Finally, an easy one. Phoenix Municipal Stadium was emptying out during the eighth inning. Fans who remained engaged in lighthearted chatter, offering the occasional whistle and clap to the mildly entertaining product on the field. What ASU did to UC Davis on Friday night wasn’t anything special but absolutely necessary.
The Sun Devils clocked into their 9-5 early with a brown sack lunch and a smile. They took the first step in their seven-game get-right stretch in convincing fashion on Friday night, taking care of UC Davis 7-1 behind 17 hits and 12 strikeouts.
Coaches and players often throw around the terms “team effort” or “we got contributions from everyone tonight.” That was literally the case for ASU on Friday. All nine starters recorded base hits, and 16 of the Sun Devils’ grand total of 17 were singles. For a team and a program known for its prolific power at the plate, ASU slowly and mercilessly killed UC Davis by going station to station.
“Yeah, a lot of singles,” Willie Bloomquist said with a soft chuckle. “That was great; we’re putting together good at-bats. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with that number of hits, but it would have been nice to have the knockout blow there a little bit earlier. Overall a better offensive performance top to bottom.”
The win snaps a five-game skid for ASU. After a rough 2022 non-conference slate had ASU playing catch up for the rest of the season, it’s easy for fans to push the panic button following a 7-7 start. It’s notable, however, that while Bloomquist and the Sun Devils would have obviously preferred to be more competitive against the best talent, their seven losses have all come at the hands of high quality baseball teams. Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and UC Irvine are all tournament teams. ASU needs to improve, but series like those show how they can.
“We’ve had a couple of tough road trips; we put those early in the season by design,” Bloomquist explained. “You don’t do that by playing powder puffs all along. It lets us know where we have to get to.
“For me, it’s understanding that I don’t feel like but maybe a couple of those games that we beat ourselves. It’s not always about the more talented team; it’s the one that goes out there and executes.
On Friday night, ASU was the more talented team and the team that went out and executed. At the plate, on the mound, and on defense. It was ASU’s first truly clean game since the series opener at Mississippi State moved them to 5-0 on February 24.
Ross Dunn’s final start of the non-conference slate looked a lot more like his first two dominant outings than last week’s dud. Although Dunn was victimized by abysmal defense a week ago in a loss to UC Irvine, he didn’t have sharp command and repeatedly failed to close innings when given the chance. Friday night was a complete 180. He pounded the zone and had UC Davis’s poor lineup completely overmatched throughout his six shutout innings. Dunn allowed just two hits and struck out eight in a season-high 84 pitches. Despite questions about his health after dealing with a series of minor injuries in the fall, he’s answered the call as ASU’s Friday-caliber starter for the most part in four outings.
“Tonight, I just let it happen, focused on throwing strikes and getting guys back in the dugout quickly,” Dunn explained. “I was able to settle down and just let the heater work. Teams go through (rough patches), the mindset has been the same. Go out there play our game, and we’ll win.”
Dunn took the time to praise the defense a week after they had, in large part, cost him a potential victory in the series opener against Irvine. The Sun Devils were perfect, committing no errors in the victory.
“You can’t expect them to be perfect every time, and they helped me a ton today,” Dunn praised. “When I let a ball in play, it’s an out. That made my job a whole lot easier.”
Arizona State didn’t wait long to get the party started at the plate. After a scoreless top of the first inning set the tone, Wyatt Crenshaw laced a single to lead off the home half. He immediately stole second on the next pitch and then scored a pitch later when freshman Luke Hill continued his hot start to his collegiate career with an RBI single of his own. ASU added a run in the first, then scored four times in the third and once more in the seventh.
The star of Friday night’s singles fest? Transfer infielder Willie Cano. The graduate transfer and Gilbert native collected three singles to go along with the two hits, one of which was a two-run homer, in his first season start on Wednesday.
“Staying ready, all the time,” Cano said when asked what has allowed him to come out hot after not seeing consistent at-bats. “My prep, I’ve done it my whole life. You can’t take a day off because you never know when you’re going to be put in there.”
“Willie’s a little different because he’s had to wait his turn a bit here early on,” Bloomquist said of Cano. “He understands. He’s come in here to be ready. He knows his role, and we’re going to need him.”
Game Notes:
Blake Pivaroff and Josh Hansell combined to cover the final three innings. Both did so with similar ease to Dunn’s dominance. It’s clear that UC Davis’s lineup isn’t exactly the ‘27 Yankees, but it’s still very important for ASU relievers to get successful reps under their belt before conference play.
Ethan Long missed his second straight game after injuring his left wrist in Tuesday’s loss to Oklahoma State. It’s the same wrist that hampered him for much of the second half of 2022, an ominous development for him and the ASU lineup. Bloomquist didn’t offer any specific updates but said they would know more soon.
ASU and UC Davis go at it again on Saturday night in game two. First pitch is at 6:30, back at Muni.
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