ASU Baseball: Sun Devils aim to get back on track against Eastern Michigan

After sweeping Xavier in four games to start the season, the Arizona State Sun Devils have lost three of their last four games following a weekend series loss against Long Beach State. ASU now returns home for a home set against Eastern Michigan. Here is your weekend preview.

Pitching Matchups

Friday - RHP Seth Martinez (ASU) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA vs. RHP Sam Delaplane (EMU) - 1-1, 8.31 ERA

Saturday - LHP Reagan Todd (ASU) - 1-1, 0.93 ERA vs. RHP Davis Feldman (EMU) - 0-1, 1.00 ERA

Sunday - TBD (ASU) vs. RHP Augie Gallardo (EMU) - 1-1, 1.50 ERA

ASU Update

The Sun Devils won the first game over LBSU but fell in games two and three, only scoring a combined three runs in the final two games of the series. The pitching staff, which came into the season as a major question mark, has excelled for ASU early in the season. The Sun Devils rank third in the Pac-12 in both ERA (2.44) and opposing batting average (.226).

At the plate, junior Colby Woodmansee has stood out with this .345 batting average in team-leading 12 RBIs. Sebastian Zawada had a good weekend in Long Beach and is now hitting over .400 in seven games this season and Andrew Snow is also hitting over .400 for the season.

Eastern Michigan Update

The Eagles come to Tempe with a record of 4-5 on the young season. Eastern Michigan won three of its first four games but have gone 1-4 since. However, those games came against No. 1 Florida and a South Florida team that went to a regional last year. The Eagles were able to take the final game against USF after dropping their first four games on their Florida trip (however they did lead No. 1 Florida after eight innings in a midweek game).

The Eagles are led offensively by senior outfielder Jackson Martin, who leads the team with 11 RBIs and as a team EMU has scored 55 runs, which ranks 50th in the nation. Four EMU players will come into the series hitting over .300. Last season, the Eagles went 20-35 and finished ninth in the MAC.

Notes

• Friday's game is designated as "Cory Hahn Night" as the former Sun Devil will be in attendance for a pre-game presentation and there will also be a poser giveaway. For more information about the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment click here.
• RHP Hever Bueno will miss his second consecutive start with a muscle strain and Tracy Smith told reporters that Bueno will be held off until conference season begins in three weeks.
• Colby Woodmansee leads the Pac-12 in RBIs with 12 and Andrew Snow is sixth in the conference with a .414 batting average.
• Friday and Saturday's games will be played at 6:30 p.m. with Sunday's first pitch scheduled for 12:30. You can watch the action online here.