In what became a weekend to remember, ASU baseball delivered a historic performance in their midseason clash against BYU. Not only did they complete a dominant sweep, outscoring the Cougars 36-13 across three games, but they also set a school record with eight home runs on Sunday—including an astonishing six in a single inning, marking another record-breaking feat.
Prior to the series against BYU, they had gone 5-7 in their previous 12 games, so breaking a few records appeared to be the perfect momentum boost for a team in need following a streaky patch over the last few weeks.
The midweek games have played a significant role in the record's impression of streakiness; ASU is 5-7 in the midweek this season and has lost its last two games to Purdue and GCU. A meeting against Long Beach State presented the Dirtbags' best chance to turn things around in that regard; coming into Tuesday, the Dirtbags had lost two straight games and six of their last eight.
If you looked at the final score, you'd never know ASU had been held scoreless through the first four innings. By the fifth, it seemed like another midweek setback was on the horizon. But by the end, it became another step forward in ASU's dominant four-game stretch. Nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings turned the tide, propelling ASU to a convincing 11-1 victory over Long Beach State. ASU (29-16) defeated Long Beach State (16-25) via the mercy rule, thanks to a seven-run sixth inning and eight strong innings from the bullpen.
Head coach Willie Bloomquist admitted early in the game that he "kind of had a feeling of one of those games where we just weren't gonna snap out of it." But ASU quickly proved otherwise, pulling ahead so decisively that the final inning wasn’t even necessary. By the sixth inning, it was clear Tuesday wouldn’t end in another midweek letdown.
“We hit a few balls hard right at guys, and it was just one of those eerie nights where all of a sudden the wind is blowing in at Muni. How often do you see that?” Bloomquist said. “...it just seemed like it was one of those eerie nights where a bad pickoff throw hits the umpire and kicks right back to the first baseman, and throws our guy out at second. Like, come on, man, it's not going to be one of these nights, is it? It just took us a while to kind of get going and kickstart ourselves. But again, Zay came up with a big, big homer there and kind of got us going.”
ASU has been scoring runs in bunches recently; on Friday, the Sun Devils scored five of their 12 in the first inning, and on Saturday, they scored 10 of their 16 and six of their eight home runs in the second inning. Today was much the same; after only two hits in the first four innings, junior outfielder Isaiah Jackson eventually ended the scoreless stretch with a two-run home run, his third in just two games.
Jackson noted after Saturday's win that hitting is contagious for ASU and that witnessing their teammates smoke baseballs inspires them to do the same. Jackson's home run today was the match for ASU's flame, as the Sun Devils eventually broke through in the following inning with eight hits, three extra-base hits, and one home run, pulling away from Long Beach State in an instant.
Junior infielder Jax Ryan said Jackson's home run was a "huge momentum shift" for ASU, and he should know, as he was directly impacted by the contagious hitting that followed. After a 2-run RBI single from junior infielder Nu'u Contrades, Ryan pinch hit for sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton and smashed his first career ASU home run, a no-doubt bomb to left to extend the lead to seven.
Despite his steady success at the plate, Ryan hasn’t had consistent playing time this season. Bloomquist has often pointed to the strong production of junior Kyle Walker and senior Matt King as reasons but notes that when Ryan gets a shot, “he seems to have a knack for coming through.”
His average jumped to .333 after today’s home run, reinforcing Bloomquist’s message that no lineup spot is guaranteed. While Compton has been a regular starter, a stretch of inactivity and Bloomquist’s recent comment that he’ll “try to find other ways to get [Ryan] in the lineup” suggest Ryan could start taking some of those at-bats if he keeps hitting.
The remaining contributions from ASU's 11-run day came from King, who recorded his fifth consecutive multi-hit game and his 14th consecutive game with an RBI, this time adding two. King has rapidly established himself as one of the Big 12's best hitters, earning his second Newcomer of the Week and first Big 12 Player of the Week title on Monday after hitting over .500 the previous week.
After just six RBIs in his first 21 games, King has now amassed 39 RBIs in his last 24 games. One of the most unexpected developments of the season has been his transformation from a rotational infielder in the middle to the back half of the order, now ultimately becoming ASU’s most dependable bat at this point in the season.
"He's a tough kid, very focused every day—you don't ever have to worry about him being ready to play,” Bloomquist said. “He's one of those guys where the motor is there every day, wants to play every day, and he's steady Eddie. You want a consistent baseball player, it's Matt King. He's doing nothing but proving his worth every day... it's not a flash in the pan. The kid just plays baseball, a great player all the way around. We're lucky to have him, and he just keeps doing his thing…Kinger’s made it tough to take him out, and as long as he keeps doing what he's doing, I’m not going to."
Despite not being as showy as the home runs and loud innings of offense, the pitching played an equal role in the game's outcome, restricting LBSU to one run. Tonight, ASU only needed to use three arms: senior right-handed pitcher Jonah Giblin, along with sophomore right-handed and left-handed pitchers Derek Schaefer and Cole Carlon. Together, the three threw eight innings, allowed three hits, earned one run, and struck out eight batters.
Giblin had his best outing of the season, throwing three scoreless and hitless innings with four strikeouts. Schaefer started the game on the mound and had some early trouble, but after he left for Giblin and Carlon, LBSU was unable to record a hit for the remainder of the game.
“I just felt like I went out there with the mindset of keeping us in the game and keeping them at one,” Giblin said. “Give the bats a chance to heat up and go get us some runs like they always do. So I think being on the attack today was the key.”
ASU now moves on to tomorrow's rematch, where they may win and sweep the two-game series at the same time, potentially extending their winning streak to five games. ASU's five-game winning streak is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but teams at the top of the Big 12, such as Kansas, which has won nine consecutive, and West Virginia, which has won 14 straight conference games, have made these long win streaks crucial in order to keep up.
As of late, each ASU victory has brought a fresh positive. Today, Ryan kept demonstrating his worth as a hitter; sophomore catcher Brody Briggs earned his second consecutive start by hitting two home runs in Saturday's game, and Ryan seems to have done the same in Wednesday's game.
"It's big, you know. I think it's not only big for him but for everybody. It keeps everyone on their toes. You can't get complacent and think you can just show up and go through the motions. Not that anybody thinks that way, but you’ve got to be on your toes and bring your A-game every day. Otherwise, we’ve got kids chomping at the bit to take over."
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