Running with the Devils

Peter E.

April 1, 2010 - 8:45 PM

The number one ranked, undefeated Arizona State Sun Devils' baseball team is in town for a three game series this weekend at PK Park. Today marked game one in the series.

My friend Mike and I made the trek across the Autzen Footbridge towards PK Park (located just northeast of Autzen), and settled in behind the Arizona State dugout along the third baseline. Sunflower seeds and hand warmers in hand, we were prepared for the series opener. The previous Ducks baseball games I've attended have had a snail-like pace, but today's was an exception. Tonight's game was a pitchers duel.

The Ducks' Tyler Anderson and the Sun Devils' Seth Blair matched each other toe-to-toe through the entire contest. Anderson was deadly accurate, striking out ten, and went the distance to pitch a four hit complete game. Blair hit four batters, but made key pitches when it counted and lasted seven shutout innings. Unfortunately, Anderson made one mistake in the top of the third, giving up a solo shot to Sun Devils' shortstop Drew Maggi (who I actually played soccer with when we were much younger). Arizona State's relievers fended off any Ducks' attempts to go ahead in the eighth and ninth innings, and the Sun Devils escaped with a 1-0 win.

It was a frustrating game for the Ducks. Anderson pitched brilliantly, minus the one mistake, and the Ducks' defense played well behind him. Biases aside, Anderson looked much more in command than ASU's erratic Blair; as I mentioned, he hit four batters. On top of that, the Ducks had several scoring opportunities, but they stranded a lot of runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, Arizona State showed tonight why they are number one. Nonetheless, the Ducks are a rapidly improving team. They hold a 17-9 record, and they showed tonight that they can play with the best (and should have beaten the best). Coach George Horton has done a remarkable job building this program quickly in two years, and there should be exciting things to come for Ducks baseball in the near future.

Photo by Kevin Clark of the Register Guard