Following a three-game set in which Arizona State and Oregon State would combine for 64 runs, one wouldn't be remiss in assuming the No. 17-ranked Sun Devils would come out laggy in the midweek. However, ASU did just the opposite in one of many role reversals on Tuesday. For the first time in some time, it seems, the Sun Devils (28-12) were powered by pitching to lead the game from wire to wire, picking up a midweek victory over Cal State Fullerton (23-12), 9-1.
Throughout their 28 wins this season, the Sun Devils have commonly done it through their bats, digging them out of early holes, as can be seen in their 13 wins out of their last 17, having come from three runs down. Tuesday, there was no need for a walk-off grand slam or six-run eighth inning to topple the Titans. Instead, five ASU pitchers combined to allow one run on just five hits. The production of the Sun Devils' Luke Keaschall outperformed that of CSF on his own, as the junior would rope five hits, including a home run, to easily take care of the Titans. The blowout victory came as a relaxer for the entire team, who thoroughly enjoyed a relatively easy win rather than the comeback method.
"It was nice that it wasn't such a back-and-forth type game," head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
"Always nice when you get out to a lead," Luke Keaschall added. "Hold it, be in control the whole game."
Facing a far less threatening lineup than that of Oregon State, ASU pitching had a much smoother time getting outs against the Titans. Starter Timmy Manning put last week's 6-run blowup against Arizona far behind him, tossing three perfect innings to open the game with four strikeouts. Not only was the performance good for Manning, but a sigh of relief to Bloomquist and a bullpen unit that had been stretched thin over the weekend.
"Timmy set the tone really well," Bloomquist said. "Came out and threw the ball really well. It was big. It was needed from a confidence booster perspective. Timmy coming out and doing that was huge. Being able to preserve a few arms that we didn't have to use tonight or even get up or get loose was big for us. He gave us what he needed to give us."
"Everything just felt good," Manning noted. "Got out there and just threw strikes. Last week was last week. Flush it."
Manning also said how he was aware of the fatigued bullpen and, with a busy week of baseball ahead, felt the added responsibility to step up for his club.
"Got five games this week. Guys gotta fill those innings. Getting off to a good start today was huge and helped save the bullpen throughout the rest of the week. "
Unlike their intense weekend series with Oregon State, the Sun Devils didn't waste any time getting runs on the board on Tuesday. First-inning hits from Luke Hill and Nick McLain set up an infield single for Luke Keaschall, which drove in Hill before a Jacob Tobias sacrifice fly brought home McLain for a quick 2-0 lead. Add on two more runs in the fifth off the bats of Keaschall and Nu'u Contrades, and the Sun Devils would take a comfortable 4-0 lead into the sixth.
Following his quality three innings, Manning would pass the baton to Matt Tieding in the 4th; the redshirt junior worked through the fourth and fifth before loading the bases in the sixth. Nolan Lebamoff would relieve him and get out of the one-out jam with just a lone run allowed in.
The Sun Devils would answer CSU's tally in the sixth with three of their own in the bottom half, all coming around on a three-run longball off the bat of Luke Hill, his fourth of the campaign.
Adding insult to injury, ASU would follow up Hill's clout with another tally in the seventh before Luke Keaschall put the nail in the coffin with an eighth-inning home run to dead center. The dead-center shot would cap off a 5-5 day for Keaschall, three of them being for extra bases to drive in two runs. Having upped his total to a team-leading 11 home runs this season, even Keaschall was surprised at his power surge, having profiled as more of a contact hitter at San Francisco.
"I feel like I've always been a doubles hitter," Keaschall recalled. "Not much of the home runs. It just comes with age and getting bigger."
Keaschall did mention a possible superstitious item that's fueled his fire as of late, though.
"Honestly, a couple of days ago, I took a bracelet from Luke Hill, and it's gotten me a lot of hits."
"You're welcome," Luke Hill said in response.
The flawless display of hitting by Keaschall, Hill's long home run, and shutdown pitching would make the game all but decided long before 27 outs were made. Bloomquist got so comfortable, in fact, that usual designated hitter Will Rogers was given the ball to finish out the game in the ninth. After he loaded the bases, the righty's surprising mid-90s heater helped seal the game-winning strikeout and cement a dominant 9-1 win for ASU.
Rogers's appearance in the game wasn't just because of the blowout nature and the desire to save arms. Bloomquist made the point of Rogers's elite arm strength from the outfield, and, considering his woes at the plate this year, he wanted to find a role in which he could excel.
"We were able to get Will Rogers in the game, which we wanted to do for a little while," Bloomquist noted. "As you see, he's got a power arm that we can certainly use down the stretch. If we can polish him up a bit with the running game and stuff like that, he can help us."
While it was the lowest of low-leverage situations that the sophomore stepped into tonight, Bloomquist believes Rogers's high velocity could make him a weapon that ASU opponents had absolutely no foresight on. What the visitor's clubhouse saw as a surprise, Bloomquist saw as normality.
"I've seen it before," Bloomquist said of Rogers's pitching abilities. "He was cutting it loose and letting it go. I've seen that out of him before; anyone that's seen him throw the ball from the outfield knows that velo is in there. It was imperative to get him in a game like this tonight and see how he did. We'll continue to look for situations to get him on the bump."
Rogers's appearance on the mound sure got his teammates fired up, but they, like Bloomquist, weren't surprised at all when he came out throwing pellets.
"Everyone knows he has an absolute hose in the outfield, and to see it translate on the mound is pretty cool," Keaschall said.
"It was electric," Luke Hill added.
Even as the team explores Rogers's versatility, Bloomquist was adamant that the team hasn't ruled out Rogers in the batter's box.
"We have not given up on his bat," Bloomquist emphasized. "He still is a threat offensively. It's just a matter of getting him in the right situations where he can be successful."
With the victory, the Sun Devils move to 28-12 on the season, improving their non-conference record to 15-8. Having played such an exhausting weekend set with Oregon State, Bloomquist praised his team's ability to turn around so quickly and hopes they can keep it together to do it all over again on Wednesday. However, they'll start it off unexpectedly, as Willie Bloomquist announced that usual Friday starter Ross Dunn will get the ball in game two as a prelude to some sort of role this weekend in a road series at No. 23.
"We'll probably start with Russ tomorrow. We'll open with him; I don't know how long he'll go, probably a couple of innings is my guess. Something just to kind of keep him sharp. His bullpen day was today; we didn't use him today, so we're gonna start him tomorrow. Get him out there, get him a couple of innings of work, then get him ready for the weekend as well."
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