(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)
After a historic comeback on Sunday against the University of California, Arizona State Baseball held a mid-week tilt against No. 11-ranked Arizona on Tuesday night.
The Sun Devils followed their comeback with a gritty and emotional 10-6 win over the rival Wildcats.
While the game was technically a non-conference matchup, it had all the makings of a classic rivalry game.
In the win, ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist picked up his first win against Arizona as a manager.
“That was fun,” he said postgame. “…It’s great to see these guys have something good happen to them and beat a good team.”
Following his ejection on Sunday afternoon, sophomore third-baseman Ethan Long served his one-game suspension on Tuesday night, leaving the Sun Devils without a key bat against the top team in the Pac-12 Conference.
While Long’s presence was missed in the lineup, the freshmen for the Sun Devils stepped up in a big way on Tuesday night, as they accounted for eight of ASU’s nine RBI.
“They are starting to feel like they belong,” Bloomquist said of the freshmen. “It’s encouraging that these guys are feeling they can have success as a freshman”.
Freshman infielder Cam Magee took over at third base in Long’s absence.
“[Magee] has been thrown into some tough situations,” Bloomquist said. “He plays well and plays with some energy and athleticism. I’m very pleased with the job he’s done.
ASU redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi made his second start of the season on Tuesday night, and the Wildcats used the long ball often and early against him.
After striking out his first batter faced, Vander Kooi hit Arizona sophomore catcher Daniel Susac, who leads the Pac-12 in batting average in 2022.
Moments later, Vander Kooi surrendered a two-run opposite-field home run to junior outfielder Tanner O’Tremba, and the Wildcats drew first blood to take a 2-0 lead.
The Sun Devils responded nicely in the bottom half of the first inning, as they loaded the bases with one out. Freshman catcher Ryan Campos sharply singled up the middle and gave the Sun Devils their first run of the evening, making it 2-1 Wildcats.
Vander Kooi found himself in trouble again to start the second inning.
Junior outfielder Tony Bullard started the top of the second with a solo home run to left field, leaving Vander Kooi surrendering a home run in consecutive innings.
Following the homer, the Wildcats loaded the bases, forcing Bloomquist to go to the bullpen. Vander Kooi exited after only 1.1 innings of work.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Jacob Walker came into relief for Vander Kooi with the bases still loaded with one out.
Walker escaped the jam by inducing a ground ball double play to limit the damage and keep the Sun Devils in the game. They trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the second.
“That was an early turning point in that game, for [Walker] to get the double play,” Bloomquist said. “That was a huge momentum turn.”
Magee wasted no time making his presence felt on Tuesday, as he hit a scorching two-run home run to right-center field to tie the game at three.
“I wanted to play Arizona my whole life so being able to do it [then], no better feeling,” Magee said.
ASU redshirt sophomore outfielder Kai Murphy added: “That was one of the biggest plays of the game because it got us kickstarted.”
The Wildcats used the long ball to their advantage again as they homered for a third consecutive inning – sophomore outfielder Chase Davis hit a towering solo home run over the right-field wall to give the Wildcats a 4-3 advantage.
The Wildcats tacked on another solo home run in the top half of the fourth inning, as Bullard hit his second home run of the game and of the season as the Wildcats increased their lead to 5-3.
After allowing a double, Walker exited after 3.0 innings of solid relief. ASU redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Will Levine came for relief.
Levine walked the first batter he faced and then allowed a base hit to sophomore first baseman Noah Turley, which scored another Wildcat, extending the Arizona lead to 6-3.
The Sun Devils were able to score another run after going the previous two scoreless. Sophomore left fielder Nate Baez singled sharply through the right side of the infield as the Sun Devils drew closer to make it a 6-4 game.
ASU wasn’t done scoring in the bottom half of the fifth with two on and two out, though. Murphy hit a towering go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning, giving the Sun Devils their first lead of the evening at 7-6.
“I am super happy for [Murphy],” Bloomquist said. “I know he wants it as bad as anybody and it’s great to see hard work pay off for him.”
The Sun Devils added more in the bottom half of the sixth inning. With two on and two out again, freshman designated hitter Jacob Tobias singled to right-field as the Sun Devils went into the top of the seventh with a 9-6 lead.
Sloppy play from the Wildcats allowed the Sun Devils to add on a crucial insurance run. While attempting to throw out graduate first baseman Conor Davis, the ball got away from the Wildcats and it allowed the speedy redshirt sophomore outfielder in Joe Lampe to scamper home and extend the Sun Devils’ lead to 10-6 going into the top of the ninth.
The Wildcats committed their third error of the game and the Sun Devils were able to score seven unearned runs on the Wildcats.
“If we strike out we aren’t giving the other team a chance to mess up,” Murphy said. “Our philosophy is always put the ball in play and give our boys a chance.”
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Blake Pivaroff came in and threw 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes, shutting the doors on the Wildcats.
“We have been searching for a guy to step up in the bullpen and I think we are starting to see [Pivaroff] have the makeup and mentality where the moment doesn’t get too big for him,” Bloomquist said.
The Sun Devils will meet with Arizona again in Tuscon at the end of April for what will be monumental series for both teams.
With the win, the Sun Devils now improve to 14-16 on the year. They will look to carry the momentum into the weekend as they will travel to Stanford for a three-game series starting on Friday evening.
