When head coach Tracy Smith sat for his briefing with the media after ASU baseball’s 8-6 loss to Cal State Bakersfield Sunday, the mood in the room wasn’t as light as previous games.
The Sun Devils, who had won six of their last seven games entering Sunday, fell short of a series sweep after freshman designated hitter Hunter Bishop was doubled off at second base to end the game, having failed to tag up on a fly ball.
#Devils push a runner to second with one out in the final frame, but fall to CSUB in the finale.
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 23, 2017
We go on the road to Eugene on Friday! pic.twitter.com/5mOC9USae9
Although Bishop is in his first year of NCAA baseball, Smith might tell you that there comes a point where youth isn’t an excuse.
“This isn’t about being a freshman, this isn’t about being anything,” Smith said. “This is about: Be a baseball player. Understand.”
Some players have said they're feeling more comfortable.
“I don’t feel like a freshman anymore,” Aldrete said after his 3-for-4 day at the plate on Friday. “These guys, they’re all old. They’re teaching me a lot. It’s fun to be out there with them. Me and Taylor (Lane) play like two best friends in the backyard. It’s fun and I’m learning a lot from them.”
The aforementioned Lane is a junior now playing with his third collegiate ballclub, providing experience on a team that has 12 freshmen. He said he has good chemistry with Aldrete.
“We’re really good friends off the field, so it’s fun playing with him,” he said. “He makes me better, I make him better.”
Some shots from pregame here at Phoenix Municipal Stadium as @ASU_Baseball takes on @UCLABaseball. pic.twitter.com/YEANJnJ68U
— Josh Orcutt (@JoshOrcuttPhoto) April 1, 2017
But Smith said even though the team has talked over some of its rookie mistakes as the season has gone on, he’s still seeing poor habits repeat themselves. That’s why, he says, he’s had to balance “aggressive corrective” coaching with “talking someone through the thing.”
“I think the instinct piece is one of the biggest things that I think we’re lacking in our younger guys. It's just understanding how to play,” Smith said. “That’s going to come over time.”
Smith, now in his third season at the helm of ASU baseball, did say the offensive side of his team’s development is “coming” and “you can see some of that” in the on-field product. But he repeatedly said that the various mental errors his team makes during the game have been costly.
He said that players’ lack of playing time before college might be a factor.
“This is where I’m going to show my old age and sound like the old guy again: These guys don’t play a lot of baseball,” Smith said.
He says that players do showcases and don't always play entire games.
"You learn to run the bases and learn to play the game by playing the game," Smith said. "I would bet you that there’s a lot of coaches across the country that echo the same thing. You see a lot of guys that come in with tremendous skill sets but lack some instincts.”
As for a positive, ASU has nonetheless won six of its last eight games. They’ll get the chance to improve their Pac-12 standing when the Sun Devils begin a series at Oregon on Friday.
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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