(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
Arizona State Baseball has hit a point in its season where fatigue and injuries are seemingly beginning to take a massive toll.
The Sun Devils have been worn down – particularly on the mound with an arm like sophomore righty Tyler Meyer out for another weekend with shoulder soreness – in more ways than one, and as their schedule becomes more and more grueling down the stretch, it’s been hard for them to keep up with their opponents.
That was exemplified in the worst way against No. 13-ranked UCLA on Friday night, the beginning of yet another marquee road series for a second-straight weekend.
The Bruins scored 13 runs in the sixth inning alone, picking the Sun Devils apart with seemingly every at-bat. That, along with a stellar performance from sophomore right-hander Max Rajcic on the mound, allowed the Bruins to cruise without consequence to a 19-2 rout over ASU.
ASU redshirt junior left-hander Adam Tulloch started off hot with four strikeouts in his first two innings before the Bruins broke through in the third with a two-run frame. Both runs were plated on sacrifice flies from freshman shortstop Cody Schrier and sophomore third baseman Kyle Karros.
Tulloch threw just 24 pitches between the first two innings of the ballgame before tossing 27 in the third alone, surrendering three hits and a walk along the way.
He would exit following a demoralizing four-run affair in the fifth with a final line that featured six earned runs on nine hits and two walks. Despite that, it was the first time Tulloch has pitched five innings since his seven-inning, 13-strikeout performance against San Francisco at the end of non-Pac-12 Conference play in March.
It snapped a seven-start streak where Tulloch failed to pitch at least five innings. But by the end of his outing he was done in by the Bruins’ bats, as four of their hits, including a two-run home run from freshman second baseman Ethan Gourson, escorted the lefty off the mound as the fifth inning came to an end.
Then the nightmare that was the bottom of the sixth ensued.
Eighteen men came to the plate for UCLA, and within those plate appearances, seven hits, six walks and a trio of errors put ASU in as low of a place that it has been all season. Three pitching changes were made along the way, with redshirt junior right-hander Jacob Walker failing to record an out while letting seven runs cross before redshirt junior righty Andrew Lucas came in and walked four consecutive batters.
Redshirt sophomore left-hander Danny Marshall was met with a similar fate upon entering before the inning ended.
The Sun Devils finished the evening with a pair of position players, as freshman left fielder Will Rogers and sophomore third baseman Ethan Long – who is still having wrist troubles – tossed scoreless frames consecutively to send the game to the ninth inning.
Every UCLA starter notched a hit in the contest, bringing the overall total to 16 by the end of the night.
At the plate, ASU was stifled mightily by Rajcic, who set a career-high with 11 strikeouts in his effort. He surrendered just three hits in his 8.1 innings of work, and up until the RBI double he gave up to redshirt sophomore center fielder Joe Lampe in the ninth chased him from the ballgame, there was no significant sign of life from the Sun Devils’ bats.
Redshirt sophomore shortstop Sean McLain was the only Sun Devil to reach base multiple times on Friday, tagging ASU’s first hit in the fourth before he was hit in the head with a pitch in the seventh and again – not in the head – in the ninth.
ASU finished with two runs in the ninth, making UCLA redshirt freshman right-hander Chris Aldrich work following Rajcic’s departure.
The Sun Devils have been outscored 42-6 over the last three games, and head coach Willie Bloomquist has reached deep into his bag to try and string things together during this stretch both on the mound and in the field. With 12 more games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Sun Devils may have to continue to labor through the rest of the campaign in order to see things through to the Pac-12 Tournament.
It’s a statement that’s a start contrast from two weeks ago. Then, ASU was playing its best baseball, riding a five-game winning streak heading into Tucson last weekend.
A lot has changed since then.
