ASU takes positives away from exhibition with Diamondbacks

Aside from Ryan Lillard taking a pitch to the head, No. 22 Arizona State baseball came out of its exhibition against the Arizona Diamondbacks with plenty of positives.

The D-Backs won 4-0 in their spring debut Tuesday at Salt River Fields, but ASU played a steady game in its first exhibition against a major-league team since 1999, and its first ever vs. the Diamondbacks.

"I'm competitive, I know our guys are competitive, if we're playing ping pong I want to win," ASU coach Tracy Smith said. "But most importantly some of our guys who didn't get chances (in ASU's first 11 games) got to pitch, so the timing of the game worked to our advantage in that standpoint."

As planned, ASU used seven pitchers, including five freshmen. Ryan Hingst started and gave up only a single to Paul Goldschmidt in his two innings.

"It was really awesome," said Hingst, who had only thrown three innings in college before facing the D-Backs. "I wasn't too nervous, but it hard not to do when you're facing a guy like (Goldschmidt). You trust your game plan. I was happy with my results. Two scoreless frames against a team like that is a cool thing. I felt good about it."

Smith said Hingst is a "real quiet kid. It was neat to see the kids in the dugout with him after he finished his second inning. To see that kid smile is like a normal person's yell."

The D-acks did not score until the fifth inning against David Graybill, a junior making his first ASU pitching appearance. Even then, the Sun Devils threw out Yasmany Tomas in a rundown trying to score and Oscar Hernandez on a force play at home before Danny Dorn's two-run double.

Lillard was hit on the batting helmet in the third inning and replaced in the bottom of that inning by Joey Bielek. The freshman first baseman did not suffer a concussion and will be able to play in a home series starting Friday against Long Beach State.

"I looked at Ryan's ear and said it looks like you've got a little swelling, a little cauliflower ear and he said, 'No coach, my ears always look like that,'" said Smith, whose first priority for the exhibition was to come out healthy.

Lillard, new to first base, said his big thrill was talking to Goldschmidt after both singled in the first.

"He's kind of hero of mine, one of my favorite players," Lillard said of the D-Backs' All-Star first baseman. "I don't think he really knew I was new to the position, but he cracked some jokes to me. After his hit, he said something like, 'I'm just you hitting line drives.'"

Lillard said he was rattled after being hit by Justin Marks. "You're not going to just jog down to first base OK, especially a big-league fastball. Luckily I'm OK. I don't have any (concussion) symptoms. They took me out for precautionary reasons."

Smith and Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale, both in their first seasons leading their teams, met for the first time with both coming away impressed.

"What a quality guy," Smith said. "Made us feel very welcome. I can see why he is where he is. He's going to do great things here. He has a good demeanor with people, and you could see how he interacted with his team."

Hale said of Smith, "I congratulated him on getting his job, and I got my job. He's a class guy. I watched his team at Indiana last year, very impressive. It's a great opportunity for ASU to grow. That's what I told him. It's a great program, a great history and moving over to Phoenix Muni will be a big thing for them. I'm very impressed."