(Photo: Brendan OKeeffe/WCSN)
Arizona State Baseball hit one of its lower points of the 2021 season over the weekend.
After dropping their highly anticipated series against then No. 20-ranked Stanford, which included a pair of blunderous late-inning losses, the Sun Devils headed into one of the toughest parts of their regular season schedule beginning on Tuesday against the neighboring Grand Canyon Antelopes. The midweek bash kicked off a stretch of six games over the next week.
Coming into Tuesday’s contest, GCU was the winner of eight-straight games and was sitting comfortably in second place in the WAC.
Even with a pair of demoralizing losses to the Cardinal, the Sun Devils’ offense has lately provided plenty of run support in the early innings. That appeared to be no different on Tuesday night, as ASU collected five runs in two innings and even knocked GCU sophomore right-handed pitcher Jack Slominski out of the game before he could record an out in the second.
The quick start, highlighted by a blistering three-run home run from freshman designated hitter Ethan Long, helped the Sun Devils get back on track, as they took game one against the Lopes 13-10 in a slug fest.
Over the past four games, including Tuesday night, ASU pitchers had surrendered 35 earned runs in 39 innings. While they have been tested by opposing lineups as of late, ASU’s pitching seems to be feeling the impact of injuries suffered to its staff back in March.
Even after jumping out to an early lead, the Sun Devils were backed into a corner by the Lopes’ offense. Redshirt freshman right-handed opener Seth Tomczak had to throw 19 pitches before recording his first out of the game and allowed two runs to score on a pair of singles.
Tomczak departed before he could get out of the second inning.
His replacement, redshirt freshman right-hander Christian Bodlovich, gave up a three-run home run to freshman outfielder Cade Verdusco, which tied the game in the third inning. GCU reclaimed the lead the following inning on a two-run dinger from redshirt junior left fielder Juan Colato.
“When we scheduled the double mid-week it was with the idea that we were going to have our full staff,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. “It’s not the most ideal situation, but what I love about that is we still found a way to win.”
The offenses for both sides were just warming-up at that point, and in a blink, the Sun Devils managed to tie the score at seven with a two-run inning of their own in the bottom half of the fourth. They then took the lead back with a four-run fifth.
Redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri and redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe each contributed run-scoring knocks. Redshirt junior right fielder Allbry Major scored Long on a fielder’s choice and redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift added a sacrifice fly and an RBI in the high-octane frame.
The lead remained in the Sun Devils’ favor for the rest of the evening, but the Lopes continued to pick apart the ASU bullpen, countering with yet another two-run frame in the top of the sixth inning. Senior center fielder Brock Burton blasted GCU’s third homer of the night in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to one before things finally settled down offensively for the Lopes.
Tomczak, Bodlovich, redshirt freshman left-hander Graham Osman and freshman right-hander Brock Peery combined to allow 10 runs on 10 hits. Redshirt freshman right-hander Cam Dennie and redshirt sophomore right-hander Will Levine blanked the Lopes the rest of the way.
Defensively, the Sun Devils got back to their usual ways, playing an errorless game in the field. Redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain’s barehanded gem in the top of the fifth stood out amongst all the offense.
“There were a couple good plays all around,” Swift said. “That’s who we are, and it’s what we know. We got to keep doing that. That good defense will always be there.”
The dagger came in the seventh inning after freshman third baseman Hunter Haas’s leadoff double was followed up by Major’s second home run of the season. The two-run blast to center field snapped an 0-for-17 slide for Major, and it was his first hit since his mammoth homer against Cal State Fullerton on March 12.
“It felt great,” Major said. “I didn’t like the back-and-forth and was hoping that this would be the dagger, and it was.”
Both teams went deep into their respective bullpens as a combined 12 arms were used on Tuesday. If the already fatigued ASU staff can manage to survive the rest of the week without putting up performances similar to their last four, that would seem to be a win in itself.
“There’s gonna be some guys who throw tomorrow who you haven’t seen much if at all,” Smith said. “I know some of these guys have been chomping at the bit to get out there, and now is the opportunity. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the new arms.”
