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TEMPE, Ariz - A rough and rocky 2017 campaign on the diamond for the Arizona State Sun Devils reached its latest obstacle, as the program announced the loss of junior outfielders Andrew Shaps and Ryan Lillard, as first reported by Devils Digest’s Justin Toscano.
BREAKING: According to a source close to @ASU_Baseball, junior outfielders Andrew Shaps and Ryan Lillard have been dismissed from the team.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) May 6, 2017
Shaps was dismissed, while Lillard left the team on his own.
The Sun Devils released an official statement regarding the moves, and further comment is expected from head coach Tracy Smith.
.@TheSunDevils statement on today's @ASU_Baseball news. @ASUSkip is deferring to this statement, too. pic.twitter.com/eloulD0iok
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) May 6, 2017
Shaps posted this on his Twitter account shortly after the news broke.
— Andrew Shaps (@ashaps08) May 7, 2017
Arizona State will play out the rest of the 2017 season without Lillard and Shaps, who started a combined 58 games for the Sun Devils this year heading into the Stanford series. Lillard hit at .202 clip with a pair of home runs while Shaps was an every-day starter who ended his 2017 season with a .299 average and five homers.
The pair is the second to leave the program this week, as pitchers Zach Dixon and Chris Isbell have each left the team as well.
The Sun Devils conclude their series with Stanford on Sunday, and then wrap up the regular season the following week as Arizona visits Phoenix Muni.
UPDATE: Jeff Metcalfe of azcentral has reported that senior infielder Jackson Willeford left the team as well, but did so on his own.
Senior IF Jackson Willeford also has left #ASU baseball on his own ... that's 3 departures today and 5 in the last 2 days
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) May 7, 2017