Joe Lampe took two quick steps in, turned on a dime, and began sprinting back. Only his Jersey number five was visible at that point, as Arizona’s Mac Bingham’s deep line drive sailed just over his head and all the way to the center field wall. By the time Lampe got the ball back into the infield, Bingham was standing on third base with a go-ahead three-RBI triple. The decisive play gave Arizona an 8-6 lead it would not give back, eliminating the Sun Devils on day three of the Pac-12 tournament. The loss not only knocks ASU from the tournament it also ends the Sun Devils’ season.
“I thought he had to reach for it, so I broke in at first,” Lampe said. “That was a mistake. It was a bad read off the bat. Physical mistake.”
Lampe led off the top of the ninth immediately following an inning-ending 6-3 groundout to end the fateful eighth. In his mind, the defensive mishap had nothing to do with his first pitch fly out. The unfortunate defensive play is dwarfed, however, by Lampe’s overall contributions to the team all year long.
“He’s taking responsibility for it, but it’s not all on him,” Willie Bloomquist said. “He’s been such a catalyst for us all year; that play was unfortunate, but no regrets. He played his guts out.”
Blake Pivaroff took the final loss of 2022. After turning in a perfect bottom of the seventh with that same 6-5 lead, he walked the first two batters he faced to begin the eighth. Willie Bloomquist then went to the pen for closer Brock Peery, who fielded a sacrifice bunt before the bases were loaded on an intentional walk. A pop-out put ASU on the cusp of escape, but Bingham had other plans.
“Now that I’ve had this experience as a coach, I understand what I have to get better at as a coach,” Bloomquist said. “There’s a lot of parity in our conference, which means we’re really close to the top, but we’re also close to the bottom. We’ll regroup here and keep moving forward.”
The inaugural season of the Willie Bloomquist era ends at 26-32. An up and down campaign ends with a few more downs than ups, as well as a few more gut-punching losses than euphoric wins. Such is the nature of a transition season. This game was a microcosm of the entire campaign in many ways.
Usual Friday night starter Adam Tulloch was able to stick to his normal day of work, getting the start in game three. As has been the case for him much of this season, a stellar start turned into a nightmare. Through the first two innings, Tulloch hadn’t allowed a hit and had struck out three.
The tide then turned dramatically for Tulloch with one out and no runners on in the bottom of the third. A single and a walk immediately put the left-hander in hot water. Then, he made a fatal mistake with a fastball to Arizona’s Daniel Susac. Susac took a fastball up and over the outer part of the plate and belted it out to deep right field. Not to be outdone, Tanner O’Tremba did the same on the very next pitch. The two opposite field blasts, coupled with a single two pitches later, ended Tulloch’s day.
Arizona State’s best offensive player for the back half of the year was its best offensive player on the season’s last day. Ryan Campos drove in four runs, highlighted by a two-run double in the top of the seventh that gave ASU a one-run lead. His two-run single in the first gave the Sun Devils a lead before Arizona had even recorded an out.
Campos finishes his stellar freshman season hitting .351 with 26 RBI and 58 total hits. The former Arizona signee began the year as a backup catcher and finished it starting nearly every game in the last two months behind the dish. When the staff, and fans for that matter, pick out bright spots from this season, Ryan Campos may shine the brightest.
“I’ve learned just to fight every pitch,” Campos said. “This isn’t high school; the biggest thing for me has been just being ready every pitch and really taking pride in that.”
Campos, Will Rogers, Jacob Tobias, Cam Magee, and Alex Champagne all got some playing time as true freshmen, but none of those five had the everyday impact of Campos. Jacob Tobias had a great freshman season of his own, but Campos’s knack for the clutch hit and his ascent to the number three spot in the order was uniquely special.
“I just worked hard and said to myself that when this opportunity comes, I better not miss it,” Campos explained.
His coach echoed the praise.
“You saw it today. He went from a guy who was a little timid early in the year to someone who was maybe the best player on the field today,” Bloomquist said. “I’m excited for him and his future.”
The time for sentimental reflection is still fresh, but Bloomquist knows that every member of the 2022 squad, whether they return or not, will walk away with a valuable lesson.
“To never give in. To just keep going,” he said. “That works in life, and whatever industry you’re in, those guys that keep pushing forward and keep grinding through it are the ones that build that character.”
(Quotes courtesy of Austin Green, Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau)
