(Photo: Austin Hurst/WCSN)
PHOENIX — Close games have not bode well for Arizona State Baseball recently. It has been a recurring pattern of a hard-fought early inning affair turned into a bullpen letdown for the Sun Devils in recent days, and after another ninth inning implosion against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, early season concerns are beginning to emerge.
ASU seeked to change their luck the day after the extra-inning loss. It had another chance to salvage a series win after losing the first in heart breaking fashion, similar to Oral Roberts. On Saturday senior right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez appeared to be the man to put the Sun Devils back in the victory column and end any possibility of a Minnesota series upset.
Martinez struck out 11 Golden Gophers in 5 ⅔ innings, helping the offense build a significant lead going into the back half of the game. Unfortunately for ASU, that advantage vanished in an instant when a go-ahead Minnesota grand slam in the top of the eighth inning proved too much for the Sun Devils (7-4) to overcome, as Minnesota (4-4) prevailed 6-4.
For seven innings, it appeared that ASU and Martinez, combined with some early fireworks from senior first baseman Jacob Tobias and junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson, were too much for the Golden Gophers. Like yesterday’s late-inning comeback, Minnesota swiftly demonstrated to the Sun Devils that this was not the case.
Minnesota was trailing 4-1 entering the top of the eighth inning, and after a leadoff single and multiple walks, the Golden Gophers had the go-ahead run at the plate. All of this with true freshman right-handed pitcher Eli Buxton on the mound in only his third inning of collegiate action.
Bases loaded, one out, tying run at the plate, that was the situation the 19-year-old was put in, and what came out of it was a sky-scraping go-ahead grand slam to right field that gave the Golden Gophers the lead. It took the breath out of the entire stadium and left the Sun Devils dumbfounded as what had seemed like an energizing night, aided by Martinez’s performance, was swiftly washed away in one swing.
“I take the responsibility for this one tonight,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “I put a freshman in a really tough spot there with Buxton in the eighth. I got a lot of confidence in that kid. He’s got really, really good stuff.”
It’s easy to point to one moment in the game and blame everything on it, because the grand slam was the true turning point of the game. However, the Sun Devils’ inability to score after the fifth inning may have been just as much to blame as Buxton’s one pitch to senior infielder Jake Perry.
That offensive silence can be attributed to only one arm, after sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Remington left the game, Minnesota had only one player pitching the rest of the night. Tyler Hemmesch, a sophomore right-handed pitcher, came in and worked four innings of relief, allowing only two hits.
“(Hemmesch) kept us off balance pretty well,” Bloomquist said. “We had some pitches to hit. It looked like it, but I don’t know if guys got a little bit too big or or pull happy. I’ll have to go back and watch it again. But he kept us off balance. Changed speeds, and he had some good late movement on his pitches.”
Senior catcher Josiah Cromwick and sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton went hitless on Saturday. Compton is hitless in the series thus far, and the two who have been a large part of their early season success have been held in check. Their ineffectiveness has been a major reason for Minnesota’s ability to climb back into the game over the last two days.
That’s two nights in a row that the ASU attack has gone silent for a four-inning stretch, when the Sun Devils, who have shown that no lead is secure, could have used the extra insurance. ASU is 4-for-26 with runners in scoring position over the last two nights, which is odd for a typically reliable attack.
“There were a lot of, two out doubles, and two out knocks that we had,” Jackson said “But I think cashing those guys in is something that’s really important, and that’s what wins those games, and that’s what (Minnesota) did well today. So that’s why they had the win.”
The loss seals ASU’s first back-to-back losses of the season, as well as the first series loss. After their victory today, the Golden Gophers, who had a 2-4 record going into the series, will at least have doubled that number when they leave Arizona.
A more-than-disappointing way to lose a series, leading into the ninth and eighth innings on consecutive days and failing to secure the win. That will be the Sun Devils’ test throughout the season: even if Martinez or another starting pitcher can produce, and even if the offense continues to perform as usual, will the bullpen finish the job?
“Bottom line, we have the pieces to do it,” Bloomquist said. “We just have to continue breathing positivity into these guys and trying to put them in the right situations. Ultimately, somebody’s got to come in in tough situations and be able to get us out of there and get the last three outs or last six outs, but we’re still trying to find that mix and who is going to be those guys in the back end.”
