Torkelson is ridiculous
Apr 27, 2018 22:46:44 GMT -8
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Tigardbeav, nsh03, and 1 more like this
Post by beavadelic on Apr 27, 2018 22:46:44 GMT -8
Going into the series, I read enough about Spencer Torkelson to know that we would see at least a couple of balls hit out of Goss by him. The freshman sensation for the Devils just tied an ASU freshman home run record (tied with some guy named Bonds who was pretty good) with almost 1/3 of the season left. He has 21 - which leads the nation outright - and the national freshman record for a season is 26, I believe.
It’s hard to imagine, sans juicing big time, how a kid can go from hitting 11 bombs as a high school player in 110 games, and hit 21 in 41 games so far as a freshman against D-1 competition. I don’t know if there’s anything sinister going on or not, but that kid is scary. I held my breath every time he came to the plate tonight, and just hoped that Luke could keep the guys in front of him off the bases.
Fortunately, Luke was fantastic at doing just that. After putting Torkelson on with a hbp in the first, he handled the guy the next 3 times, even though Spencer crushed a couple of foul balls. I knew by the 8th that we would only face him one more time tonight, and hoped that Luke could keep the ball in the park on the way to a complete game win.
Ironically, things kind of turned for the worse when Torkelson dropped a foul ball hit down the left field line that eventually helped us score 4 insurance runs for a 6-0 lead heading into the 9th. We were watching from Banners, and he dropped the foul ball right in front of us. Some “slightly lubed” Beav fans started heckling him, and I suggested to them that they might want to reconsider waking the sleeping giant. When they realized who the kid was, they felt the same way. To his credit, Torkelson looked up and smiled and shook his head, then went to the plate with one down in the 9th, worked to a full count, and smashed the longest bomb over the left field fence that I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, rumor has it that the ball just landed a few minutes ago.
Luke was money tonight. Too bad the pitch count was so high in the 9th. It was the right call to give him a rest for the last out after giving up 3 sharp hits, but he deserved to get the complete game.
I have no idea how the Devils are 17-24. Their infield made several superb defensive plays, half of their batting order looks talented, and their Friday starter should be a lot better than 3-3, IMO. The key for me in winning this series (hopefully sweeping) is keeping Torkelson’s teammates off the bases in front of him (and thanks to the ASU coach for batting him lead off, since the 8 and 9 hitters are pretty weak) and hopefully keeping him in the yard for the most part. Nick, Larnach and Malone are bound to be much more productive at the plate the rest of the weekend, but this is no pushover team.
It’s hard to imagine, sans juicing big time, how a kid can go from hitting 11 bombs as a high school player in 110 games, and hit 21 in 41 games so far as a freshman against D-1 competition. I don’t know if there’s anything sinister going on or not, but that kid is scary. I held my breath every time he came to the plate tonight, and just hoped that Luke could keep the guys in front of him off the bases.
Fortunately, Luke was fantastic at doing just that. After putting Torkelson on with a hbp in the first, he handled the guy the next 3 times, even though Spencer crushed a couple of foul balls. I knew by the 8th that we would only face him one more time tonight, and hoped that Luke could keep the ball in the park on the way to a complete game win.
Ironically, things kind of turned for the worse when Torkelson dropped a foul ball hit down the left field line that eventually helped us score 4 insurance runs for a 6-0 lead heading into the 9th. We were watching from Banners, and he dropped the foul ball right in front of us. Some “slightly lubed” Beav fans started heckling him, and I suggested to them that they might want to reconsider waking the sleeping giant. When they realized who the kid was, they felt the same way. To his credit, Torkelson looked up and smiled and shook his head, then went to the plate with one down in the 9th, worked to a full count, and smashed the longest bomb over the left field fence that I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, rumor has it that the ball just landed a few minutes ago.
Luke was money tonight. Too bad the pitch count was so high in the 9th. It was the right call to give him a rest for the last out after giving up 3 sharp hits, but he deserved to get the complete game.
I have no idea how the Devils are 17-24. Their infield made several superb defensive plays, half of their batting order looks talented, and their Friday starter should be a lot better than 3-3, IMO. The key for me in winning this series (hopefully sweeping) is keeping Torkelson’s teammates off the bases in front of him (and thanks to the ASU coach for batting him lead off, since the 8 and 9 hitters are pretty weak) and hopefully keeping him in the yard for the most part. Nick, Larnach and Malone are bound to be much more productive at the plate the rest of the weekend, but this is no pushover team.
