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Published Mar 29, 2024
Bats and bullpen key successful series opener against Cal
Scott Sandulli
Staff Writer

Less than a week after arguably its most disappointing three-game stretch in the Willie Bloomquist era, Arizona State (12-14, 4-6 Pac-12) has bounced back loudly. Following a comeback win on Monday at UNLV, the Sun Devils returned to Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Thursday with a bang, tying a season-high of 14 runs on 18 hits in a victory against California (15-8, 5-5).


Deploying the bullpen a day ahead of the usual schedule, things didn’t bode well for ASU when starter Matt Cornelius surrendered two runs and loaded the bases before he could manage an out in the first inning. Luckily for the lefty, ASU’s bullpen was able to fan the fire, and the Arizona State bats picked up their starter with a five-spot in the third, building upon its lead all night en route to the stabilizing win.


“Starting to get back to guys not trying to do too much and stay within themselves,” Bloomquist said postgame. “Hitting with more of a plan, I think, the last 5-6 games, I think we’ve started to get back to kind of what makes us, us. Better at-bats, putting good contact on things, hopefully, it continues because it’s a fun offense when it gets going.”


“We kind of took a step back and re-gathered as a group,” Nick McLain said following the sweep at Washington State. “Can’t do anything about the past.”


With ace Thomas Burns unavailable this weekend and the Sunday starter spot still a question mark, Bloomquist had virtually no choice but to trust his bullpen in the first of three. Up against a Golden Bears squad fresh off a walk-off win on Monday, Cal looked as if It would keep its good times rolling. Matt Cornelius was tagged for a pair of runs, one coming in via a walk before his day ended far earlier than Bloomquist wanted.


Inheriting the bases loaded and nobody out, Matt Tieding would get out of the jam as well as anyone could’ve expected. However, consecutive sacrifice flies staked Bears southpaw Luke Short to a four-run advantage before the Sun Devils could even pick up the bats.


Once ASU got in the batter’s box, everyone in a black jersey got a turn. Scratching across two runs in the second to cut the lead in half, the Sun Devil offense exploded in the third with a quartet of hits to open the frame. A double by Ryan Campos, which extended his on-base streak to 36 straight games, combined with one of four singles on the night from Ethan Mendoza, brought the go-ahead run to the plate in Nick McLain. In “Big Mac” fashion, McLain cleaned up the bases with a three-run shot over the left field wall.


McLain’s clout gave the Sun Devils a 5-4 lead, one that they would build upon the rest of the evening. One of its main contributors came in first-time starter Eamonn Lance. Lance notches his first hit of the campaign with an RBI double just moments after McLain’s clout and surpassed it with a two-run moonshot in the bottom of the fifth to expand ASU’s lead to 7-4.


Having been a regular at Santa Clara in previous seasons, Lance had taken just four unproductive at-bats this season before blasting onto the scene on Thursday. For Lance, taking advantage of an opportunity he had desperately been searching for was rewarding.


“It’s been really tough on me,” Lance said. “I haven’t gone through adversity like that, especially when I was coming off a school where I was playing every day. My mental toughness is what got me through it. The frustration was there, but that just fuels me more. When I finally get my opportunity, just going to break out harder.”


“Lance is the man,” Tieding added. “That’s a great teammate right there, so it was cool to see that.”


With many mouths to feed in a dynamic offense, Bloomquist simply hadn’t found a spot for Lance up until Thursday. Looking to shake things up following a silent weekend in Pullman, Eamonn was an answered prayer.


“We’ve shuffled things up a little bit, but Eamonn’s been a guy more deserving of getting in the lineup more than he has,” Bloomquist acknowledged. “I haven’t put him in the starting lineup yet until today. He’s been a trooper; he’s a competitive kid and wants to play…I figured today was kind of a good matchup to give him, and he made me look bad, which is good. He earned his stripes today, and we’ll continue to find ways to get him in the lineup.”


All the while, Matt Tieding was shoving. After maneuvering his way out of a messy first, Tieding held the Golden Bear bats quiet through the fifth inning, with five scoreless innings of three-hit ball. Even while facing a daunting task, Tieding’s strike-first approach remained the same in his longest outing as a Sun Devil.


“Same as always in trying to stay calm and make my pitches,” Tieding said. “It’s not fun to spot them four in the first, but you just have to come in and do your job. Filling up the zone was huge. That’s always been my style. Attack the guys, can’t afford free passes.”


With Sean Fitzpatrick locking things down through the eighth and a home run swing from Isaiah Jackson for good measure, not even a Caleb Lomavita grand slam in the ninth could threaten the Sun Devils on Thursday night.


“Matty threw the ball great, Fitzy threw the ball outstanding, those two guys saved us tonight from a standpoint of having to use a lot more bullpen arms tonight,” Bloomquist said. “To give our offense a chance to get going and keep us in the game, good things happen when you do that.”


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