ASU Baseball: Takeaways from a sweep at Cal State Fullerton

Parlaying some of the momentum from a three game sweep of Eastern Michigan over the weekend, Arizona State arrived in Fullerton on Tuesday with plenty of confidence heading into its two game series with No. 23 Cal State Fullerton.

The Sun Devils left with even more confidence, sweeping the Titans in a quick two game set to improve their record to 10-3 on the young season.

Series Recap

Tuesday: W 5-3 (W - Aboites, S - Erives)

Wednesday: W 2-1 (W - Greer, S - Martinez)

2 Up

The bullpen: A quick glance at the pitchers of record for this series should tell you just how big a role the bullpen played in this sweep. Aboites and Greer with the win? Martinez with a save?

Yes, it was an all hands on deck type of trip, with the coaching staff having to toe that line of saving enough arms for the weekend while still trying to pick up a couple of big midweek wins.

All in all, everyone did a fantastic job when called upon. Jordan Aboites gave up just two runs in five innings of work in his first game since being suspended last week, while eight Sun Devil pitchers combined to just allow one run in the 14 inning marathon that was game two.

David Greer: The team's leader at the plate continued his hot start to 2016, combining for five hits and two RBIs over the two game trip. No hit was more important than his last one, however, a 14th inning solo shot to the deepest part of the yard at Goodwin Field to put the Sun Devils ahead 1-0 in Game 2.

The homer broke a scoreless tie between the Titans and Arizona State. Not a bad time to get your first long ball of the season.

Finally Greer, now we can all go to bed.

— Tracy Smith (@ASUSkip) March 10, 2016

2 Down

Woodmansee's defense: If there is anyone on the maroon and gold who can afford to make an error, it's Woodmansee. With that said, the preseason All-American's defense nearly cost the Sun Devils big time late in Wednesday's game.

Back-to-back fielding mistakes from the shortstop allowed Cal State Fullerton to bring home their first run of the game and get the winning run aboard with nobody out in the bottom half of the 14th, but some nifty work on the mound from Seth Martinez allowed ASU to forget the mistakes and walk off the field a winner.

Fullerton's early season woes: While it's obviously still early, the Titans aren't exactly looking like the top 20 team that many thought they were back in the preseason. They are now 1-5 against Pac-12 opponents, and a loss against Wichita State on Friday would drop their record to under .500.

For this sweep to impress the selection committee come Memorial Day, Arizona State needs Rick Vanderhook's team to quickly turn things around.

Player of the Series: David Greer

We alluded to it earlier, but Greer's first home run of the season broke a tie that seemed like it would never be broken in the 14th inning of Wednesday's series finale. That's enough to win our esteemed Player of the Series honor.

Honorable Mentions: Jordan Aboites, Reagan Todd, Andrew Snow

Looking Ahead

The Sun Devils will return home for a three game set against UC Davis this weekend. The Aggies have won two straight but still have an overall record of 5-7.

The series will get underway on Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. The two teams will then meet again on Saturday at the same time before Sunday's 12:30 p.m. series finale.