ASU Baseball: Takeaways from a series win at Washington State

The Arizona State Sun Devils picked up a much-needed series victory this weekend over Washington State, topping the Cougars 18-3 in a crucial rubber match on Saturday. Here is what stood out over the weekend.

Results

Thursday - W 10-1 (WP - Martinez)

Friday - L 9-3 (LP - Hingst)

Saturday - W 18-3 (WP - Erives)

3 Up

Seth Martinez: The junior right hander continues to shine in the Friday night (Thursday night this week) role for ASU. Martinez threw a complete game in Game 1 of the series, allowing just one run on five hits. Martinez now has a 1.60 ERA in 50.2 IP this season, striking out 47 hitters and walking just nine

Eder Erives: Erives put together his best outing of the season in the series finale, striking out 11 Cougars in seven innings, allowing just two runs and not walking a batter. The Sun Devils have struggled to find consistency in their starting rotation behind Martinez this season and Erives may have earned another shot at the starting rotation.

A Conference Series Victory: The Sun Devils were 1-5 entering this series and after splitting the first two games, they were in danger of dropping their first three Pac-12 series of the year. Getting a series victory on the road will give this team some much-needed confidence heading into the last two months of the year.

3 Down

Ryan Hingst: After tossing a no-hitter last weekend against Utah, Hingst lasted just three innings against Washington State, surrendering four runs on six hits. Hingst had moved into the Saturday role, slotting behind Martinez in the rotation, but after a strong start by Erives it will be interesting to see where he pitches next weekend.

The Bullpen: After Martinez threw a complete game on Thursday, the ASU bullpen surrendered five runs on six hits on Friday, including Eric Melbostad surrendering three runs in his one inning of work. Connor Higgins surrendered two runs in one inning on Saturday. With Erives potentially moving into the starting rotation, it creates more question marks around the bullpen.

Hever Bueno: ASU's opening night starter appeared out of the bullpen last weekend against Utah but was absent from this series against Washington State. Bueno shined on opening night and his return would be a massive addition for the Sun Devils, however it is unclear when or if he will return this season.

Player of the Weekend

Seth Martinez: There were plenty of offensive options to choose from. Andrew Snow tallied four RBIs on Saturday, Colby Woodmansee went 3-5 on Thursday and Gage Canning scored two runs and drove in three in Game 2 of the series.

Yet, the star of the weekend was Martinez. The righty rarely hits 90 MPH yet he continues to dominate with great location while pitching to contact.

Up Next

The Sun Devils are off till Friday when they host the Washington Huskies for a three game set at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Huskies are 13-10 (4-4 Pac-12) entering Sunday and all three games can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.