(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
Arizona State Baseball redshirt junior right-hand pitcher Kyle Luckham left the mound in the 9th inning with 107 pitches thrown and one standing ovation from Sun Devils fans in Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Cal State Fullerton transfer put on a master pitching performance that secured ASU the series win against the University of San Francisco 4-2.
Following the dominating performance of rotation mate and junior left-handed pitcher Adam Tulloch on Friday night, Luckham came in and continued the pitching onslaught with an eight-inning stint, where he allowed two runs and six hits while striking out nine and issuing zero walks.
“We have a really good rotation,” Luckham said. “With Tulloch going on Fridays and me following him up, it’s really exciting.”
Sunday’s doubleheader meant the Sun Devils needed Luckham to have a lengthy outing to reserve a more flexible pitching rotation. Head coach Willie Bloomquist stated he wanted Luckham to attack early and look for contact to try and have quick innings.
“[Luckham] pitching to contact early allows him to go later in the game,” Bloomquist said. “We had a couple of innings there 2nd or 3rd where he pitched 5, 6 pitch innings. With him able to do that, [it] really allows him to stay in the game longer.”
The ASU right-hander was dealing early, retiring the first five batters, until San Francisco responded by getting three straight bloop singles in the 2nd frame to grab a 1-0 lead. Things looked to be getting off the rails for Luckham, but with two runners on, he locked back in and escaped the inning with only succumbing to the single run.
Luckham was able to keep his composure and not be deterred by the Dons’ aggressive bats. After those singles, he found his groove, allowing only three hits and recording seven strikeouts in the next six innings. Even while looking for contact, Luckham still made San Francisco batters miss with authority, which was excellent for ASU sophomore infielder Sean McLain.
“Our starters have been dealing this year,” McLain said. “It’s fun to play behind guys shoving it up the other team’s ass.”
While McLain and the Sun Devils were enjoying the performance on the field, behind the plate, they couldn’t reciprocate it into runs early. ASU had a bases loaded opportunity in the first and two runners in the next inning but failed to capitalize, going 0-5 with runners in scoring position.
“We had a chance to put some points on the board early, and we didn’t,” Bloomquist said. “That’s a big momentum shift where we have them on the ropes really in the first inning to do damage, and we don’t.”
Most of the credit can go to USF senior left-handed pitcher Weston Lombard. While allowing four walks in those frames, he halted any momentum on the side of the Sun Devils. Those back-to-back failed attempts by ASU seemed to deflate its at-bats as the Sun Devils couldn’t record a runner in scoring position in the next four innings.
The fourth inning saw both teams squeak off a first-pitch home-run, making the game 2-1. For San Francisco, it was graduate student infielder Kyle Knell, while for ASU, it was freshman outfielder Will Rogers. It was Rogers’ fourth of the year and propelled him to first in the Pac-12 Conference in home runs by a freshman.
“There’s no secret,” Rogers said of his early success. “Keep trying to grind through it. I mean, there have been some pretty rough spots, but just keep working, and the coaches have helped me a lot through everything.”
After those dingers, the game devolved into a pitching duel between Lombard and Luckham. Both pitchers personified their experience with their pitching, not allowing either team to stack up against any rhythm. Bloomquist knows that Luckham has been through the wringer and is confident that he can handle anything on the mound.
Situational hitting has been a consistent problem for ASU throughout the early part of the season. While having a young roster, the team doesn’t excuse that from the missed opportunities in the past. Saturday, they conquered that hill in the seventh inning when the team’s bats finally clicked.
After starting the game 0-5 with RISP, ASU would get three straight hits with runners on to steal the lead 4-2 late in the game. The highlight of those three runs was sophomore outfielder Joe Lampe, who capped off his three-hit night with a triple that drove in the first run of the inning. Back-to-back RBI singles followed him by McLain and sophomore infielder Ethan Long.
“We’ve been having good routines, but those hits just weren’t falling,” McLain said. “Finally, it’s starting to turn around a little bit, stuff is starting to go our way, and I’m happy for the guys in the lineups.”
Luckham went into the ninth inning looking for the first complete game of the year for the Sun Devils, but after allowing a single in his first at-bat, the right-hander was pulled to a thunderous response from the crowd. Bloomquist said that 110 pitches was the max for Luckham, but decided to play it safe by calling in sophomore right-hander Brock Peery to close out the 4-2 win for ASU.
Saturday was the Sun Devils’ first back-to-back wins at home of the season, and they look to continue the hot streak with their doubleheader tomorrow against San Francisco for the series finale and a one-off with Missouri. Thanks to the excellent performances from Tulloch and Luckham, the pitching staff should be well-rested for those matches and could start to tally up some wins to turn around an ASU season that has started out a tad underwhelming.
