Sun Devils say emotional goodbye to senior class, drop season finale to Cal

PHOENIX – Despite a 3-0 loss that capped a second-consecutive 23-32 season for Arizona State, there were a lot of smiles in the home dugout at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Saturday.

And it had nothing to with coach Tracy Smith confirming he’ll be back to coach the team for a fifth season in 2019.

The Sun Devils said goodbye to five seniors – and potentially a couple more draft-eligible sophomores and juniors – in their season finale against California.

They received a proper send-off.

It started with the usual senior day ceremonies. Each of Eli Lingos, Grant Schneider, Ryan Hingst, Jake Godfrey and Taylor Lane were accompanied by their families as they were announced one final time, each beaming as they received a framed plaque and greeted Smith at the top step of the dugout.

Smith said he told the seniors to “remember this moment because it will be gone in a heartbeat.”

Schneider provided an early twist on Saturday. The little-used reliever was not only the surprise starting pitcher but also the national anthem singer (he said he had sung the anthem publicly twice before; once in high school and again in collegiate summer league).

He belted out the “Star Spangled Banner” with a country twang, then pitched a stellar 2 2/3 innings, giving one unearned run and striking out three. He was greeted with a standing ovation as he exited his final collegiate game.

“I got lucky,” Schneider said. “I got to start my first career game and sing the national anthem. That was really cool. … It was special and a moment I will cherish for my entire life.”

Hingst picked up a strikeout as well in a quick 1/3 inning appearance while Lane went 1-for-3 as the designated hitter.

“I wanted to use those guys,” said Smith, who played all his seniors except the injured Godfrey. “They earned that right on a senior night.”

It was the leader of the senior class, Lingos, who had the best performance. The right-hander – who usually starts ASU’s series finales – spun six scoreless innings in his last game in a Sun Devil uniform. He allowed just three hits and struck out six. When he walked off the field for the final time, he was greeted by a sea of hugs and high fives from teammates at the entrance to the dugout.

“I really focused on getting all my stuff down this week and really making sure I went out on a good note,” Lingos said. “That’s how you want to be remembered.”

Of the five graduating Sun Devils, Lingos might be missed the most.

“Without question, without hesitation, that young man – win, lose or draw – will have no second guess or no questioning on whether he poured his heart and soul into Arizona State baseball,” Smith said of Lingos, who finished the season with a 7-5 record and 3.83 ERA.

Though ASU lost in typical fashion on Saturday – a defensive mistake doomed the Sun Devils when right fielder Carter Aldrete committed two errors on the same play in the third inning that scored a pair of Cal runs – the optimistic feelings its coach and players described postgame weren’t indicative of another losing season.

“Last year was a struggle and record-wise (this year) we aren’t that far off,” Smith said. “But I can tell you emotion-wise, (it’s) night and day.”

This class of seniors has been experienced a tumultuous period in the program’s history. A pair of early NCAA tournament exits have been followed by the worst two-year run the team has ever suffered.

“(For them) not to reach more regionals and stuff like that, that bothers me because of everything all of those guys have given, you wish that they could have that enjoyment,” Smith said during his Friday night postgame presser.

“They’re not inhuman. They hear the comments. They probably read a lot of the comments and that’s tough on a young man when you’re laying it out there.

“…Wins and losses don’t dictate who you are and those guys are quality, quality young men and they are quality young men whether they had a winning season or not. Great representatives of ASU at-large and ASU baseball.”

Saturday might have been the last game in the college careers of Gage Canning and Lyle Lin too, a pair of hitters who will surely be taken in the MLB draft this summer and could move on to professional baseball. Though not seniors, the middle-of-the-lineup duo has been just as important helping the young team through rocky times.

Canning, in particular, has become a face of the program the last three years. Smith said that late in Friday night’s game, a fan came down to the screen behind home plate and got Canning’s attention, an action usually off-limits.

“He wanted to thank him personally for his contributions to ASU baseball,” Smith said.

“It was really a cool moment.”

Smith thinks future senior classes will have more team success to celebrate. He talked at length on Saturday about his confidence in the future of the program. He feels this year was their learning experience and that the core of underclassmen – who have been forced to deal with adversity early in their college careers – will propel the Sun Devils back into the postseason.

“This group, with the young guys and how everybody stuck together, gives me unbelievable optimism,” Smith said. “In some weird way, I think this (season) is going to make them even better.”

Smith will be there to coach them again in 2019 too.

Asked on Saturday night if he had been given assurances of a return by Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson, Smith repeatedly nodded while explaining that he’ll wait for Anderson to give the official announcement but is sure that he’ll be in the dugout again next spring.

“Yeah,” Smith said in affirmation of his job security. “I’ll let him (Anderson) speak his own words on that but yeah.”

It’s news that will rub a large, disgruntled group of ASU’s fan base the wrong way. Smith said he understands their frustration with the poor results but again insisted brighter days are ahead.

“Do I know that we have to certainly improve? Absolutely,” he said. “But I’m very confident that that’s going to happen.”

It will be too late for the Sun Devils’ class of 2018 though. Their careers will end on the sour note of consecutive losing seasons. Even so, their final day as players was just the opposite. Even after one last defeat, it was all smiles postgame.

Said Schneider: “It’s been an unbelievable experience that I won’t take for granted.”