ASU Baseball: Sun Devils travel to Tucson for huge Arizona series

(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)

During Tuesday’s press conference after Arizona State Baseball’s 6-1 win over CSUN, ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist discussed the passion behind the club’s next opponent in Arizona.

While the lineage the historic rivalry possesses goes way beyond his playing days, the memories of profanity and beer being thrown at Bloomquist are remembered in bliss as the good moments of this in-state battle. Now, as a head coach, the 1999 Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year gets to relive that excitement in the dugout with ASU, who he knows doesn’t need the extra motivation.

The Sun Devils lead the overall series 51-36, with the last contest being played on April 5th, when ASU beat Arizona 10-6.

A lot has changed since then.

The Sun Devils have seemed to find themselves, winning five straight and getting back to .500, a place they haven’t been since Feb. 25th. In contrast, Arizona appears to be riding the line of mediocrity in its past nine games, going 5-4. After a horrid start by ASU, the Sun Devils find themselves only three games behind their in-state rival in the Pac-12 standings.

The Sun Devils sit sixth overall in the conference rankings – the Wildcats third. This weekend’s three-game set could significantly close the gap for ASU in the Pac-12 race if everything goes similar to the teams’ first outing against each other. However, Arizona won’t struggle to find pitching this time because of a midweek one-off, which could spell trouble for ASU’s bats who have surged recently.

In recent weeks, the Sun Devils’ bats have been one of the best in the Pac-12, scoring 70 runs in the past six games – good for 11.7 runs per game. They rank third in the conference in runs (266), hits (392), RBIs (240) and lead the field in doubles (92). The bats truly began to shine during the April 5th matchup, even without sophomore infielder Ethan Long, who was serving a one-game suspension.

Bloomquist mentioned that the program’s mindset of the team over oneself has helped the bats explode the way they have. Arizona’s deep pitching staff will pose itself as a massive test for ASU’s recent success at the plate.

To put in perspective the difference in bullpen production between the two teams, Wildcat arms that have recorded more than one inning on the season possesses eight pitchers with an ERA below 4.00, while the Sun Devils have zero that meet that requirement. Arizona’s pitchers are deadly, and the leader of that attack is senior starting left-hander Garrett Irvin.

This is Irvin’s third year at Arizona and he has been the ace for the program, as he boasts a 2.86 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched to go along with 37 strikeouts. While on a two-game losing streak as a starter, Irvin is the leader of a Wildcats’ pitching staff that has found success in not surrendering runs in crucial times.

Arizona stats on the mound don’t pop out – its ninth in the Pac-12 in hits allowed (336) and eighth in walks (149). However, despite those lackluster numbers, the team’s overall ERA is fourth in the conference with 4.20. The Wildcats’ arms are disciplined and keep composure through any turbulence.

Those traits are present within two potential series starters for the Wildcats – sophomore right-handers TJ Nichols and Dawson Netz. Nichols’s last two starts have seen him get knocked around a little bit, allowing 13 runs on 18 hits in 9.1 frames. Despite that, he is still a strikeout machine, leading the club with 51, which has pushed him to the fourth-most wins in the Pac-12 with five.

Netz is one of the most consistent arms for Arizona, and earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week earlier in the year. The right-hander doesn’t give up walks – he has only nine in 30.1 innings – which has caused him and many others pitchers to be as effective as they have for the club.

It doesn’t get any easier for ASU when Arizona’s bullpen comes in, as its relievers have been as dominant. Both junior right-handers Quinn Flanagan and George Arias Jr. have been sensational for the Wildcats in 2022. Flanagan is third on the team in strikeouts with 36 in 31 innings, slicing through opposing batters easily.

Arias Jr. appeared during the April 5th matchup and allowed four unearned runs. The Sun Devils have found success against the junior right-hander, but now in familiar territory, Arias Jr. could look for revenge this weekend at home.

The final two roadblocks for ASU to look out for on the mound are Arizona’s top closers in sophomore right-hander Trevor Long and senior left-hander Christian Holden. Long has only allowed runs in two of his 18 outings, earning him a .79 ERA and four saves. Holden, on the other hand, leads Arizona with five saves and an impressive 26 strikeouts.

Opposing batters are hitting below .240 against both of them, proving that the Sun Devils will need to attack early against a Wildcats team that seems to beat themselves on most nights.

Arizona has the most errors in the Pac-12 with 44. They have also allowed 43 unearned runs, the most in the conference. Those errors have been the Achilles heel for Arizona all year. ASU took advantage of three Arizona errors in the April 5 matchup and could look to do the same thing this upcoming series.

While the pitching staff for the Wildcats has been a bright spot, the same can not be said for the Sun Devils, who are last in the conference in hits allowed (393), runs allowed (263), home runs allowed (44) and ERA (6.31). It’s a struggle that has continued to rear its head in crucial moments – even during the team’s five-game winning streak – and will be tested by superstar Arizona sophomore catcher Daniel Susac.

With his award-laden resume being longer than most grocery lists, Susac has racked up many accolades during his first two years at Arizona. He won every possible freshman award in the Pac-12 and nationally, ranked as first-team All-American on every major publication last year, and was the same this year in preseason lists.

Susac possesses a conference-leading batting average of .382, a team-leading 1.052 OPS, 65 hits, a .618 SLG% and 35 RBI in 2022. The freshman is on the watch list for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, and is currently on a streak of 13 hits in eight games.

It’s possible Susac might’ve blinded some to another spectacular Arizona player in junior outfielder Tanner O’Tremba, who has almost identical stats to his star teammate. He’s second on the team in batting average (.358), OPS (1.029), hits (54) and SLG% (.570). The Texas Tech transfer was one of two players for the Wildcats to hit a homer against ASU earlier in the year.

The other player was sophomore outfielder Chase Davis, who is the definition of a power-hitter. Second in the Pac-12 in home runs with 11, Davis hits the ball hard and far, equating to a .555 SLG%. With a dangerous bat in the middle of the lineup, ASU will need to be careful not to fall asleep, or the sophomore will likely make them pay.

The trio has helped Arizona be one of the top four offenses in the conference. It swings hard and frequently, a play-style that has led to success but also drawbacks, as the Wildcats are last in the Pac-12 in strikeouts with 347.

The keys to success have been preached by Bloomquist all year: attack early and don’t give up free bases. Arizona’s ill-advised errors and mental mistakes could decide who wins the series. No-mistake baseball will be tough for a Sun Devils team that has ridden the roller coaster of emotions through the early parts of 2022. However, the passion of this rivalry, especially with Bloomquist at the helm, will lead to a highly emotional game that the first-year ASU coach will treat just as if he was back on the field.