(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
Mark Wasikowski debated the situation in front of him.
The Oregon head coach watched his sophomore starting right-handed pitcher Isaac Ayon throw what could have been considered four balls to Arizona State Baseball freshman designated hitter Jacob Tobias, only for home plate umpire Kelly Gonzales to call them all strikes and send Tobias back to the bench without swinging the bat in the bottom of the sixth inning on Thursday.
Then, Ayon let ASU freshman left fielder Will Rogers chop a single to left field.
Wasikowski visited the mound and talked to Ayon, but he didn’t pull him. Oregon had an arm in the bullpen, but Wasikowski let Ayon stay on the mound.
Right call or not, ASU sophomore right fielder Kai Murphy made him pay for it.
The Sun Devils’ eighth hitter in the lineup hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that propelled ASU to a 4-2 win over the Ducks in what was an elimination game for both sides in the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Baseball Tournament. While the Ducks’ season is not over with Thursday’s loss, ASU had everything to play for, as its only hope of playing past Sunday is winning the Pac-12’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid – granted by winning the inaugural Pac-12 bracket.
The Sun Devils will now play the loser of Thursday’s game between Stanford and Arizona (which is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. PST on Thursday) at 3 p.m. PST on Friday to keep their season alive.
“For [Kai] to come up in a big moment like today, it’s pretty special,” Bloomquist said after mentioning that he’s known Murphy since he was young. “To be able to coach him and see him come through, it’s special.”
Murphy added: “That [Oregon pitcher] has a good slider. He gave me some trouble earlier in the year with the slider. I knew it was coming at some point. I didn’t get it the first two at-bats, but I knew it was coming. I took some brutal swings early and reset my mind and said I’d be short to it and trust myself.”
ASU’s win was saved by sophomore right-handed pitcher Blake Pivaroff, who, after taking the loss in Wednesday’s game against Stanford thanks to the Cardinal’s junior center fielder Brock Jones two-run home run in the seventh inning, stopped an Oregon comeback in the top of the eighth inning on Thursday. The Ducks had a man on second base with no outs when sophomore left-hander Graham Osman was pulled in favor of Pivaroff.
“Blake’s been one of our guys all year,” Murphy said. “[It was] one bad pitch yesterday. It’s baseball. That’s what happens. We trust him, we believe in him and we need him everyday almost in this tournament.”
The Sun Devils followed up Pivaroff’s save by adding an insurance run for sophomore right-handed closer Brock Peery in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two singles, including one by Murphy, set up a sac-fly from sophomore center fielder Joe Lampe, which gave ASU a 4-2 lead heading into the ninth inning.
ASU got the game’s scoring started in the bottom of the third inning, when it flipped its runners-in-scoring-position misfortune from the day before into an RBI single by senior first baseman Conor Davis, who, battling a hamstring injury, went 0-4 on Wednesday.
The inning began by Lampe hitting a liner to left field, while sophomore infielder Sean McLain was hit by Ayon in the next at-bat to give the Sun Devils a two on, two out situation.
“When things are going bad, you have to be able to step out and reset and remember why you’re here and that you’re good,” Murphy said.
ASU, like it did on Wednesday, faced a counter strike quickly from Oregon. Meyer generally pitched well early on Thursday, though he issued four walks in 3.1 innings. His fourth, combined with a ground ball single to center field, gave the Ducks a two on, no outs situation in the top of the fourth inning.
Junior second baseman Gavin Grant capitalized for Oregon, singling and tying the contest at one. Meyer then gave up a deep sac-fly to the leadoff hitter in junior left fielder Tanner Smith, which gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead while keeping a man on third base with two outs.
Oregon threatened more, as Meyer issued his second hit-by-pitch in as many innings to Oregon sophomore center fielder Colby Shade, giving the Ducks the corners with two outs. A steal of second base put heightened heat on the Sun Devils, but Meyer struck out Hall to end the inning.
“Meyer is one of our best guys,” Murphy said. “He’s got real stuff.”
Bloomquist added: “[Meyer] gutted it out. He made big pitches when he needed to. We got the win.”
After a brutally disappointing loss on Wednesday, McLain said the Sun Devils “would do better [on Thursday]”. While the numbers are oddly similar, ASU got breaks in the RISP department on Thursday, and most importantly got a solid showing from its bullpen when it needed it most.
The Sun Devils are nowhere near out of the woods yet, but extending their season to the tournament’s third day is a perhaps better outcome than one would have expected for ASU after getting swept by Washington State last weekend.
“These guys have responded,” Bloomquist said. “They understand what it’s like to get punched in the mouth and get picked back up and get back in the fight. I’m very proud of these guys and everything they have accomplished so far.”
