No. 24 ASU baseball had a miserable weekend leading up to Sunday. On Saturday, the Sun Devils suffered their third consecutive loss against Arizona this year and their second in this series. It was a humbling series loss to everyone's least favorite Arizona team, and given the high expectations around this matchup, it has not been the best stretch for ASU.
This evening, though, presented a new opportunity. The Sun Devils are 7-0 in Sunday games this year, with the third game of the season highlighted by sophomore Jaden Alba and a multitude of ASU bullpen arms. They have constantly battled and allowed the offense to do the rest in the final game of these three-game series.
What had been a rather quiet offensive series remained through the first four innings of today's game, and everything that had gone wrong in the previous two games persisted. That is, until senior infielder Matt King broke through with a two-run homer, sparking the Sun Devils' eight-run streak. ASU (21-20, 8-4 Big 12) avoided the sweep by defeating Arizona (22-9, 8-4 Big 12) behind sophomore pitcher Cole Carlon's 4 ⅓ perfect innings and career-high 10 strikeouts.
Tonight, the first four and last five innings were played by two very different Sun Devil teams. In the first four innings, ASU struggled with the same issues that had caused them to lose the previous two games against Arizona: self-inflicted double plays, failure to limit damage on the mound, and an inconsistent ability to piece together numerous positive at-bats.
The back half was the opposite. ASU was able to capitalize on Arizona's mistakes and string together a web of base runners. The pitchers on the mound, notably Carlon, kept the Wildcats off balance and limited free passes. That intensity and momentum carried over to the entire team, and the results followed.
“That was what the whole series seemed like,” Bloomquist said. “Any time they got a runner on, they came up with a big hit and drove him in. Every time we got a runner on, we hit into a double play or demolished any type of rally. Finally, in the fifth and sixth there today, we were able to break through and get some hits with guys in scoring position and hits with guys on base and string something together.”
King's home run was clearly the deciding factor in that switch. Arizona had taken an early four-nothing lead off of Alba, and the enthusiasm in the building had slowed again. ASU hadn't homered in the series, and their lack of power has been a problem lately, as power can be key when ASU isn't constantly accumulating hits. After junior outfielder Brandon Compton doubled to begin the second, King smacked his first of the season, reducing Arizona's early lead to two runs.
What followed was the first time ASU's offense looked like itself all series. A few walks and singles filled the bases, and after King was hit to move everyone one base forward and score a run, sophomore outfielder Isaiah Jackson came to the bat with the bases loaded and the go-ahead run on second.
Head coach Willie Bloomquist expressed his anger about not getting the hits when ASU needed them yesterday, claiming that all of ASU's hits up until the ninth were "meaningless." Today, Jackson had a chance to alter that. On a 3-1 pitch, Jackson lined a pitch into right field, finally allowing fans at Phoenix Municipal to celebrate, scoring two runs and putting the Sun Devils ahead for the first time since early Friday.
“We all believe in each other,” sophomore catcher Broddy Briggs said. “At the end of the day, we’re sitting in here for an hour before the game, talking about, ‘We have to get this shit going.’ And then we put 13 hits right there. I don't even know how many runs, but that's a good day for us. So we just started going; we're not where we want to be yet, but we'll get it going.”
If the game went the way it seemed, the Wildcats' four-run fourth inning gave the impression that the ASU offense might not be able to keep up with Arizona. However, after a pitching change from Bloomquist bringing in Carlon, the left-hander entered the game down 4-0 and left the game up 8-4.
Carlon recorded a career-high 4 ⅓ IP, allowing no base runners to reach throughout. He doubled his season high in strikeouts and established a career high with 10, including striking out seven consecutive Arizona batters. When asked what was working for Carlon tonight, Bloomquist replied, "Everything."
“Kid was electric tonight. That's the best I've ever seen him,” Bloomquist said. "He faced 13 hitters and punched out 10. That was impressive by him. Went a little bit longer than we wanted to. We stretched him out one more inning, but the kid was rolling. I didn't want to take him out. He was throwing the heck out of it. Everything was working well. Pitches were tunneling, great. Had some fuzz on it when it was coming out too.”
Given the context of when Carlon entered the game, down four, already losing the first two games of this series, and ASU needing any sort of spark to give them any chance of coming back in this game, it was an incredibly impressive outing by Carlon. He has undoubtedly been ASU's best reliever this season. A year after posting a 7.52 ERA as a freshman, he's now registering a 2.12 ERA in his second year as a Sun Devil.
Lucas Kelly, a junior right-handed pitcher, entered, following Carlon. The last time ASU fans saw Kelly throw, he gave up a go-ahead two-run home run to Kansas, allowing his first two runs of the season. Today, he had a little issue enabling a couple of hits, but Kelly used his upper 90s fastball to strike out two in the ninth and secure the save.
ASU was able to salvage a win in the series defeat to Arizona, which provided the breakthrough they had been looking for in all facets. If you're going to win one, it might as well be the last, as they can send the Wildcats home with a loss and concentrate their efforts on their next Big 12 opponent, the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Looking ahead, ASU will not face a Big 12 opponent with a current conference record above .500 for the remainder of the season. In theory, that can translate into smoother sailing against its opponents for the rest of the season, and ASU could regain the momentum they had entering this Arizona series. Bloomquist believes that their challenging schedule thus far has prepared them for what is ahead.
“I think, looking back, we probably scheduled the non-conference kind of right,” Bloomquist said. “It was difficult. It's been difficult, and those guys played us tough, but they've gone on, and a lot of those teams have gone on and won a bunch of games, and it prepared us pretty well for the conference. So again, we're nowhere near where we need to be, but I think we at least know where we have to get better and things we have to improve upon, and we know we're capable of doing something special.”
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