A big weekend by a pair of powerful Sun Devils has us feeling a little bit better about Ike Davis and Brett Wallace’s absence from the heart of ASU’s lineup. Can Jason Kipnis and Carlos Ramirez keep up the pace?

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Sun Devil fans still singing the blues over the loss of Ike Davis and Brett Wallace may have to find a different tune.

At least that was the verdict after Jason Kipnis and Carlos Ramirez mashed a combined seven home runs in four games against admittedly overmatched competition this weekend. (And they didn’t kick off the season with a faux fight!)

Here’s what the Sun Devils’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters did in a four-game sweep of Wisconsin-Milwaukee over the weekend:

• Kipnis, a centerfielder who this summer turned down a sizeable contract offer from the Padres, batted 12-for-17 (.706) with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and eight RBI.
• Ramirez, a transfer catcher from Chandler Gilbert Community College, batted 8-for-14 (.571) with a double, a triple, four home runs and nine RBI.

The power surge continued in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Missouri when Kipnis went yard to lead off the fourth inning.

Kipnis’ fast start did not go unnoticed by Baseball America, which tagged Kipnis in its weekly Golden Spikes Spotlight. In the story, ASU assistant coach Josh Holliday touted Kipnis’ leadership.

Quoth Holliday: “For our young ballclub to have him step up like that and get us going, it created a deep breath for the rest of the guys to play a more relaxed brand of baseball. That’s what you want your older guys to do.”

The competition gets considerably stiffer this weekend as ASU plays Missouri (again), Northern Illinois, Oregon State and Missouri (yet again) on consecutive days Thursday through Sunday.

Five games into the season, Kipnis and Ramirez are obviously on pace to hit more home runs than the 38 clouted by Wallace and Davis last year. We’ll see this weekend if they can maintain the pace.

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• Jason Kipnis’ big weekend (Baseball America)
• Sun Devil baseball season preview (Echo from the Buttes)

Tags: ASU Baseball , Brett Wallace, Carlos Ramirez, Ike Davis, jason kipnis, josh holliday // Add Comment »