From the steps of the dugout at Packard Stadium last week, the view of Bobby Winkles Field was the picture of perfection.
The fresh, sharply cut grass melded seamlessly into the fine-grained dirt infield. The sun above baked the stadium with temperatures rarely reserved for the middle of winter.
Fast-forward to Sunday, and the same field was a mangled, muddy mess, unfit to host a baseball game.
As a result, No. 5 ASU canceled its series finale against Northern Illinois.
Ground crews worked on the field for a couple hours before the scheduled noon start time, but with NIU needing to catch a flight Sunday evening, it was determined the playing surface would not be ready in time.
The Sun Devils will now have to make up a game before the Pac-10 schedule begins.
But while Sunday’s contest was canceled, ASU certainly got its fair share of swings in a day earlier.
The Sun Devils (3-0) swept a doubleheader over NIU on Saturday — after winning Friday’s contest 8-0 — including a 26-1 drubbing of the Huskies during game two amid wet conditions, a contest that was ended after seven innings.
ASU pounded out 26 hits in the game and plated 20 of the runs in the first three innings, helped by back-to-back 9-run frames in the second and third.
Sophomore second baseman Zack MacPhee headed the offensive assault, going 4-for-4 with two triples, a home run and five RBI.
“[MacPhee], the first three [games], has been really good,” coach Tim Esmay said after Saturday’s action. “He didn’t switch-hit at all last year, and to make that adjustment at this level is amazing. The great thing about him is … with [sophomore Drew] Maggi running in front of him, he’s going to see some fastballs, and he’s got to be ready to do some damage, and that’s kind of what he’s doing. I like the way he’s controlling his [at-bats] and controlling the plate.”
In three games, MacPhee has notched four triples — he had just one in 2009.
In game two of the doubleheader, the Sun Devils tied a 47-year-old school record with six triples.
Sophomore infielder Riccio Torrez made the most of his opportunity by going 4-for-5 with a double and a triple. Sophomore catcher Austin Barnes also had four hits and drove in four runs.
Saturday’s twin bill featured two pitchers making their ASU starting debuts.
In game one, which ASU won 10-5, Merrill Kelly, a junior transfer out of Yavapai Community College, worked through a bases-loaded, no-out, first-inning jam to toss five innings of four-hit ball that yielded four runs, three of which were earned.
It was enough to give Kelly, a product of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, his first win as a Sun Devil.
Freshman Brady Rodgers notched a four-inning save, giving up one run and striking out five in his first collegiate action.
“I liked all the [pitchers] today,” Esmay said. “It was nice to see [Kelly] pitch through some things, and when you have a deep pitching staff, you can let some guys work through some stuff because you can go to the ‘pen at any time.
“Our pitching was outstanding today. I really liked Brady Rodgers when he came in. As freshman, for the first time out there, he settled in and did a nice job.”
Rodgers retired 10 of the final 11 batters the Huskies sent to the plate to earn the extended save, the first of his ASU career.
Twenty-two-year-old sophomore Jake Borup, who threw just eight innings of spot relief as a redshirt freshman last season, took the hill for the Sun Devils in game two.
Borup retired NIU hitters in order in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings and gave up one run in the third to earn his first-career win.
“Jake Borup, out of all them so far, has been one of the most efficient,” Esmay said. “He only threw 73 pitches in five innings, so he was really efficient today.”
Esmay was pleased also with the work of junior transfer Josh Moody, who pitched two innings of scoreless relief in game two.
ASU will next be in action on Friday, when it hosts Towson at 6:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
