Sun Devils stomp on Tritons, sweep midweek
Following a run-rule victory on Tuesday, Arizona State (24-22) head coach Willie Bloomquist told the media his group’s offensive performance, which featured 15 runs on 13 hits, was just “okay.”
Message received.
Challenged to earn more runs, the Sun Devil bats passed with flying colors, mounting seven runs before making three outs and building on it the rest of the way for a FINAL trouncing of UC San Diego (26-16) to the tune of 19-8.
“Swung the bats a lot better tonight,” Bloomquist said. “Lot harder contact. Good swings with runners in scoring position. That felt like we had 18 hits tonight versus last night, where I couldn’t believe we had 13.”
In the same fashion as last night’s outset, UCSD raised a run in the first, with Delshaun Lanier coming around to score following a leadoff double. Quick to answer, Kien Vu extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a one-out ricochet double off the shortstop. Following a Nick McLain walk, Jacob Tobias lit the fire with a hard grounder down the right-field line that was fair by inches, allowing Vu and McLain to score and take the lead. Ethan Mendoza’s two-bagger put himself and Tobias into scoring position for Mario Demera, who brought both runners home with a double in the left field corner, quickly pushing the Sun Devil lead to 4-1.
The ninth hitter in the batting order may not be your first guess to provide the night’s first home run, but Steven Ondina did just that, three-run style, to put the cherry on top of a seven-run frame for ASU. Ondina’s blast was emblematic of a recent hot streak at the plate for the transfer of someone who was brought in for his defense.
“It’s big,” Bloomquist said of Ondina’s offensive outburst. “Not only from a team contributing standpoint but just having him down at the bottom of the order setting the table for the guys at the top. One of the negatives of Campy hitting in the leadoff hole is that usually, there’s nobody on base. It’s important for those bottom guys to get on base later in the game when he comes up…He’s been getting on and setting the table for the guys at the top.”
Ondina’s third longball of the campaign would demoralize the Tritons to the point of no return in all facets of the game. Cole Carlon tossed a scoreless second, which was backed by a pair of two-run shots from McLain and Mendoza in the bottom half of the inning. Both taters were of note, as McLain’s clout was his second in as many nights after a prolonged power outage, while Mendoza’s deposit into the left field bullpen was his first at the collegiate level.
“It was exciting,” Mendoza said. “Definitely a moment I won’t forget.”
At the end of the third inning, Arizona State had scored 13 runs, its fifth straight double-digit output in a victory, after bringing four home in the inning and two more in the third. And they still weren’t satisfied.
Deploying his arms on a bullpen day, Bloomquist sent out Wyatt Halvorson and Bradyn Barnes for the third and fourth, who both navigated their respective frames without issue. Having been the driving forces of ASU’s offensive resurgence in recent days, Vu and Tobias added the exclamation points on ASU’s highest-scoring game of the season. Following a trio of walks from UCSD’s Patrick Hackworth to open the fourth, Vu cleaned them up, punishing a 3-2 fastball 480 feet to center field for an emphatic grand slam,
“Vu knocked the snot out of that one,” Bloomquist said, grinning. “That was impressive.”
Although not the most intimidating figure in the ASU dugout, Vu’s bat continues to strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers, having homered in seven of his last eleven games. Now qualified for NCAA leaderboards, Vu trails Georgia’s Charlie Condon, a consensus top-three pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, in batting average.
“I’ve never hit a ball that far in my life,” Vu said. “I’ve definitely exceeded my expectations I guess. Just trying to have quality at-bats. The attitude I’ve had is what set me up for the results that I’m getting. This could’ve happened to anyone…I’m just trying to stay focused.”
While Tobias didn’t send one into orbit like his teammate, the junior lifted his own ball out of the park two batters later, and the fifth different Devil left the yard on Wednesday.
“Much better and more productive offense tonight,” Bloomquist noted. “I guess louder runs if that makes sense. They swung the bats very well.”
Leading 18-1 through four, UCSD went down with an ultimately futile fight, as ASU coasted to its seventh win in eight games. The victory secured the Sun Devils’ first multi-game midweek sweep of the season, improving their overall midweek record to 8-4. Having outscored opponents 95-32 since April 19, the Sun Devil machine looks to be well-oiled for the final month of the season.
“We put up a lot of runs the last couple of days,” Bloomquist said. “You feel good about yourself but we got to understand that we have another tough weekend against Washington. We’ll enjoy it, turn the page, and get ready for those guys. This is what we were hoping for all year. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
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