Most six-run innings don’t start with two routine outs. When Sean McLain drew a walk with two outs and nobody on in Arizona State’s home half of the sixth, however, an offensive onslaught that had primarily been bottled up during the first two nights of the season was unleashed in full.
With Dixie State leading 8-6, Joe Lampe followed McLain by lacing a two-run home run down the right field line to tie the game. Not yet satisfied, the middle of the Sun Devil lineup set the table with two walks and a single. Already with his first collegiate home run under his belt in the inning prior, freshman Will Rogers launched one into the bullpen and gave ASU the lead for good. Rogers’ two bombs coupled with homers from Lampe, Conor Davis, and Nate Baez filled up the stat sheet in a big way for the Sun Devils.
Two grand slams, five total home runs, and 12 unanswered runs allowed Arizona State (2-1) to cruise past Dixie State (1-2) 17-8 in a sunny Sunday matinee on opening weekend.
“It was nice to see the bats come alive,” Bloomquist said. “We had a meeting about not trying to do too much and being willing to pass the baton to the next guy. We were able to string together some really good at-bats; we certainly have a lot more work to do on both sides of the ball.”
ASU was hitting the ball well overall in the first two games of this series, but a notable lack of clutch hitting kept the offense from truly breaking out. After going a combined 4-22 with two outs on Friday and Saturday night, the Sun Devils scored 16 of their 17 runs with two outs on Sunday. Better yet, a number of rallies began with two outs and nobody on base. This resilience is something that Arizona State is looking to make a habit of this season.
“We were able to get some free passes because we didn’t chase out of the zone,” Bloomquist said. “We have a lot of guys who can hit the ball out of the yard, and pretty much 1-9 in our lineup if you make a mistake, it has a chance to go a long way.”
It takes a lot of fireworks to get to 17 runs, and Nate Baez wasn’t about to be left out of the fun. With two outs (of course) and the bases juiced in the seventh, the Sun Devil catcher cleared the left-center field wall for the team’s second grand slam and a fifth homer of the day.
“I knew it was in the gap, but I honestly didn’t think it was gonna go out at all,” Baez said. I couldn’t really see it when I rounded first base, but I heard T-Buck scream ‘Woo, let’s go!’ then I knew.”
When asked if he had ever hit a grand slam in his entire baseball playing life, Baez noted that the feat was, in fact, a first.
“I think it was my first grand slam, first ever.”
The 17 runs will obviously make headlines, but Arizona State did give up eight runs a day after allowing seven to a team that shouldn’t be able to hang consistent scoring on a team of ASU’s caliber. A glaring issue has been the bullpen, but the front end of the staff was the root of Sunday’s issues. Starting pitcher Jacob Walker went 3.2 innings, allowing six runs, four of which were earned. The transfer from Davidson walked one and struck out three in his rocky Sun Devil debut.
“I don’t think he struggled at all,” Baez said of Walker. “He’s the type of guy that’s gonna throw strikes and let our defense make plays behind him. He’s going to be a dude for us for sure; I’m excited for him.”
Danny Marshall and the usually reliable Christian Bodlovich succeeded Walker, and both ran into trouble. Marshall walked one and gave up an RBI single allowing Walker’s final run to score before escaping the fourth. Bodlovich was handed the ball in the top of the fifth and failed to get out of the frame. He surrendered two runs on two hits before Will Levine saved the day. His 2.1 shutout innings put the game on ice and allowed the staff to breathe easy, and the bats blew the game wide open.
“I thought Will’s performance was the turning point in the game,” Bloomquist said. “We had to go to him a little earlier than we wanted to, you gotta go with your best at that point, and I think he was our best arm available today.”
With the game in hand, Bloomquist was able to go to senior right-hander Boyd Vander Kooi for the ninth inning. Vander Kooi made his first appearance in nearly a full calendar year, entering and exiting the mound to a standing ovation from the Sun Devil faithful. The road to recovery has been a long and arduous one, and the magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on anyone in attendance Sunday.
“It was pretty cool to throw a baseball with no pain; the crowd was into it; I was hearing people say welcome back; it was a pretty cool experience,” Vander Kooi said. “I got a little emotional I was crying a little bit. My team had my back the entire time; they definitely were in it with me.”
While emotional sentiment is essential following a significant injury, Vander Kooi and the rest of the bullpen hardly have time to bask in his glorious return. The senior right-hander is confident that the relievers as a unit will right the ship.
“I don’t think anybody’s scared to go out there; some guys are just over-excited,” he said. “You can’t get too high or too low; the guys know they’re good enough, so we’ll figure it out.”
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