PHOENIX -- Sun Devil Baseball concludes the 2017 season this season with a three-game Pac-12 series on the road at Utah in Salt Lake City. The series will get underway on Friday, May 25 at 10:30 a.m. PT. Saturday and Sunday's efforts will commence at 10:30 a.m. as well.
Follow the Action
- The three-game series against the Utes will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network with Daron Sutton on the call alongside analyst Kevin Stocker.
- The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast Saturday and Sunday's games against the Utes on NBC Sports 1060 AM and 100.7 KSLX HD 2. Friday's tilt will only be available on 100.7 KSLX 2. All 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.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. .@Connor_Higgins7 had a 27.00 ERA in his first three games this year. Since, he has a 2.67 ERA with 3 wins, 4 saves in 14 relief app..
2. The 11 Devils who've combined for ASU's 36 homers this season entered 2017 with seven D-I collegiate homers between them.
3. The Sun Devils have 26 home runs and 88 extra-base hits in last 28 games after 10 and 55 in first 24 games.
4. The 36 @asu_baseball home runs this season 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 .444 with 26 homers over the last 28 games after straight the season slugging .361 with 10 HRs in first 24 games.
7. .@gagecanning is the first Devil to have at least 10 games with 3+ hits since Jason Kipnis had 13 back in 2009.
8. .@ASU_Baseball leads the Pac-12 with 22 triples this season, six more than any conference team and 10th nationally.
9. .@HunterBishop9 is tied for the team lead with 9 multi-RBI games this season and has a hit in 20 of his last 23 games.
10. .@gagecanning is the only player in the Pac-12 to have 6+ doubles (12), triples (8) and home runs (6) this season.
Scouting the Utes
- ASU is 38-8 all-time in the series against Utah and 4-1 in series' against the Utes since they joined the Pac-12 Conference with three sweeps in that span.
- Utah ranks third in the Pac-12 in on-base percentage (.374) and fourth in batting average (.286). The Utes are second in the league in RBI (262) and runs scored (291) while ranking fourth in total hits (483).
- On the mound, Utah is sixth in the conference with a 4.16 ERA. Utah leads the league in pickoffs (12) and is second in the conference in fewest home runs allowed (21).
- Dallas Carroll and DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., are two of the best hitters in the league. Carroll is fourth in the league in batting average (.365), while ranking second in on-base percentage (.461) and slugging percentage (.577). Keirsey is third in the conference in hits per game (1.49) and ranks ninth in batting average (.335). He is tied for second in the conference with five triples.
- Jayson Rose is seventh in the Pac-12 with 76 strikeouts, and is tied for fourth in the league with seven victories (7-3).
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 6-6 with six quality starts in his 15 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 83.1 innings pitched this season and ninth in the conference with 64 strikeouts. He is tied for sixth nationally with 15 starts this year.
12-Gage
- Gage Canning has been among the hottest Sun Devils in the lineup - and the Pac-12 - in recent weeks.
- Canning is the only player in the Pac-12 to have at least 10 doubles (12), and 5+ triples (8) and home runs (6). He is only player to even have six or more in each of those categories.
- 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 10 games with three or more hits on the season which is six more than any other Sun Devil and surpasses the team lead from last season (6).
- The 10 3+ hit games is the most since Jason Kipnis had 13 such games in 2009.
- Canning is currently second nationally with eight triples this season and surpassed his total from last season (6). With 14 career triples, Canning is just six out of cracking the all-time top-five at ASU in the category.
- The sophomore has multiple hits in 15 of ASU's last 26 games, notable as he leads the team with 20 total this season - seven 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 eight stolen bases and 37 runs scored - tied for 10 in the Pac-12.
- Canning's recent hot streak has him ranked eighth in the Pac-12 with a .336 batting average and fifth with a .555 slugging percentage.
- As if that weren't all enough, Canning is a perfect 125-of-125 on fielding chances this season and has not commited an error all season - the only Sun Devil field player to do so, regardless of games played.
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 six games this season and has a hit in 37 of the team's 52 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 .309 average (21-of-68) with two outs on the board.
- He is tied for the team lead with nine multi-RBI games this season.
- Lin is third on the team with 10 two-out RBIs and also holds a team-leading 18 hits with runners in scoring position.
- Lin has started every game this season, one of just three players to do so alongside Gage Canning and Carter Aldrete.
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 .306 average is second on the team with a .412 on-base percentage that leads the team. He leads the team with 24 walks.
- Cerbo had an 11-game reached base streak and an eight-game hitting streak snapped against Oregon.
- Cerbo leads the team with a .400 average with runners in scoring position (14-of-35).
- 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 - tied for third 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 .291 average in Pac-12 games this season.
- Prior to the Arizona series, Lane was the top offensive player on the team in the previous 10 games. In that span, he was 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 had hits in nine of those 10 games, including a career-best seven-game hitting streak that came to an end against Washington.
#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 54 times of 102 chances, a .529 average that also leads the team
- Bishop has a hit in 20 of his last 23 games and is tied for the team lead with nine multi-RBI games.
- His .293 average leads the team's freshmen and is third on the squad overall.
- 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 .353 average with runners in scoring position (12-of-34)
- 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 2.67 ERA in 14 apperances with 26 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched while picking up three wins and a team-best four saves in the process.
- In the 35 games since that tough start, Higgins leads the teams relievers in strikeouts, innings pitched, wins and saves.
They Can Mash Too
- Eleven Sun Devils (Gage Canning 6, Tyler Williams 5, Andrew Shaps 5, Hunter Bishop 4, Carter Aldrete 3, Zach Cerbo 4, Ryan Lillard 2, Jeremy McCuin 2, Taylor Lane 2, Lyle Lin 2, and Jackson Willeford 1) have combined for ASU's 36 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 third in the Pac-12 with 36 home runs this season.
- The Sun Devils easily lead the Pac-12 with 22 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 28 games, ASU is slugging .444 with 26 home runs and 88 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 42-of-246 (.171) with runners in scoring position and 60-of-303 (.198) with two outs.
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 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 21-6 (9-5 this year) in one-run games including 7-5 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 and surpassed that this year
- 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 83,891 cumulative fans this season (second in the Pac-12) and 28th with 2,542 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 Erives has worked his way into the starting lineup in recent weeks, despite being ranked second 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 3.73 ERA in 13 appearances since the Long Beach State series, striking out 36 and allowing a team-low .242 opponent batting average with three saves and a victory.