ASU shows its maturity in redemption win over UNLV
Tracy Smith thought he had the story to trump all stories. Two weeks ago, during Oregon State’s three-game set with ASU, Smith and former OSU skipper Pat Casey were just chit-chatting pregame.
Unsure if the reigning national champion caught wind of it, Smith started to indulge him on the ugliness of that past Tuesday against UNLV (23-18). Unfolding the scenario of ASU’s five-run blown lead, about the six walks in the final frame and the sheer disbelief of the whole situation.
“Dude, you wouldn’t believe,” Smith started.
Casey quickly interrupted.
“No, I would believe. I’ve been around the game a long time, I’ve seen about everything,” Smith said Casey told him.
Like two grizzled vets telling their craziest war stories -- the good and bad -- Smith and Casey could have gone all night, one-upping each other with a bunch of wild legends that all started like Smith’s, “Dude, you wouldn’t believe.”
The cataclysm against UNLV left the vocal Smith without words. Subjected to staring out onto the Rebels’ field three Tuesday’s ago, in search of answers to what just happened, he seemed to only conjure up “disappointed.”
He said it over and over again. A man who had seen everything couldn’t believe what he just watched. If nothing else, the game, even for a few hours, had its way with Smith, throwing him through the wringer of what-ifs.
Then redemption came. The Sun Devils (31-8) knocked off the Rebels 9-2 Tuesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. In his postgame press conference -- this one far more jovial than the little scrum three weeks ago -- he whitewashed any significance of the mid-week payback.
Keeping with his theme all season, he referred to it like just another game, adding that the importance of those “just another games” have elevated now that the Sun Devils have scuffled a bit, no longer in the driver’s seat to host a regional.
But this isn’t gauging the importance of some mid-week game in April, it’s gauging this ASU team in April, a squad that hits incredible spurts of energy then comes back down to grogginess more than three-cup-a-day coffee drinkers.
For all that ASU’s youth has done this year to prove its matured, Tuesday was another step in that season-long process.
“We didn’t forget that feeling we had after that game,” shortstop Alika Williams said. “We kind of took that with us into this game as a chip on our shoulder like, ‘We need to get this one right here.’ We played a good, clean baseball game.”
Added third baseman Gage Workman: “That was our first time beating UNLV. Last year we were 0-2. This year we were 0-1. So, we had to get one from them.”
Redemption story or not, the Sun Devils looked like a regional-hosting team. ASU’s ‘bullpen day’ quintet allowed just five hits, more than enough leeway for its offense, which smashed three home runs.
Erik Tolman led the way on both fronts. The Sun Devils’ two-way player took the ball in his third start, surrendering the lone pair of runs in just over four innings of work. A good performance that was quickly outdone when the freshman went deep for the third time this year. Heck, Smith liked his bat so much, he stayed in at designated hitter after the skipper yanked him in the fifth.
“When I’m on the mound, I’m more locked in, I take it more serious,” Tolman said. “When I’m hitting, I just try to smile because I know hitting can be one of the most stressful things in any sport because there’s so much failure.”
The youngster’s hitting philosophy translates to ASU’s season. The Sun Devils 21-0 start was always met by prudence from Smith, who assured that ASU was not going to cruise into the postseason. Relying on a heap of sophomores in the infield and youth-laden bullpen, there was going to be some cobblestone along ASU’s 2019 drive.
It’s bumpiest section to date came against UNLV on a windy Vegas night. It slowly recouped, taking the opener, and only the opener, from the Beavers. Now, it seems, the Devils have regained some traction.
Winners of four of their last five, UNLV looks like a blip now. A year ago -- during the second of ASU’s back-to-back 23-win seasons -- ASU had a cargo hatch full of blips. They all grew and grew and grew until they morphed into one cluster of, ‘Which game was it again that ASU blew that late lead?’
If Tuesday proved anything, it’s that ASU has now aged to the point it can overcome those.
“It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen, ever been a part of. So, that’s an anomaly,” Smith said. “We trust those guys, the same guys that were kind of a part of that thing. They came in tonight and did exceptionally well. It’s just one of those crazy things.
“This was a good game for us. Not because it’s UNLV, nothing against them, but we needed to play, I wanted to see us play a clean baseball game in all facets and I think we did that tonight.”