The brooms were out at Phoenix Muni today, and for a change, not in order to sweep up the sunflower seeds on the dugout steps. The baseball player equivalent of bird droppings served as a symbol of the Sun Devils amount of hits on Sunday, as Arizona State (16-8, 5-1 Pac-12) slugged their way to complete the series sweep over Arizona (13-9, 3-6) with a final score of 10-6 on Sunday afternoon.
For the first time since 2019, ASU has taken all three games on the diamond from their arch-rivals. Having rode timely hitting and standout pitching to get the first two jobs done, ASU went with a slugger’s approach to send the Wildcats back to Tucson winless in this three-game slate. With every player in the lineup recording at least one hit, the offense showed off both its contact and power abilities as they clubbed a team total of four home runs as a part of their 15 hits to stick the fork in the series.
“To come out and sweep those guys, it felt good,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said postgame. “Been an emotional weekend for our guys. Glad they embraced what this weekend meant and took it to heart. Guys bought in and understand what this rivalry’s all about.”
“Been talking about it all week, how big of a rivalry this is,” Left-Handed Pitcher Timmy Manning added. “That was fun; good to beat those guys.“
While extra motivation is hardly needed when these two programs meet, Arizona left fielder Chase Davis’s three-run bomb in the third may have given ASU just that extra boost to finish off the emasculation of their rivals. After admiring his blast, the Sun Devils paid Davis back with eight unanswered runs, one-upping his one longball with four blasts of their own. The first of which off the bat of Wyatt Crenshaw was especially sweet, as the senior’s longshot and subsequent bat flip not only tied the game but rendered Davis’s early game heroics useless.
The umpiring crew wasn’t as impressed by Crenshaw’s swing as the crowd, though, issuing him a warning. In the classic “but he started it” move, Willie Bloomquist was out to defend his player, citing the theatrics by Davis as the instigator.
“I think they were a little mad about the bat flip,” Crenshaw said. “I thought what he did was disrespectful on our field. We let him hear it when he hit it. Gotta show him it’s our field, and we do what we want on our field; they can go back to their field and learn from what happened this weekend. I’ll probably get another one in.”
“I’m not gonna shame my guys for coming out with intensity,” Bloomquist added. “If that means a little bit of chippiness going on in the game, then so be it. It’s not like we were the only ones staying stuff. I’ll take the warning, whatever. But this is a big weekend that means a lot to our players and means a lot to our fanbase.”
However, If you watched this game after the Crenshaw homer, you wouldn’t be amiss to mistake this game as any old weekend finisher, given the intensity in the third base dugout. Where the in-state rivalry has gotten its most fierce in past years, this weekend’s rendition, and Sunday’s in particular, was as one-sided as it gets.
With Jonah Giblin cruising and Timmy Manning throwing 2.1 shutdown innings in relief, ASU was free to swing the bats unopposed. Two freshmen were able to take advantage, as Kien Vu launched his first collegiate home run in the fourth, and Nu’u Contrades continued his hot streak with a dinger in the fifth.
“It felt great,” Vu said. “I was just trying to spray something the other way. Had room to work with, tried to let it get deep and caught barrel.”
“He’s been swinging the bat really well,” Bloomquist said of Contrades. “Nu’u is in a good spot, and hopefully, he can keep swinging.”
The contributions from two of his top freshman received high praise from Bloomquist after the game, who cited their experience as just as much of a plus as their success.
“The experience they’re getting right now is invaluable,” Bloomquist emphasized. “It’s gonna pay dividends this year, later in the year, and moving forward in their careers. I didn’t give them anything, they’ve earned their spots in the lineup, and they’re taking advantage of it.”
Veterans also got in on the freshman’s fun as well. Ryan Campos socked a homer of his own in the sixth, and Jacob Tobias plated two runs on the day, second-most behind Contrades’s three-RBI day.
Although Arizona would tag Jesse Wainscott for three runs in the eighth, their comeback attempt would be futile. While the bats will dominate the headlines, Bloomquist again applauded his arms that kept Arizona at bay on Sunday, just as how they kept the Sun Devils in the fights on Friday and Saturday.
While Jonah Giblin put together a strong start other than the Davis gopher-ball, Timmy Manning’s brilliance in relief was especially clutch. In 2.1 innings, Manning didn’t allow a hit, surrendered just one walk, and fanned three batters on just 23 total pitches. Having been moved around in the rotation this year, Bloomquist was pleased with Manning’s efficient performance.
“If he’s throwing strikes, he’s good,” Bloomquist said of the transfer from Florida. “It’s impressive when he’s in the zone. The most impressive thing about him is we had him hot and ready to go the last two days and didn’t use him. He was chomping at the bit all weekend to face those lefties at the top of the lineup. He did an outstanding job when he got his opportunity today.”
Manning’s sprint onto the field after the game with a broom in hand was the last nail in Arizona’s coffin this weekend and just one more sprinkle of intensity that the whole team brought over the weekend.
“Glad they embraced what this weekend meant and took it to heart,” Bloomquist noted. “Guys bought in and understand what this rivalry’s all about.”
For a Sun Devil lifer like Willie Bloomquist, breaking out the brooms meant even more in what many are seeing as his best weekend at the helm of ASU baseball, which was played in front of a record 17,000+ fans which became a Phoenix Municipal Stadium record for a three-game set.
“It’s a fun one, that’s for sure,” Bloomquist exclaimed. “This is why I came back here. To hopefully ignite these guys and get them to understand what Sun Devil Baseball means. I’m here for the Sun Devil name. I wish we could do this every home game and have this type of atmosphere. This helps our players. I’m begging you, please, keep coming out.”
While ASU has to turn around for a midweek matchup with UNLV, a series win, let alone a sweep, over Arizona isn’t one that will be met with a shoulder shrug. Beating the Wildcats will always hold more weight for this program, and even Bloomquist couldn’t deny that these victories could help the Sun Devils springboard themselves back up the ladder of national relevance.
“We’re starting to hopefully move the needle in the right direction,” Bloomquist noted. “It’s a great day to be a Devil.”
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