Before Joe Lampe dug into the box in the bottom of the eighth with Arizona State trailing by a run, it seemed like every break had gone the way of the opposition this season. Countless close plays and razor-thin losses have defined the 2022 campaign, but that ill fate shifted dramatically when Lampe chopped a grounder up the first-base line.
The harmless bouncing ball glanced off first baseman Nathan Martorella’s glove and trickled into foul territory. Two runs scored to give ASU the lead.
“If you put the ball in play, good things can happen,” ASU skipper Willie Bloomquist said with a smile. “Sure is better than walking back to the dugout.”
From the game’s first pitch, it looked as though California just wanted it more. Adam Tulloch gave up a run before he’d thrown his third pitch, and the Bears plated another in the inning. By the time Tulloch was lifted in the fourth, he’d given up seven runs on 11 hits and was staring down the barrel of his fourth losing start in as many outings.
Luckily for Tulloch, his team fights. The Sun Devils scored 14 unanswered runs after falling behind 9-2 to beat Cal 16-9 and take the series on Sunday. It’s the team’s second straight series victory. If Friday night’s win was ASU’s most complete victory of the season, Sunday’s was its most impressive.
“Hands down, that was my favorite,” Bloomquist said. “Nothing about me; I was just happy for those guys to finish it off and get it done and feel good about it.”
The foundation for the comeback was laid in the bottom of the sixth. With the Sun Devils down 9-2, Nate Baez roped his third double of the afternoon, scoring Ethan Long and Conor Davis. Up to that point, it looked like Baez’s big day would be the lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak finale.
“Same approach as always; he’s a lefty, so I was seeing it out of his hand,” Baez said of Cal starter Ian May. “Today felt good. It’s good to know that even when some of our starters don’t do well, we can pick them up.”
Báez started the year as the everyday catcher but has since seen more time in left field due to the emergence of freshman Ryan Campos. With Campos in the squat, Bloomquist is able to have both his and Baez’s bats in the lineup, and Campos has made that an easy decision. With two on and two out in the sixth, he blasted his first homer of the season to pull ASU within two runs.
“It makes me happy to see the young guys doing well,” Bloomquist said.
“I’m the older guy to him, but honestly, I look up to him in a lot of ways,” Baez said of Campos. “Just the way he goes about his business is really impressive.”
Cal is a very talented roster, but much like ASU, most of the issues that have plagued the Golden Bears this season have come from the bullpen. Starter Ian May kept the Sun Devils off balance for most of his nice outing, but the Cal bullpen imploded in the eighth. ASU sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring nine runs to put a stranglehold on the improbable comeback win.
Lampe’s fortuitous bounce put Arizona State ahead, but Cam Magee made it hurt. The freshman infielder entered the game after Ethan Long was ejected in the seventh. He made the most of his opportunity, smacking a three-run triple down the right-field line.
“I always stay prepared to go into the game no matter what,” Magee said of his unusual circumstances of entrance. “I got a pitch I could hit, almost forgot to run at first, and thought I would be out, but I made it.”
Magee lit up at the prospect of facing rival Arizona on Tuesday, as did his Sun Devil for life manager.
“I have to remind myself I’m not playing sometimes,” Bloomquist said. “We’re a little beat up, but hey, it’s a rivalry game. We don’t care.”
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