(Photo: Brendan OKeeffe/WCSN)
Fresh off a crucial series victory over Oregon State, Arizona State Baseball got some well-deserved recognition in the national rankings earlier this week.
The Sun Devils checked in No. 25 in D1Baseball’s poll before heading to Los Angeles to face the USC Trojans in their final road series of the regular season. With the lineup continuing to produce at a high rate, ASU was looking to keep up a trend against a Trojans pitching staff that has surrendered the fifth-most runs in the Pac-12 Conference this year.
Freshman designated hitter and reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Ethan Long has started to see his ridiculous power surge rub off on his teammates. Aside from Long, the Sun Devils combined for 12 extra-base hits during last weekend’s OSU series.
Redshirt freshmen infielder Nate Baez and outfielder Joe Lampe each carried their success over to the USC series this weekend, combining for three important home runs. The duo plated four runs in the sixth inning on Friday night en route to a 6-2 ASU win.
The bats cooled down in game two on Saturday when USC redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Chandler Champlain took to the hill and tossed 6.1 innings while only allowing one run on four hits. The lone run came on an RBI double from freshman outfielder Kade Higgins, who had a pair of extra-base knocks in the second game against Oregon State.
On Sunday, the Sun Devils bounced back. After falling behind 2-0 to the Trojans, Baez blasted his second home run of the series, a two-run shot, to even up the score. Baez plated three more runs before ASU took the game and the series against USC with a 10-7 victory on Sunday.
Despite being down 7-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, the Trojans didn’t go away easy. Redshirt junior infielder Ben Ramirez had a big series, driving home seven runs over the weekend, three of which came on his second homer of the day on Sunday to make it a one run game.
The Trojans threatened again in the ninth inning, as their first two batters walked to start the frame. The rally was killed shortly after though, as freshman reliever Jared Glenn induced the 54th double-play of the season for the Sun Devils, which leads the nation.
Two batters later, Glenn got Ramirez to pop out in foul territory to freshman third baseman Hunter Haas to secure the win.
Much of the offensive success came at the expense of Long, who was held hitless the entire weekend and struck out three times. His modest six-game hitting streak came to an end on Friday when he went 0-for-5.
On the mound, the Sun Devils had an up-and-down series, giving up 12 runs in the final two games, eight of which were surrendered by starters. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Tyler Thornton arguably had the best performance of the weekend on the hill, going 5.2 innings while only giving up two runs on Friday.
Thornton couldn’t get out of the fourth inning in his previous two outings, and allowed 11 runs over those starts.
Meanwhile, ASU redshirt junior left-hander Justin Fall got tagged for five runs on Saturday and was chased out after 5.2 innings of work after two prior quality starts.
USC had a big sixth inning in Saturday’s contest, grabbing three runs on two base hits and a fielder’s choice from redshirt junior outfielder Trevor Halsema, redshirt senior infielder Tyler Pritchard and redshirt freshman outfielder Rhylan Thomas. The big inning helped the Trojans cruise to a 6-1 win.
Redshirt freshman two-way player Kai Murphy, who has started to see more action as a pitcher as of late, went five innings in the rubber match on Sunday before turning things over to the bullpen. The left-hander gave up three runs and struck out four before his day was done.
The bullpen pitched well in the first two games of the series, combining to allow only one run on five hits. It gave up four runs on Sunday, but ASU pushed through.
The series victory pushes ASU’s conference record to 16-11 with three more games left before the season’s end at home.
As they continue to prime themselves for postseason play, the Sun Devils have a chance to win yet another big series against No. 18 UCLA and head into NCAA regionals with added confidence.
The series is set to begin on Thursday with the finale taking place a day before Selection Sunday.
