Three-run ninth nets ASU a walk-off win over Washington State
Ryan Campos pivoted from his crouch with speed and grace not usually seen from a catcher. With two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth, Jesse Wainscott and ASU were just trying to keep the deficit at 5-3 to give the Sun Devils (21-9, 8-2 Pac-12) a fighting chance in the home half.
Campos made sure the score would stay that way as his lightning fast pivot turned into a screaming throw down to first base. Jacob Tobias covered and tagged, ending the frame on a backpick and providing a much needed spark to the home dugout. According to ASU skipper Willie Bloomquist, that play had just as much to do with a dramatic three-run ninth-inning walk-off than any of its at-bats.
“I’m glad you brought that up because that’s kind of a play that goes unnoticed,” he told reporters following the win. “But that could be the difference in the game. If they score another run there maybe we’re still playing right now. It took me by surprise, but he and Toby executed it perfectly.”
Tobias made the tag and then kept the momentum rolling when he led off the bottom of the ninth. He belted a 3-1 fastball deep into the night, cutting the two-run deficit in half in one fell swoop. Freshman Luke Hill then put together an at-bat that was wise beyond his years. He worked a full count before depositing a single into left center field. “I didn’t want to get too big in that moment,” Hill reflected. “Yeah, we were down one, but there’s a lot of guys behind me that can do what I’m doing, if not better. The emphasis was to get on first base and pass the baton.”
Hill, who had three hits on the night, including a three-run homer in the second inning, did just that. He passed the baton to Wyatt Crenshaw, who walked, passing the baton to Johnny Weaver. In a textbook sacrifice bunt situation, Weaver fouled off two bunt attempts. With steam coming from his ears, Bloomquist allowed him to swing with two strikes. Weaver’s three-hop chopper up the middle went for an infield hit, loading the bases with nobody out. “We’ve gotta get Johnny to get a bunt down there,” Bloomquist said as he ran his hand through his hair. “But he fought. They all did; that was five or six really good at-bats in the ninth.”
The next good effective plate appearance was Isaiah Jackson’s. He worked a full count before launching a deep sac fly to tie the game. He thought it was gone, his teammates thought it was gone, and even Bloomquist thought it was gone.
“I thought (Jackson) got it there for sure,” Bloomquist admitted. “I even took a couple of steps out of the dugout. But it was deep enough, really solid at bat.”
The sac fly set up another freshman, this time Kien Vu. Vu fouled off a pair and took another for a ball before fisting a soft liner into center field that fell in front of a charging Jonah Advincula. Crenshaw trotted home easily, securing ASU’s 15th win in 17 games and third walk-off of the season. ASU is still tied for the conference lead with Stanford. It could have just not been their night. They could have rolled over. But this team fights.
“My heart is racing right now,” Vu said with an ear-to-ear grin. “I just tried to see the ball as best I could. I’m glad that thing fell,” he chuckled.
Coming into the ninth, ASU had four hits, two of which had come in that three-run third, and were putting together some rough at-bats down the stretch. It seems like I’ve typed this at least five times this season, but this is a game Arizona State loses in 2022. Full stop. “Different team, different guys, different character,” Bloomquist said of how this team compares to his first. That character is being bolstered with each passing win.
Technological advancements have come to the college game, and they victimized the Sun Devils on Thursday night. Not just once, but twice in the seventh inning, a favorable call for ASU was overturned after video review. Neither was particularly conclusive. Wyatt Crenshaw was called safe on the field after appearing to have beaten out a swinging bunt to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Video review called him out, but the evidence was hardly damning. Then, with two outs and the tying run on second, Isaiah Jackson appeared to be hit by a 3-2 pitch in the upper arm. The umpires deliberated, then consulted video review, before ruling that Jackson had leaned his arm into the pitch.
“They got it right by the letter of the rule,” Bloomquist admitted, even after he shared a heated exchange with the crew chief following the second call. “I don’t love the rule; in big league baseball, it has to be a strike for that call to happen; here, it’s just if a player leans in intentionally regardless.” At the time, it seemed as though the baseball Gods were not on the side of ASU in this one. Two overturned calls, three unlucky bounces in the middle innings, and a pair of solo bombs that kept WSU in control from the first inning until the bottom of the ninth.
Luke Hill hasn’t been as hot as his freshman buddy on the left side of the infield in Nu’u Contrades, but his impressive freshman campaign received a jolt in the bottom of the second with ASU trailing 3-0. After Luke Keaschall led off the inning with his team leading 12th double, Jacob Tobias drew a walk. Hill didn’t waste any time. He laced a line drive shot to left center, leaving the yard in a hurry for his second career home run.
“I was ready for that pitch,” Hill said proudly. I was expecting fastball, and he just left it a little bit up, had to do damage.”
Timmy Manning could have reacted with his ego when he was moved from the Sunday starter role to a long relief role out of the bullpen a few weeks into the season. But he took the perceived demotion in stride, and it paid off for ASU. Manning was masterful, aside from one poor pitch that ended up in the bullpen. He tossed 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball, striking out six Cougars en route to his best outing as a Sun Devil.
“I thought Timmy was the player of the game tonight,” Bloomquist said matter of factly. “I hope the other guys are feeding off of him. We don’t really care if you’re getting the first three outs or the last three; you’re an out-getter. We don’t have a traditional pitching staff; we have a bunch of guys who blow it out for an inning and let it eat. That’s what we’re going to keep going with. ASU has a chance to clinch its fourth straight series win in its fourth Pac-12 series of the year on Friday night. Ross Dunn will take the ball for an ASU team that is talented, confident, and according to its manager, believing.
"It’s fun right now,” Bloomquist said with a grin. “It’s been fun to watch these guys start to believe.”
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Game Notes:
Good news or bad news first?
I’ll start with bad. Ethan Long is out for the season. The nagging wrist injury that kept him from being himself for much of last season has reared its ugly head again. As it turns out, that swing in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that re-aggravated the ailment will be his last of 2022. Long had an operation this week that will keep him from hitting or pitching this year. It’s awful news for the team and perhaps even worse for Long.
“That’s a big blow for us. It kills him, and it kills us,” Bloomquist sighed. “Injuries suck, man. As long as he continues to be a positive influence around here, he’ll be a part of this.”
Good news exists. Nick McLain got positive news after an examination with his hand doctor. Bloomquist said he is “cautiously optimistic” that McLain will be available in the next couple of weeks.”