ASU Baseball: Sun Devils sweep Saturday doubleheader against Hawaii

Game 1:

By Valentina Martinez

The score was 6-5. It was the top of the ninth and Arizona State Baseball needed one more out to end an action-packed game that had become a battle of bats. With the exception of the fourth, either the Sun Devils or Hawaii – their opponnet in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday – had scored once or more throughout every inning of the game.

ASU was coming off an exciting eighth inning where it was able to take the lead with a two-run inside-the-park home-run from freshman third-baseman Hunter Haas.

Tensions were high in the game’s final frame. Hawaii junior infielder Matt Campos had just scored for the Rainbow Warriors off a single from sophomore right-fielder Tyler Best. The Rainbow Warriors began to gain momentum and could smell a comeback victory, which they had pulled off the night before.

It was up to ASU freshman right-handed pitcher Ethan Long to get the final out for the Sun Devils as he faced Hawaii junior shortstop Kole Kaler at the plate. First pitch: ball. Next two pitches: strikes. He needed just one more.

However, as they proved almost each inning, the Rainbow Warriors had the ability to generate offense and keep up with ASU’s own. Kaler highlighted his team’s resilient quality as he fouled off the next three pitches. On the seventh pitch from Long, Kaler was able to make good contact with the ball and sent it flying into center-field.

It didn’t have enough. The ball was caught by ASU redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe, and the Sun Devils came out on top 6-5.

“If you’re around Ethan Long for five minutes, you can tell he’s a competitive dude,” head coach Tracy Smith said. “He’s wired differently, in a good way. He’s not afraid. If you get to him – you’re going to have to beat him. He’s not going to give it to you. That’s why we’re comfortable giving him the ball in those high-leverage situations.

“He wants the baseball.”

Though ASU was victorious, there were missed opportunities which it failed to capitalize on. The Sun Devils loaded the bases twice and didn’t score any runs.

Conversely, ASU made good contact with the ball and consistently took smart swings at the plate. In addition, redshirt sophomore right-hander Tyler Thornton got the start for the Sun Devils and pitched 5.2 innings while striking out seven batters.

ASU came out aggressively with its bats in the first inning. Redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift scored off a wild pitch, giving the Sun Devils the early lead.

Hawaii quickly responded with their own offensive surge in the top of the second and the score quickly flipped to 2-1 Rainbow Warriors. Freshman catcher Konnor Palmeira hit a home-run into left-field, which took the lead.

The Sun Devils had their chance to tie the game or gain the lead. However, Hawaii managed to save its sophomore right-handed pitcher Cade Halemanu from a worst-case scenario bases-loaded situation with a double play.

With Halemanu in trouble, Hawaii head coach Mike Trapasso came out from the dugout in the bottom of the third to talk, but he allowed the sophomore to continue pitching. ASU took advantage, as a double from redshirt freshman Brian Kalmer allowed Haas to score and tie the game at two.

In the fifith, Hawaii freshman first baseman Safea Villaruz-Mauai scored off a sacrifice fly, making the score 3-2. Mauai was able to steal second and advance to third off of a throwing error on the play before, which put the first-baseman in perfect scoring position.

ASU made a pitching change in the top of the sixth. After reaching 104 pitches, Thornton left the mound and was relieved by redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Cam Dennie. The young reliever struck out the first batter he faced and got the final out of the inning for the Sun Devils.

A Hawaii pitching change in the sixth inning gave ASU an opportunity. With freshman right-hander Jake Hymel in, the Sun Devils took advantage of the new arm as a sacrifice fly from McLain brought freshman infielder Jack Moss to home plate and tied the game.

The offensive surge continued for ASU. McLain was able to score off a single from Swift, but for the second time in the game, the Sun Devils loaded the bases and were unable to capitalize on the opportunity to secure a steady lead until Haas’ eighth inning magic.

The drama in Saturday’s opener was just the appitizer for what was to come, however.

Game 2:

By Jonah Krell

As if Arizona State Baseball’s series with Hawaii could not get tighter, the Sun Devils embraced yet another rollercoaster of a game in the second match of Saturday’s doubleheader.

As night fell at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the momentum would swing from one end back to another. In the end, ASU would survive 9-6 with a gutsy performance to win the series.

“We were able to just grind it out,” redshirt freshman right fielder Sean McLain said. “It’s baseball, man… you’re going to have ups and downs everyday, and it’s all about controlling what you can control.”

Although the Sun Devils came away with the win, it looked like a possible blowout in the beginning.

The bats came alive in a manner that ASU has not shown so far in the young season, as a four-run second inning was highlighted by back-to-back home runs by redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe and redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift. Lampe’s home run sneaked just over the right-field wall near the foul pole, while Swift’s homer was launched beyond the left-field bullpen and into the desert.

“That was huge,” freshman third baseman Hunter Haas said of the scores. “I knew that we were rolling after that, and I felt like our offense was finally getting going as a team, which was really fun to be a part of and good to see.”

The energy boost from the 4-0 lead soon shifted, however, in dramatic fashion.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Erik Tolman, who pitched five innings of one-hit ball last Sunday, started to look shaky in the fourth inning. After hitting his third batter and walking in a run to make it 4-3, Tolman’s day was done after pitching 3.1 innings.

It didn’t get any better for the Sun Devils as the pitches were thrown in the fourth, as they would go on to walk in three consecutive runs in all and let the Rainbow Warriors completely turn the tide of the game.

“You’re not going to be perfect all the time,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. “It’s worth pointing out too that you got a bunch of guys out here that have never touched a college baseball field before. Each time they go out, success or failure, that’s one more notch in the experience belt.”

By the time the damage was done in the fourth, Hawaii held a 5-4 lead. The game became a back-and-forth duel for several more innings, but ASU gained some separation in the seventh.

Haas scored after freshman first baseman Jack Moss’ pop fly went through the hands of Hawaii’s left fielder. McLain and freshman left-fielder Kade Higgins then delivered with two outfield bloopers that dropped in the gaps between Hawaii’s defense.

With the early home runs and the creative scoring in the seventh, it was a true testament to the versatility of the ASU offense.

“We’re still looking for pitches to hit hard,” McLain said. “We’re going to get homers here and there, but [we’re] just looking to get guys on, move them over and move them in. That’s what we’re going to do to win games this year.”

The turning point in the contest came from ASU’s pitching. With Tolman and freshman right-handed pitcher Brock Peery struggling to contain Hawaii in the fourth inning, Smith went to two different pitchers to man the fort: freshman right-hander Jared Glenn, who made his Sun Devil debut, and redshirt junior right-hander Brady Corrigan.

Combined, the two pitchers allowed one run over almost six innings to finish the game. Smith said that “those guys being ready to go was certainly the key to this thing tonight.”

Yet it was Glenn, who Smith said “grew up” in his relief appearance, that perhaps shined the brightest.

The right-handed pitcher from California escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth to calm the Sun Devils when their backs were against the wall. Glenn earned the win in his debut, pitching for 3.2 innings with five strikeouts and allowing one run.

“So I got out there and JK (ASU pitching coach Jason Kelly) handed me the ball and he said, ‘Hell of a time for a debut, but who cares right?’” Glenn said. “That kinda just summed everything up for me. Just attack the zone, go after the hitters [and] make good things happen. I trust the guys behind me.”

On the offensive end, Saturday’s closer was possibly the team’s best show of the season so far. ASU had a season-high 14 hits, which included five different players recording two hits.

The performance could be something the team can potentially build upon this week. After a grinding performance in a doubleheader, the Sun Devils have a short turnaround with Nevada on Tuesday and then Utah next weekend.

“I think the offense is going to get going here in the next couple weeks,” McLain said. “Got a mid-week (game) coming up too, so I’m excited to see what the team has in store.”

Smith echoed what his second-baseman said.

“It was progress and that’s what you look for,” Smith said. “We’re six games in at this point, and I think every day you look [and say] ‘Are you incrementally getting better?’ and I [think we] do.”