"This team could win a national championship": Daunting weekend at Arizona State looms
BC (3-1) faces No. 8/13 ASU (2-3) for a three-game non-conference series this weekend.
After taking three of four from Northern Illinois to start the year, Boston College will face its first ranked opponent in No. 8/13 Arizona State this weekend. For head coach Mike Gambino and the Eagles, though, a three-game series against a ranked opponent on the road is nothing new.
“A top-10 opponent on the road is what we do all the time in the ACC,” Gambino said. “You’re facing top-10 opponents all the time. We believe we’re a quality program and that they’re a quality program, we think we have a good team and they obviously have a good team.”
The Eagles, playing in one of the deepest conferences in college baseball, already have a plethora of ranked opponents to look forward to away from home. They’ll play road series’ against current No. 15 North Carolina State and No. 19 Georgia Tech, and will also meet No. 3 Louisville, No. 12 Florida State, and No. 18 Wake Forest at home. So, this weekend’s three-game set against the Sun Devils is a big early test for a program that will face this quality of opponent consistently in the coming weeks.
ASU (2-3) has stumbled out of the gate against a difficult schedule, falling to Villanova, No. 8 Michigan, and No. 24 Oklahoma State. The Sun Devils haven’t found much offensive success in the early going, hitting just .172 as a team and totaling 12 runs in five games. The pitching has largely been phenomenal, though, posting a 2.20 ERA and striking out 55 batters in 45 innings. That slow start for ASU’s lineup doesn’t fool Gambino, however, who isn’t taking anything about the Sun Devils for granted.
“We’re not getting fooled by a 2-3 record, this team could win a national championship,” Gambino said. “We know that, so we’re not that worried about what their record looks like right now. You’re going to pick your head up at the end of the year and they’re going to have 40 wins, we just hope they don’t get some of those 40 this weekend.”
ASU’s lineup is powered by Spencer Torkelson, the potential No. 1 overall MLB draft pick. Torkelson has been pitched around thus far, drawing five intentional walks and nine total, but has two home runs and a double in five games. Again, Gambino connected the Sun Devils back to BC’s experience in the ACC, comparing Torkelson to the likes of former players in Clemson’s Seth Beer and Louisville’s Brendan McKay.
Beer was a thorn in the Eagles’ side during his time with the Tigers before being chosen 28th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft. In 2018, he hit a home run in each game of a three-game set with BC, and back in 2016 he had a walkoff homer and went 6-for-10 with three doubles and two homers. McKay, the No. 4 overall pick in 2017, went 8-of-28 (.287) in nine career games against the Eagles but drew 11 walks (four intentional) as BC didn’t give him much to hit. You might see a similar thing with Torkelson, as the rest of the Sun Devils lineup is hitting just .159.
“We see these guys in our league all the time,” Gambino said. “We’re going to handle it as each situation presents itself. You don’t want to let another team’s best player beat you if you can avoid it.”
The Eagles bring in a pitching staff that features a plethora of new faces. Thirteen pitchers appeared in the four-game series against Northern Illinois—the result of Gambino looking to protect his pitcher’s arms and opting for a short leash—and there was a mixed bag of results. In the rotation, Mason Pelio, Joe Mancini, and Joey Walsh turned in starts of either four or five innings, while Emmet Sheehan struggled and didn’t make it out of the third.
Out of the weekend rotation, Sheehan is who Gambino is most excited to see what he does next. The sophomore was charged with five runs, all earned, in just 2 2/3 innings while walking six. He’ll toe the rubber in the Sunday matinee with the Sun Devils.
“We knew there was a chance at some point in the year we’d get a two-plus start out of him, but we’re also going to get some seven-plus starts out of him,” he said. “It was not a good start as far as the results, but I think it was a really valuable start for him as he continues to grow and develop.”
Offensively, the Eagles lineup got off to a strong start against the Huskies, but Gambino said it’s only a sign of things to come. BC’s strength this year is its depth in the lineup from top to bottom, with the likes of Brian Dempsey (.462, 7 RBI), Joe Suozzi (.462, 4 RBI) Jack Cunningham (.462), and Sal Frelick (.357, 6 R) all totaling at least five hits last weekend. One name that stood out, though, was a newcomer—second baseman and designated hitter Luke Gold. The Ballston Spa, N.Y., native had four hits and a pair of extra base hits over his four collegiate games.
“You’re seeing the start and the makings of a legitimate middle of the order power bat,” Gambino said. “I think he’ll turn into the type of hitter that when he comes up to the plate you don’t want to go to the concession stand or go to the fridge if you’re watching on ESPN.”
It’ll be strength against strength this weekend, as the Sun Devils pitching staff has taken a big leap forward in 2020 after a rollercoaster of a year last season. Through five games, ASU is holding opponents to a .182 batting average against, has struck out twice as many batters as it has walked, and boasts a WHIP just a few points over 1.00.
“We’re going to see good arms throughout,” Gambino said. “They’ve got quality weekend starters and their bullpen is really good. You’re going to see really good arms all weekend.”
First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. Pelio will go up against Arizona State’s Justin Fall, a 6-foot-6 southpaw who struck out six over six scoreless innings in his season debut against Villanova.
Featured Image Courtesy of Boston College Athletic Communications