Following a 31-9 blowout to the USC Trojans in ASU’s season finale, head coach Tracy Smith didn’t feel the need to talk about the game that Sunday afternoon.
“Just for my mindset and moving forward — which is what we want to do — I’m not sour grapes," Smith said. "I’m just saying it’s not even worth talking about this game."
Including today’s loss, ASU finished 34-21 overall this season with a record of 16-14 within the Pac 12. Going into today’s game, Arizona State could’ve potentially hosted a regional, meriting this game extra importance.
In the eighth inning, the Trojans extended their run total to 31 by tacking on four more runs — breaking the record of most runs the Sun Devils have ever allowed to an opponent.
Trojan junior Frankie Rios tied the record with his single to left field driving in two. Freshman Dillon Paulson doubled in a run and junior Reggie Southhall singled in a run — no. 30 and 31 in the game.
With some fight in them, the Sun Devils refused to let the record of highest losing deficit be broken, 23, as they rallied up four runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single by senior RJ Ybarra, a passed ball, and a double by junior Sebestian Zawada. The team trimmed the deficit to 22.
Smith also said the mindset going into the team's postseason changed dramatically as the regular season has progressed and concluded.
“We knew this was going to be a transition year,” Smith said. “You listen to the names, or I guess the years in school, of the guys who are running out there and playing, (and ) you couple that with the fact that we lose our ace on the first weekend ... To be sitting in the position we’re at now, I’m sorry, but i’m not going to sit here and be upset.”
Smith said his entire mindset was on where his team is going to end up, and what he can do to prepare for it.
“Our mindset truthfully, is to look at going into regionals not just to go in there and try and win a game, we’re going to look at this thing as what’s the best way given our opponents in seeding, to win the regional, so we’re going to map it out accordingly," he said.
“I still feel like our formula is there, regardless of what happened today,” Smith said.
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