Before his freshman year at Arizona State started, former San Benito alumnus Darin Gillies considered all possibilities entering his first campaign.
He could either pitch from the bullpen and enter games when needed, or he could take the ball every Sunday behind two possible Major League first-round draftees.
Instead of worrying what could happen, though, he only focused on what he needed to do.
More than two months later, that mindset has paid off for the right hander.
After seven starts, Gillies was rewarded Sunday with a start at Stanford, a little more than an hour away from where he competed for the Haybalers.
And those in attendance at Stanford’s Sunken Diamond made sure he noticed how excited they were to see him. Despite playing in front of the Palo Alto crowd, Gillies introduction recieved the loudest ovation for any player on the field. Despite being a state away from Tempe, Gillies was pitching with a home-field advantage.
“It’s awesome,” Gillies said. “It’s awesome to have those people out here. It’s a special day today. I really enjoyed it.”
But on the mound for No. 20 ranked Arizona State, Gillies didn’t give the home crowd much to root for. The freshman struggled with his control — throwing only 29 of his 61 pitches for strikes — and allowed two runs in 2.2 innings.
Holding a 1-0 lead and quickly blowing through the first two innings against No. 10 Stanford’s top-rated offense — allowing only one base runner — Gillies hit a wall in the third inning.
After recording the first out of the inning on a long fly ball to center field, Gillies allowed four-straight base runners. Starting with a walk to Stanford’s Austin Wilson, Gillies loaded the bases by allowing a single to Brett Michael Doran and hitting Tyler Gaffney in the arm.
Stephen Piscotty followed with a 2-RBI single, giving Stanford a 2-1 lead in the third inning.
Gillies ended his day with a strikeout of Alex Blandino and his third walk.
“I thought I threw well,” Gillies said. “My first couple of innings, I rolled through and after that, I got into a little bit of trouble. I got into a little bit of a jam. I gave a couple of guys some free passes and that’s just not acceptable.”
If he struggled, Gillies knew he wouldn’t be in the game for long, he said.
“I have a short leash on Sunday because we have such a large bullpen on Sundays and they don’t really stay with me for that long because of that reason.”
After the Sun Devils lost the first two games of the series — 17-5 Friday and 8-7 Saturday — Arizona State needed the victory over its PAC-12 rival.
“Sundays in the PAC-12, it’s tough,” Gillies said. “There are a lot of close ball games, a lot of one-run games so they don’t have any tolerance to let anything get out of hand.”
And with Gillies having a hard time locating his changeup, he was taken out of the game quickly.
Other than his changeup, his other off-speed stuff — including a newly added slider — and 92 MPH fastball were working.
“My stuff felt good,” he said. “I struggled with my changeup a little bit. I couldn’t get it over — I think that was the biggest problem today. If I could have gotten that pitch over, I would have lasted a bit longer. I mean it’s tough out here. As a starter, you have to have all four pitches all the time. You have to be able to throw all your pitches for strikes. If you’re missing one, your other four better be on point that day because it’s tough. Today, I felt good. I threw well, but it’s just a learning process.”
And despite his short outing Sunday, the game — like his freshman season as a whole — is a learning experience.
“This year has gone by so quick but I’ve definitely grown as a player and a pitcher,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot pitching behind the older guys.”
Those older guys — Brady Rogers and Trevor Williams — are projected top picks in the MLB draft, and have helped Gillies prepare mentally for each game, Gillies said.
“Most of the conversations we have are about the mental side of baseball,” he said. “Everyone up here has talent and everyone up here can pitch. It’s more about what’s between the ears and able to get out of jams and situations that I was in today.”
Eventually, that experience will allow Gillies to anchor the staff, but this year he is taking his time, he said.
“Everything is going well,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot this year. I’ve grown as a person and as a player. School is going well. It’s just a matter of taking every day at a time.”
And through the first 37 innings of his collegiate career, that mindset has worked just fine.
