Arizona State’s frustration has been simmering for over a month now. A 9-12 start to the year, bullpen issues, and a decidedly unclutch offense have put the promise of a new season firmly in the rearview, with reality setting in quickly. The frustration nearly came to a boil on Tuesday night, as the most memorable sequence from ASU’s 7-5 loss to GCU was an almost benches clearing conflict in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Ethan Long skipped across home plate after belting his second home run of the night and barked at GCU pitcher Vince Reilly. Reilly and Lopes’ catcher Tyler Wilson took issue with Long’s verbiage, and within seconds Wilson was chest to chest with Conor Davis, as both bullpens poured onto the field and coaching staffs for both teams played prevent defense to keep each bench inside its dugout. Cooler heads prevailed, but the moment illustrated the frustration that has permeated the ASU clubhouse.
“I didn’t really get an explanation; all I was trying to do was diffuse what was going on,” Willie Bloomquist said. “I try to advocate to our guys to just shut up and play. That doesn’t always happen. I’m not real thrilled when our guys use their mouths and chirp; I’d rather they just go perform and play. I try to preach that to the guys, but apparently, I haven’t done a good enough job.”
Long’s two-homer night is overshadowed by the eighth inning extra-curriculars, but his recent power surge could be huge for the Sun Devils. He’s had an extra base hit in four of the last six games and is swinging and missing far less.
“My approach is always just hit it where it’s pitched, and they were throwing it away all game, so I got two of them, but I had two big strikeouts with runners in scoring position, so I didn’t get my job done,” Long said.
His summary of the events that succeeded his second homer came down to what he thought was some harmless chirping.
“We were losing, shouldn’t be. I just told the pitcher some words, and the catcher started running his mouth,” Long said. “I don’t really take crap from anybody, so I just told him he doesn’t belong on the same field as us. He didn’t really like that; that’s on him.”
Three fifth inning hits from Kai Murphy, Ryan Campos, and Joe Lampe tied the game in the fifth inning after Arizona State had trailed 4-2. The lead was short-lived, however, as GCU roared back with a two-out rally in the top of the sixth. Jared Glenn retired the first two batters of the frame before an infield single extended the inning. Jacob Wilson made it hurt, lifting a curveball and sending it into the left field bullpen. GCU added another in the frame and didn’t relinquish that lead the rest of the way.
“I’m not trying to re-invent baseball here; I preach throw strikes and be ready to hit the fastball; it’s what’s been successful in this game for 150 years,” Bloomquist said. “If you walk too many guys, you’ll lose.”
In a surprising move, Bloomquist gave the starting nod to Adam Tulloch on Tuesday night. After enduring a nightmarish two innings and 73 pitches in Corvallis on Friday, Tulloch didn’t look much more comfortable back home. He allowed three first inning runs on as many hits and walked two Antelopes. The first was Tulloch’s only frame, which was likely the case no matter the outcome, as he’ll assume his regular starting routine this weekend against Washington.
Arizona State did not take long to answer in the home half of the first. Sean McLain celebrated his 21st birthday by roping a single up the middle, and Ethan Long made his presence known to ASU’s valley neighbors by launching his second homer of the season to right-center. The opposite field power was a huge part of Long’s sensational freshman season. When he leaves the yard to right field, it usually means his swing is in order. In the eighth, he struck again to the same part of the yard.
Aside from Glenn’s forgettable quest for the final out of the top of the sixth, the ASU bullpen was nails. Christian Bodlovich, Chase Webster, Glenn, and Will Levine all had strong showings for a unit that is slowly but surely making great strides. Levine was quick to brush aside any praise.
“We as a team have to be better; it’s a very frustrating start,” Levine said. “I don’t really care about punchouts; I care about winning.”
With its most recent loss, the Sun Devils drop to 9-13. Even if you can’t see any added grey in Bloomquist’s beard, you can hear it in his voice.
“We can’t continue to drop games, one for the psyche; I don’t like it for my sanity and hopefully for theirs too,” Bloomquist said. “There’s no lack of mental toughness; there’s a lot of guys in there I’d want on my side in a street fight. But if we want things to happen the way we want to this year, we gotta start winning games; that’s all there is to it.”
