After Tuesday's loss to GCU, when asked what needed to change heading into the upcoming weekend series against BYU, head coach Willie Bloomquist said, “Pretty much everything.”
ASU baseball has been disappointing lately; after a 20-9 start, the Sun Devils have hit a bit of a slump, going 5-7 in their last 12 games. Less than a month ago, they were ranked No. 24 in the nation; as of Thursday, they’re only ranked fifth in their own conference, which is not ideal for a team with real postseason hopes.
With only 15 games remaining in the season and the Big 12 tournament less than a month away, ASU has moved beyond settling in. With the majority of the heavy hitters on their schedule behind them, putting together a string of consistent all-around performances is critical to building momentum to end the season.
Thursday was hoped to be the day the Sun Devils turned things around; Bloomquist plainly saw the GCU loss as a wake-up call for a team that needed to turn things around quickly. Thursday may not have resolved all issues, but it was a step in the right direction. Following his season-high 13 strikeouts last week, junior left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs notched 11 more in 6 1⁄3 innings. The three runs he allowed would be all that BYU would score as ASU (26-16, 12-7 Big 12) easily defeated the Cougars (20-19, 6-13 Big 12) 8-3.
This season has had its ups and downs for Jacobs. After a strong sophomore campaign, many expected him to take the next step and establish himself as one of the nation’s top arms. While his ERA is currently higher than it was at the end of last season, he still ranks fifth in the conference in strikeouts. However, outings like his 10-strikeout performance against Arizona—where he also gave up five earned runs—highlight how a few mistakes have held back otherwise dominant starts.
Thursday was a reversal of that trend. Despite giving up two early runs in the first, Jacobs settled in and allowed just four hits and one run over the next 5 1⁄3 innings, making it his longest start of the season.
“The way he settled in and battled and competed and got us through a little bit more than six innings, and really kept him at bay after the first inning, was phenomenal,” Bloomquist noted. “He got himself into trouble there, the fifth, where he had a couple of walks and two leadoff walks, like, oh boy, but he did a great job limiting the damage, only giving up one right there. That was a gutty performance on his part.”
The fourth and fifth innings were crucial for Jacobs, as five runners reached apiece in those two innings, and a single in the fifth loaded the bases with no outs. Jacobs has struggled with one-inning breakdowns in the past, but he was able to halt BYU's momentum Thursday, striking out five across two innings in the fourth and fifth.
Those big-time strikeouts under pressure have become Jacob's trademark.
“I just trust my stuff and trust my confidence,” Jacobs stated. “That's what I take pride in most, is my confidence and how I handle myself on the mound, and when stuff gets shaky like that, I just want to go back to who I know I really am and know what I really can do, so just leaning on that confidence and trusting myself and ultimately trusting the guys behind me to make plays like they did all night.”
There appears to be a lot of faith in what's going on behind Jacobs, as the ASU infield has been a pillar of stability all season. Sophomore Jax Ryan made his first start since March 30th, collecting two hits and raising his average to .340. For most teams, Ryan would be tough to keep out of the lineup, but with junior Kyle Walker, who has a hit in 29 of his last 30 games, and senior Matt King, now batting .404 after two more hits tonight, it's easy to see why Ryan has struggled to find consistent playing time.
All three of King's RBIs tonight scored Walker, including two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly, giving the impression that one of the two, if not both, will find a way to put a run on the board every time they come to bat. Walker began the season as the nine-hole hitter, while King began as another bottom-of-the-order player rotating in with Ryan; today, they occupy two of the top three slots in the order.
Roles that Bloomquist does not anticipate them leaving in the near future.
“Matt King and Kyle Walker, right now, they’re the heart and soul of our offense,” Bloomquist said. “They're playing with energy. They're playing with leadership skills. They're taking over, which is pretty, pretty outstanding considering the company that they're in, in that lineup. You combine that, like I said, with a kid like Jax Ryan, who's, what's he hitting? He's hitting 340 and having a hard time getting the lineup.”
Ryan was given the start today to provide junior outfielder Brandon Compton, who is five for his last 34, a rest and an opportunity to reset. Bloomquist stated after the game that they are past the point where players can expect to be penciled into the lineup every night, claiming that some players are becoming "awful complacent" with their roles and that if they want to bring new sparks into this lineup, they must begin playing with the hot hand.
Landon Hairston, a freshman outfielder, took Compton's spot in the field. He added another home run to his total, his third straight weekend with a long ball. His two-run opposite-field home run was his eighth extra-base hit in the last ten games; before this ten-game stretch, he had only one extra-base hit all season.
The trio of Walker, King, and Hairston combined for five hits, six RBIs, two extra-base hits, three walks, and five runs tonight. At the start of the season, many wouldn't have guessed that they would be handily winning games for ASU, whereas Compton and other regulars have been struggling to make that same impact.
Bloomquist's two go-to arms, junior right-handed pitcher Lucas Kelly and sophomore left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon, ended the game after Jacobs' stint, combining for 2.2 innings, one hit, zero runs, and five strikeouts.
Kelly, who has a 2.12 ERA, claimed after the game that it's been a "rough go for me so far," which Bloomquist mocked, stating, "If that's how he feels he's pitched, man, I'd love to see him when he thinks he's good because I thought he's been pretty dang good so far this year."
Gaining a victory tomorrow would give ASU back-to-back conference series victories, which would undoubtedly serve as a sort of bounce park after losing back-to-back conference series. However, building on the series victories has proven to be problematic, as midweek losses—such as those to Purdue and GCU—have been the team's weakest point all season.
Bloomquist has overlooked the future in favor of concentrating on the "one game at a time" mentality. This mentality holds that while they have no control over the past or the appearance of their team in a week, they do have control over each game against BYU. Since they are competing in the fiercely competitive Big 12, every game will count toward the end of this lengthy season.
“We're not so much worried about the postseason as we are about tomorrow's game,” Bloomquist stated. “We can't look ahead to that for one game at a time and just continue to be focused and locked in each day again, not look ahead… I know what these kids are capable of doing because they've done it before, and then they just kind of sometimes lose focus on that. It's my job to make sure to crack the whip and get them right back into hopefully continuing to stay with the approach. It's a daily challenge, but these guys are capable of doing something special.”
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
