PHOENIX - When the Sun Devils concluded their series versus Ohio State back in February, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this team wasn’t going to rest on their laurels. If the offense could remain as vicious as they had been, it would give ASU’s generally young staff time to grow. But what followed their 5-3 start had fans scratching their heads: a 5-11 record brought on by inconsistent hitting that forced the pitching staff to leap from their nests and learn how to compete at the Division I level.
But now the hitting has righted the ship for ASU (14-14, 6-6 Pac-12), allowing the staff to build on the important lessons they’d learned in their prior outings. While losing was difficult, it gave the pitching staff the necessary kick in the rear to play to the best of their capabilities. Now, with their first winning streak of the season following Friday’s 10-9 victory over California (15-10, 5-7), the Sun Devils had the chance to complete the sweep and further prove their team had what it took to compete.
No one had exemplified this notion better than Saturday afternoon starter Connor Markl. To start the season, Markl ran into some early misfortunes on the mound, allowing five runs to Santa Clara that wouldn’t matter much as ASU put up 14 of their own. But when the offense went cold, Markl had to execute at a higher degree for the Sun Devils to stay in games.
In Markl’s last two contests, he would do just that. En route to winning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors, Markl shoved six shutout innings against Arizona whilst striking out eight. In his next start against Washington State, he would go six and two-thirds innings, allowing just two earned runs and punching out six. When ASU needed his services the most, Markl came into his own and helped his squad compete at the highest level. And now he would be tasked with completing Arizona State’s first three-game sweep since April of last year.
For the third consecutive game, the Bears would deliver the first blow with an RBI single in first from Rodney Green Jr., who made things close the previous night with his late-inning three-run homer. They doubled their lead in the second on an error from Ethan Mendoza that plated a run. But the two-run lead would not survive for long.
In the bottom of the fourth, ASU would showcase what’s driven their ticket sales: their power. The first batter of the inning, Jacob Tobias, skyed a towering fly ball that carried all the way over the wall in left-center for Arizona State’s first tally of the ballgame. Two pitches later, Eamonn Lance would continue to plead his case for more playing time, belting one to center to go back-to-back with Tobias and tie the game at two.
The fourth inning would come to a close on a Mario Demera groundout, or so everyone thought. That was until Willie Bloomquist challenged the call at first and miraculously got overturned. This marked the beginning of the second offensive campaign in the fourth. A double here and a walk there would load the bases for Ryan Campos, who promptly delivered a bases-clearing double the other way, his second such hit of the series. Add on an RBI single from Nick McClain, and all of a sudden, the Sun Devils were up by four.
“You never know when a big inning is going to start; you just keep passing the torch and keep putting together good at-bats,” Bloomquist noted when asked about the Sun Devils’ two-out hitting. “Ultimately, that ended up being the difference of the game. You never know when it’s going to start, but you gotta take every at-bat with the intention of doing something good.”
Connor Markl’s afternoon ended in the fifth, and what he left behind was a solid chance for Arizona State to grab the victory. In Markl’s five innings, he allowed just two runs on seven hits and a walk whilst striking out six. Just an inning shy of this third consecutive quality start, Connor Markl gave ASU the start they needed to finish the job.
“That’s why we went out and got him when he was in the portal. He was a senior, a veteran arm who knows how to pitch,” Bloomquist said. “Is he going to light up the radar guns with 95-96? No, but he knows how to pitch and knows how to eat up innings and keep us in the game, and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
The Sun Devils picked up another couple of runs in the fifth on Demera and Ondina’s RBI knocks. But things would get scary for Arizona State following Connor Markl’s departure for right-hander Jonah Giblin. Giblin, in his first inning, would surrender four runs to California as a result of some spotty command coming out of the bullpen. Now, with an 8-6 lead, the bullpen would have to remain stellar to prevent the Bears from taking the Saturday matinee.
Kien Vu, who started in center field in place of Isaiah Jackson, has always been referred to as the “glue” of this team. Coming off the bench for most of his appearances, Vu has excelled at his pinch-hit responsibilities with a staggering .483 batting average. But now, with the comfort of a starting position, Vu was able to relax and collect his first home run of the season, a towering blast in the seventh that would be the final blow for the Sun Devils.
Despite the crooked number in the sixth, Giblin would settle in on the mound and toss two scoreless innings to help his ball club. He began the ninth allowing some traffic on the bases, but Ryan Schiefer would come on and do a job to finalize the sweep and bring the Sun Devils back to the .500 mark with a final score of 9-6.
Overall, Cal entered the weekend Ranked in the Top 60 in the country in ERA (4.66) and top 50 with 10.9 strikeouts per game. The Sun Devils sent them home with a 10.12 ERA for the weekend while striking out just 16 times (5.3 per game).
With yet another fresh start in the Pac-12 standings, the Sun Devils know how important it is to maintain this success now, given the lessons they’ve accrued along their journey. And with the humbling road trip last week in Washington under their belt, they know what’s at stake moving forward.
The Sun Devils are set for a midweek matchup game against GCU on Tuesday, where ASU will look to extend their longest winning streak of the season.
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