Arizona State has been on the wrong side of several comebacks this season, but Sunday, they proved that they could erase a sizeable deficit as well as anyone else. The Sun Devils rode a late offensive burst coupled with a San Francisco bullpen implosion to a monstrous 17-10 win and series sweep over the Dons on Sunday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. It’s the team’s first sweep of the season and Willie Bloomquist’s first as a manager.
It must be something about “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” that gets the ASU bats going. In each of the three wins over San Francisco, Arizona State trailed early before using seventh inning rallies to take difference-making leads. When it’s time to stretch, a switch is flipped in the ASU dugout.
Trailing by a run entering the frame, the Sun Devils took advantage of free bases and poor defense to push across five runs and take a lead they would not relinquish. They poured it on in the eighth, batting around and scoring six more times. The highlight of ASU’s last licks came from Nate Baez, who launched his second grand slam of the season to bring the day’s grand total to 17 runs.
17 will win any game, but the 10 spot ASU allowed was a product of many mistake pitches and subsequent San Francisco barrels.
Tyler Meyer has been a bright spot in the Arizona State starting rotation this season. His first good start came as a pleasant surprise, and the next two became routine. Along with Adam Tulloch and Kyle Luckham, Meyer had solidified his role as the team’s third starter. He took a big step back Sunday, as he was tagged for six earned runs in two innings. All six came on a pair of two-out three-run homers in the first and second innings.
Joe Lampe continued his impressive early-season power surge. His leadoff homer in the bottom of the first came on the first pitch he saw and extended his Pac-12 long ball lead with his sixth blast. Before the season began, it was certainly plausible that a Sun Devil would lead the conference in home runs during the season’s first month. That it would be Lampe? No one saw that coming.
In a season that has so far been defined by poor pitching out of the bullpen, reliever Will Levine has been the reliable arm Willie Bloomquist needs. He took the mound in the third inning after Meyer got the early hook and provided the stability required to spark a comeback on the offensive side.
After USF led 7-2, ASU outscored them 15-3 the rest of the way. Graham Osman pieced together two solid innings late before surrendering the final three Dons’ runs.
The second game of the doubleheader, between Arizona State and Missouri, will get underway at 4:20 local time.
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