PHOENIX - 60 beats per minute. When Willie Bloomquist asked his guys if they “had a pulse” before their three-game set against Arizona, it could be said that their pulse was even lower than that. Unconscious even. However, following their series victory, backed by solid pitching and clutch hitting, Arizona State ultimately woke up from their coma and stood on their feet for the first time since the conclusion of the Ohio State matchup.
At 60 BPM, ASU is awake and conscious but certainly not 100%, as indicated by their 14-3 loss on Sunday as Arizona avoided the sweep. The offense continues to leave men on base, stranding 25 ducks on the pond in Tucson. With Utah Valley fresh off a three-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin and the Sun Devils only two days removed from the disappointing Sunday defeat, the hill ahead of ASU remains as steep as ever.
Two Sun Devils had plenty to gain from this mid-week matchup: Tyler Meyer and Isaiah Jackson. Meyer, the 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore, limped into Tuesday night 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA in his first four appearances of the season. His biggest blow came in Arlington, where he allowed six runs and six walks in just an inning and a third.
Jackson began the season at the center of the offensive brigade fans saw against Santa Clara and Ohio State, batting .364 with four homers and 15 RBIs. Since then, he’s mustered just a .094 average (3-32) with one RBI and not a single extra-base hit. Jackson, despite his struggles at the plate, remains the X-factor for this ballclub and whether or not they’ll be making the trip to Omaha for the first time since 2010.
Meyer allowed some hard contact in his first couple of innings on the bump, including a two-run homer off the bat of catcher Burke Camper to open the scoring. He had trouble retiring the lead-off man, who reached base all four times in his three and two-thirds innings. Meyer would get chased out of the ball game in the fourth following a two-run double from second baseman Daniel Dickinson, his second double of the game. Still plenty to work on for the young right-hander.
Arizona State pushed across three runs of their own despite only recording one hit through the first four frames. Harris Williams recorded the first hit for the Sun Devils in the third, an RBI double to the warning track in right-center. Jackson mustered an RBI of his own in the bottom of the fourth on a bases-loaded groundout to first. Two batters later, Williams picked up his second RBI of the game on a bases-loaded walk. Unorthodox, but run support nonetheless.
With a 4-3 ballgame heading into the bottom of the fifth, ASU decided enough was enough. Following a pitching change with two outs and a runner on first, Brandon Compton swatted the biggest hit of the night, a go-ahead two-run shot to right center to put the Sun Devils ahead 5-4. His fifth home run of the year came in yet another do-or-die situation, a situation Compton is certainly familiar and comfortable with. “It’s just ‘keep it simple’ for me. Hitting’s already hard, ya know; round ball, round bat, and somehow you have to hit it with eight defenders. Just hit it up the middle and go for it,” Compton shrugged in the press conference.
Tyler Meyer walked so Hunter Omlid could run. When Omlid entered the ballgame, he struck out his first hitter to end the frame. Next inning, he would strike out the side. Next inning, he would throw up another goose egg on the scoreboard and record another three strikeouts. Already a career-best performance, Omlid would throw another two scoreless innings whilst tallying nine strikeouts in total. Sheer, utter dominance from the senior right-hander. When it was all said and done, Omlid, in 5.1 innings pitched, posted 11 strikeouts, giving up two hits and a walk. He’s the first Sun Devil pitcher to reach double-digit strikeouts since 2021 and also recorded the longest outing for a reliever since that season.
The Sun Devil bats failed to collect any more runs in the bottom of the eighth, which meant the bullpen would need to secure a scoreless ninth to deliver the dub. But even as a couple of arms were getting loose in the bullpen, it was always going to be Hunter Omlid to save the day.
The ninth began with a lead-off walk, something uncharacteristic of Omlid’s outing up to that point. A sac bunt moved the runner to second with one out, and suddenly, it seemed very possible this would be another midweek meltdown. But just as nature intended, the hunter always finishes his prey. Omlid would be absolute nails, striking out the last hitters to end the game and seize the opening victory.
Hunter, who began his career primarily as a starting pitcher, certainly gave Willie Bloomquist an option for the rotation moving forward. “If he throws like that, heck yeah! He threw the ball outstanding, we stretched him out probably more than we wanted to tonight. But he’s a strong kid, he’s a senior and he knows what he’s capable of doing. I didn’t see any breakdown of mechanics and we’re just gonna keep riding with him.” Bloomquist said.
“Felt great. Nothing like it,” said Omlid when asked how he felt about closing it out for his team. Omlid’s composure on the mound and pure command of his stuff has definitely unlocked a new realm of wonders for the ASU pitching staff. Only time will tell how important this performance from him was for the rest of the season.
Bloomquist announced that Wyatt Halvorson will get the ball tomorrow to push for the two-game midweek sweep and continue to get that team pulse even higher.
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