After traveling to Waco, Texas, and taking two out of three from Baylor, the ASU baseball team will have to make a quick turnaround, as it will face Texas Tech tonight at Packard Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Red Raiders come to Tempe on a six-game winning streak in which they have averaged just under 11 runs per game, but have done so against some subpar competition.
"A team can score 15 runs a game, but if their doing it against teams that can't play then that's different," ASU coach Pat Murphy said. "I think Texas Tech is very good, but I think we're going to be OK. I think we're going to play well and carry over what we did this weekend."
When the Red Raiders did face quality opponents in No. 4 Rice and No. 15 Tulane, they failed to produce the same offensive numbers and lost both contests.
The pitching match-up will feature two freshmen, as ASU southpaw Ike Davis will face right-hander Miles Morgan.
Davis will pitch on short rest after throwing 78 pitches against Baylor on Saturday afternoon. Murphy said that he expects to use Davis as normal, but that several relievers will be unavailable after the weekend road trip.
"We should have enough to get through nine innings, hopefully. We've got enough bodies on the bench that we can piece it together," Murphy said. Senior Brett Bordes and junior Zechry Zinicola should be available for at least one inning, he added.
One Sun Devil who will not be available is junior Pat Bresnehan, who is nursing a strain in his ribs. Bresnehan tried to pitch on Sunday, but was unable to throw strikes, walking the three batters he faced. His status is still undetermined for the weekend series against Auburn.
Morgan has been impressive so far in his initial season, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.66 ERA.
"We don't know much about [Morgan], but I'm sure he's talented so we'll be ready," Murphy said.
ASU (10-5) hasn't played Texas Tech since the 2001 NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils defeated the Red Raiders in the first meeting but then lost the elimination game the following day. ASU closer Drew Friedberg threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth allowing the winning run to cross the plate.
Around the Pac-10
No. 13 Oregon State rolled three victories last weekend at the River City Classic in Davis, Calif. The Beavers defeated BYU, Sacramento State, and St. Mary's but fell to host UC Davis.
"Right now we're just trying to find a way to win," Oregon State coach Pat Casey said in a statement. "Hopefully when we put it all together, it's going to take some pressure off the fact our pitching has to go out and put zeroes on the board all the time."
Oregon State will open up its home schedule with a three-game series rematch with Nevada on Friday. The Beavers beat Nevada in their season opener, 12-4.
Fresh after defeating No. 7 Texas last week, No. 19 Stanford followed up by defeating Nevada and taking two out of three from Fresno State. Sophomore David Stringer got two wins on the weekend while sophomore Michael Taylor extended his hit streak to seven games.
USC traveled to Hawaii last week, dropping its first two games before salvaging Sunday's contest against the Rainbows. The Trojans will get a rematch with San Diego State tonight and will play a three-game series against Georgia starting Friday.
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu
