Brock Peery, much like the rest of the Arizona State bullpen, has been red hot lately. In his last seven appearances prior to the 11th inning on Sunday, he posted a 1.17 ERA with six strikeouts and just two walks. That trend didn’t continue this afternoon, as he allowed two runs on three hits, including the decisive go ahead Husky homer.
It seemed like the Sun Devils had turned a corner this past week. Winners of three of their last four, a chance to sweep Washington at home in the second week of Pac-12 play could have put their season firmly back on track. Despite a late comeback effort, they fell in 11 innings 6-4.
“I thought we came out pretty flat today in the first half of the game,” Willow Bloomquist said. “Good teams limit the amount of times that that happens and today we didn’t have that intensity early.”
Arizona State trailed for nearly the entirety of the Sunday matinee. Washington took the lead with three fourth inning runs, and remained ahead until the Sun Devils were down to their final two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was the freshman duo of Jacob Tobias and Ryan Campos that finally drew ASU even in its last licks. Tobias singled to right, and was lifted on the bases in favor of the speedy Andrew Lucas. After a botched sac bunt attempt by pinch hitter Hunter Haas, Campos tied the game with a two strike RBI double to right center. His emergence is just the latest of a freshman class that has made itself heard for Arizona State this season.
Campos has played himself into a consistent utility role for the Sun Devils in his first collegiate season. According to assistant coach Travis Buck, it’s his mature approach and knack for finding the barrel that has him in a position to contribute on a daily basis.
“We knew coming in that he was a guy who could really hit,” Buck said. “He was really consistent in the fall, and it’s good to see him making the most of his at bats. He’s a confident kid who knows what he does well, that can take you a long way.”
Bloomquist writes the lineup card every day, and that’s good news for Campos given the way his manager spoke of him following Sunday’s loss.
“I absolutely think he’s earned more playing time. No one’s getting free handouts here,” Bloomquist said. “He’s fared just fine wherever he’s put him, and he’s having success. That’s a recipe for continuing to play.
After being held without a home run during the first three weeks of the season, Ethan Long has smashed four long balls in the last two weeks. It was only a matter of time before the dormant volcano that is Long erupted, and the recent surge of homers and doubles signifies the start of something special, and potentially a return to what was normalcy during the second half of the 2021 season.
No matter how many homers Long hits, it seems that Joe Lampe is determined to stay ahead of his prolific power hitting teammate. Lampe launched his seventh of the season in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday, extending his surprising team lead.
“We teach guys to drive the baseball to the gaps with backspin,” Buck said. “If it goes out then that’s great, but the approach just has to be hitting the ball hard.”
Lampe’s day wasn’t only highlighted by the home run, as his center field defense wowed a solid Sunday crowd at Muni. The power at the plate wasn’t anticipated, but the jaw dropping range and professional level ball skills were. He made a running catch in the gap to end the fourth, and a full extension diving play in the fifth. Lampe allowed a deep drive to bounce off his outstretched glove and over the center field wall on Saturday. He was visibly frustrated then, but seems to have made up for the misplay with a pair of web gems in the series finale.
After starting for ASU on Tuesday night, Adam Tulloch’s normal weekend start was pushed to Sunday. He improved upon forgettable outings on Tuesday and last Friday at Oregon State, but didn’t look quite like the Pac12 pitcher of the week we saw against San Francisco. He tossed three scoreless innings to start the game, but didn’t make it out of the fourth inning after allowing three earned runs on five hits.
“I think Tully just has to trust his stuff, his stuff is there,” Bloomquist said. “He’s started a few games in the last week or so, we’ll get him back on track in terms of his routine.”
The Sun Devil bullpen stayed hot until Peery’s decisive 11th. Chase Webster, Christian Bodlovich and Will Levine each put up zeroes down the stretch to keep ASU in the game. This of course was an element that was dragging the team down earlier this year. Now that the relievers are pitching like they know they can, the burden is on the offense to deliver late in the game.
It’s felt like one step forward and two steps back for Arizona State a number of times this year. At the end of the weekend, they’re 3-3 in conference play with everything they want to accomplish still in front of them.
“A 2-2 week is not good enough, we just have very high expectations,” Buck said. “It was good to see the fight at the end, to get some timely hits. We stole one away last weekend at Oregon State, but we need to show that fight earlier in games.”
