winning run in the eighth inning or later 14 times (four times this year).
- Arizona State has notched 10 wins since 2016 when trailing after six innings (four times this season).
#OccupyPHXMuni
- ASU drew more than 78,000 fans last season, finishing in the top-30 nationally in total attendance and attendance per game.
- The Sun Devils have had a pair of big attendance games this season, including 6,010 against Oregon State in the series opener - the second largest crowd since moving back to Phoenix Muni - as well as 4,107 fans against UNLV in the largest mid-week attendance since returning to Muni and fifth-largest overall since returning.
- The Devils are currently 25th nationally with 74,014 cumulative fans this season (second in the Pac-12) and 27th with 2,467 fans per game (third in the Pac-12).
- ASU ranked 13th in total attendance and was the only school west of Texas to draw more than 100,000 fans in 2015, and ranked 18th in average attendance with 3,082 fans per game. ASU's 107,010 fans were the program's most since 2010 and ranked as the fourth-highest regular-season attendance since 1988.
- ASU moved back to Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015 after playing 40 seasons at Packard Stadium from 1974-2014, winning their first contest in the team's on a walk-off home run in extra inning against No. 5 Oklahoma State on Feb. 13, 2015.
- The Devils played 137 games at Muni from 1964-74, and went 111-26 at the stadium, including 17-6 against Arizona. ASU's first game at Muni was April 10, 1964, and was a 5-3 win over Arizona. ASU's last game at Muni was March 18, 1974, and was 9-6 win over Colorado. ASU won District 7 titles in 1965 and 1967 at Muni before going on to win National Championships in Omaha.
- Former Sun Devil and eventual Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was the first college player to hit a home run at Muni.
Erives On Fire
- Eder Ervies has worked his way into the starting lineup in recent weeks, despite also leading the team with three saves this season.
- The senior is the only player to pitch a complete game this season, going a career best 8.0 innings while allowing just one earned run in the loss.
- After struggling early in this season, Erives has a 3.63 ERA in 12 appearances since the Long Beach State series, striking out 34 and allowing a team-best .241 opponent batting average with three saves and a victory.