ASU junior infielder Christopher Beall motions after sophomore infielder Cody Woodmansee’s 2-run double in the 7th inning at the ASU vs. Oklahoma baseball game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Feb. 18, 2015. Woodmansee’s double was a part of the five-run explosion in the bottom of the 7th for the Sun Devils. (Daniel Kwon/The State Press)Head coach Tracy Smith might not have called sophomore Seth Martinez’s Wednesday night start against Oklahoma an audition for the Sunday starting job that has become the hottest and least resolved topic in the early stages of ASU baseball’s 2015 season.
But in tossing six innings and allowing three runs (all unearned) on three hits, and striking out five hitters, his performance asserted that he belongs in the conversation, no matter what shape that dialogue has taken.
“I loved the fact that he was aggressive in the strike zone,” Smith said. “It’s tough to defend a walk. I thought (Martinez) did a really good job of making a statement that he wants to be that No. 3 guy, he was pounding the strike zone and changing speeds.”
His 98 pitches tonight, however, may have already made answering the Sunday starter decision easier, for now.
The Sun Devils (3-1) overcame mental mistakes that placed them in an early hole en route to a 7-4 win over to the Sooners, who played their first of five straight games against Pac-12 opponents this week.
“Tonight to me was a funny game, because we were emotionally flat,” Smith said. “We still want to be consistent in every aspect. We made the one error – it was a costly one, but our pitchers pounded the strike zone, and we played defense behind them.”
It also invoked a rhetorical question from Smith, saying "I want to know what our middle pen is going to. That's what we need to figure out. The message we're sending loud and clear is that it isn't about one guy."
After working through two near-perfect innings, Martinez forced junior center fielder Craig Aikin to pop-up to short left field with two outs in the third.
Sophomore shortstop Colby Woodmansee got under the ball, which had plenty of hang-time, but dropped it as it came down to keep the inning alive with runners on second and third.
“I read it wrong, it was spinning up there a lot,” Woodmansee said. “I had to make it up somehow.”
He would, but not before his counterpart, sophomore shortstop Sheldon Neuse, made him pay, launching a three-run home run that put a blemish on an otherwise solid introductory outing for Martinez.
The Sun Devils chipped away with runs in the third and fourth innings, and the Sooners struck back on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead.
As it turned out, the bottom of the seventh was when Woodmansee’s luck turned.
After junior right fielder Trever Allen doubled home junior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse down the right field line, Woodmansee knocked home two RBIs with a double of his own down the left field line.
Woodmansee said he had made an adjustment in his approach at the plate in the offseason, however small or unnoticeable to the casual observer, that’s attributable to the success he’s had so far, including his team-leading eight hits.
“Getting my foot down early, that’s what I’ve been focusing on,” Woodmansee said. “I can see the ball longer, and it’s helped me stay back and see pitches longer, especially a slider.”
A single from junior center fielder Johnny Sewald scored junior third baseman Dalton DiNatale and capped a five running inning that put ASU ahead 7-4.
Taking a three-run lead into the ninth, junior closer Ryan Burr made history when he locked down his 26th save, with a two-out single the only fault in an otherwise pristine ninth inning.
“Going out there tonight, just knowing that (the record) was riding on the save was weighing on me,” Burr said. “I’m glad it’s over, we can move forward, and now every other save is not as crazy as that last one.”
ASU hosts TCU on Friday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or on Twitter @StefanJModrich.
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