Weekend Preview
No.
17 Oregon State 1, No. 25 Arizona State 0
It
was a fitting battle for two programs that have won eight of the last
10 Pac-12 titles as Oregon State scored one run in the top of the
ninth to beat host Arizona State 1-0.
K.J.
Harrison and his nation's leading six home runs garnered most of the
pre-game buzz coming into this Pac-12 opener. However, there was a
stiff wind blowing in from center field that converted Phoenix
Municipal Stadium into a pitcher's paradise and thus put a damper on
the K.J. Harrison show.
Harrison
was held hitless as he was fed a steady diet of sliders all night. He
did show the ability to both lay off of a slider in the dirt, drawing
a walk in his first at-bat, and also the talent to hammer the pitch
when left up in the zone. Harrison did just that later in the game,
driving a crippled slider into right-center field for a loud out.
Tonight's results for Harrison were pedestrian but he is clearly an
exceptional talent with a strong hit tool and advanced approach.
Beaver
starter Andrew Moore is an animal on the mound and he would
absolutely be on the short list of pitchers you would pick to win one
big game. Moore's stuff was ordinary, working primarily in the
upper-80s with his fastball and touching 91 mph. His slider and
changeup were average pitches that played up as well.
The
separators for Moore are a ferocious competitive streak and his
willingness to pound the ball in on righthanded hitters. Moore
executed his arm-side fastball with relentless precision and it made
for a long night for the Sun Devil hitters. Moore also made the play
of the game in the bottom of the seventh, rushing off the mound to
barehand a bases loaded squeeze bunt attempt and convert it into a
1-2-3 rally crushing double play. As he has done much of his Oregon
State career, Moore willed both himself and his team to victory
tonight.
Sun
Devil closer Ryan Burr only threw 14 pitches but he showed tremendous
velocity, hitting 95 mph repeatedly. However, the game was won as
Burr inherited a walked batter and then fell behind in the count to
the Beavers' Caleb Hamilton. Hamilton ambushed a Burr fastball on a
3-2 count and smoked a single into center field to plate the
game-winning run.
One
other prospect who stood out was Arizona State shortstop Colby
Woodmansee. Woodmansee had the three assists that led to all three
outs in the top of the seventh inning and in this one frame he showed
excellent range and an ability to make a wide range of plays in a
high pressure situation. Woodmansee's arm shows plus and his 6-foot-3
frame intrigues many scouts who have seen his improved offensive
performance this year.
National
Notebook:
• Since
opening the Dodgertown Classic last weekend with a loss to USC, we’ve
seen the TCU Horned Frogs go on a tear. They scored three straight
wins over UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Loyola Marymount last weekend and
started this weekend with another win over Baylor. And, that win came
courtesy of another outstanding effort from 6-foot-7 sophomore,
Mitchell Traver. Continuing his sizzling hot start, Traver tossed
seven innings of one run baseball, striking out six while walking
only one. For the season, Traver now has a 0.94 ERA.
• The
LSU freight train kept on rolling on Friday night, even as they took
a significant step up in competition against Ole Miss. The game
didn’t quite turn out to be the pitcher’s duel we expected, as
Christian Trent surrendered four earned runs over seven innings, and
LSU’s Jared Poche allowed two runs in five innings. Instead, this
game was once again about the balance of the LSU lineup. Conner Hale
led the way with a three-hit night, and Andrew Stevenson continued
his consistent ways, collecting two hits.
• After
a hiccup last weekend against UNC-Wilmington, Maryland ace, Mike
Shawaryn returned to his dominant ways this Friday against Princeton.
For the second time in three weekends, the sophomore righty racked up
double digit strikeouts, as he fanned 11 batters over seven innings
of shutout baseball in the Terrapins' 15-0 rout.
• It
was indeed a day of upsets around the nation, and add Southern
Illinois’ 2-0 victory over Illinois to that list. Do not let the
3-13 record fool you, however, when it comes to Southern Illinois.
This is a team with potential and that potential bubbled to the
surface on Friday night. Despite another very strong effort from
Illinois ace Kevin Duchene, who tossed six innings of one run
baseball with nine strikeouts, the night belonged to the Southern
Illinois pitching. Senior lefty, Aaron Hauge gave the Salukis eight
shutout innings, pounding the zone with an 86-90 mph fastball and
striking out six batters along the way.
• The
Houston Cougars endured a tough weekend at the Houston College
Classic a week ago, so their 9-1 victory over Buffalo on Friday was a
much needed shot in the arm. Righty Andrew Lantrip gave the Cougars 7
2/3 superb innings, fanning 12 batters while walking just one. Josh
Vidales paced the offense with a three hit, two RBI night at the
plate.
• Now
one game into conference play, Texas A&M remains undefeated. With
their 6-2 victory over Auburn, they stand at 19-0. The pitching that
the Aggies ran out there on Friday night has the look of a formula
that could lead them to Omaha. The Aggies are now down a starter in
A.J. Minter, but the now red hot Grayson Long slid into the Friday
night role seamlessly against Auburn. The offense was able to scratch
out six runs against Auburn ace, Keegan Thompson, but this night was
about pitching. Attacking with an 89-91 mph fastball and locating his
slider expertly, Long strung together six innings of two run baseball
(two earned). But, following Long were two pitchers that might end up
being the difference makers for the Aggies. Kyle Simonds bridged the
gap to closer, Ryan Hendrix with two innings of shutout baseball. The
sophomore righty, Hendrix, once again showed off plus stuff, living
at 92-93 mph with his fastball. Given their offensive prowess, the
Aggies being able to shorten games with quality arms like these make
them a major forced to be reckoned with.
• Several
of the top programs from across the country suffered losses on Friday
night to open up their weekend series, including the Nos. 1 and 2
teams, Florida and Virginia.
• Tennesse
rode a strong eight-inning performance and home runs by A.J. Simcox,
Christin Stewart, Nathaniel Maggio and Andrew Lee to beat Logan Shore
and No. 1 Florida, 6-3. Marks (2-1) allowed only one hit and two
walks while striking out eight Gators, while Shore suffered his first
loss of the year (3-1).
• Virginia
Tech beat their in-state rivals Virginia in walkoff fashion, as
Brendon Hayden drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to
secure the 2-1 win. Hayden drove in both runs for the Hokies in the
game, adding an RBI single in the first inning.
• Wichita
State spoiled a fantastic start by electric UC Santa Barbara
righthander Dillon Tate with a walkoff win of their own. The Shockers
scored both the game-tying and game-winning runs in the bottom of the
ninth, with Jordan Farris delivering the final blow, in a 3-2
victory. Tate, who sat at 94-98 mph with his fastball, worked the
first eight innings, alloing only one earned run on four base hits
while striking out six, using only 98 pitches.
• Pitt
freshman shortstop Charles LeBlanc hit a three-run single in the
seventh inning to break a 9-9 tie and propel the Panthes to a 12-9
win over No. 12 North Carolina. LeBlanc, a physical presence at
6-foot-4, 205-pounds, entered the weekend leading the team in batting
at .386.
• Although
Texas Tech did a nice job rebouding from a sweep at Cal State
Fullerton last weekend with a pair of mid-week wins against New
Mexico State, they fell to San Diego State 9-0 in their series opener
on Friday. The Aztecs moves to 15-3 on the strength of Bubba Derby's
strong start in which he allowed only three hits and struck out 11
Red Raiders in eight innings of work. Derby is now 2-1 on the season
with a 2.23 ERA, but more impressive about his season line is his
47-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 32 1/3 innings.
• The
Friday combo of Cole Irvin and Conor Harber for No. 6 Oregon suffered
their first loss of the season in a 9-3 Pac-12 opening loss to Cal.
The duo was touched up for all nine of the Bears' runs, seven of
which were earned.