Maybe it’s because the weather this time of year can be refreshing, or maybe it’s because finals haven’t hit yet, but regardless, the members of the ASU baseball and softball teams are flourishing.
Recent series sweeps from both teams have cemented them as two of the best teams ASU has to offer.
Softball swept UA in Tucson for the first time in history and baseball finished off a sweep of Cal with two complete game shutouts from junior Kyle Champlin and sophomore Jake Barrett. The teams are now ranked No. 2 and No. 6 in the nation, respectively.
After a fall with a struggling football team and a winter with an even worse men’s basketball team, the success of the baseball and softball teams adds to that spring refreshment.
The softball team’s sweep of No. 7 UA was quite the achievement; especially considering it had won just a single game in Tucson since 1993.
The series started with a shutout by freshman Dallas Escobedo and a grand slam from junior Katelyn Boyd on Thursday, but the second game looked like a Wildcat rout after two innings. UA built a 9-1 lead before ASU stormed back with nine runs in the last two innings, including a grand slam from senior Kaylyn Castillo, and pulled out a 13-10 victory.
Then Saturday quickly turned into a celebration of a historic sweep. A complete game from Escobedo, along with her eight strikeouts, led the Sun Devils to the 8-3 victory.
ASU is 42-5 overall this season and will next face an Oregon State squad that is currently 1-11 in the Pac-10. At No. 2, there isn’t much room to climb, but don’t expect that ranking to fall anytime in the near future.
While two grand slams and several long balls boosted softball, the men on the mound led baseball against No. 15 Cal.
A grueling 17-inning game on Thursday used up five different Sun Devil pitchers, but they didn’t know at the time that the remaining two games in the series would only need two.
Two straight complete game shutouts, one from Champlin and one from Barrett, shut down the Golden Bears on Friday and Saturday. The Sun Devils outscored the Golden Bears 17-4 in the series and are now riding a six-game winning streak into a midweek game against UA. ASU is now 11-4 in Pac-10 play, which is good for second in the conference.
Their records show that they have been good all season, but the weekend’s sweeps made a statement to the other teams in the Pac-10 and across the nation.
Baseball’s postseason is still in question, but both teams have shown that they could compete for a national title. These are arguably the best teams on campus.
This is ASU, and spring is always an excellent season in the desert.
