(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
With the Pac-12 Conference Tournament right around the corner, Arizona State Baseball came into Friday’s matchup against the Utah Utes with a lot of ground to make up.
An offensive explosion by the Sun Devils’ offense propelled them to a 19-7 victory on Friday evening.
“I’m happy for these guys to bounce back and put last week behind them,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
ASU redshirt sophomore outfielder Joe Lampe added: “We just gotta stay aggressive, that’s been my mentality.”
Lampe finished the evening 3-6 with two runs batted in.
Despite scoring only 17 runs over the past five games, Friday’s 19 runs for the Sun Devils is a season-high for a team looking to ride the offensive momentum the rest of the season.
Eight of the nine starters for the Sun Devils recorded at least one hit, and ASU scored in every inning except the first as it cruised to a blowout victory over Utah.
“Great performance from a lot of guys, [and a] great start to the weekend,” Bloomquist said.
Freshman designated hitter Jacob Tobias got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning, as he hit a towering home run over the right-field wall to give the Sun Devils an early 2-0 lead.
The Utes responded nicely in the top of the third, as they finally got to ASU redshirt junior starting pitcher Adam Tulloch. Redshirt freshman Dakota Duffalo singled sharply through the right side, and Utah got on the board for the first time as a result.
Following the Duffalo double, freshman second baseman Landon Frei doubled to deep center field, plating Duffalo. The Utes tied the game at two apiece.
The Sun Devils responded right away as redshirt sophomore Nate Baez blasted a three-run missile to left-center field. ASU reclaimed its 5-2 lead.
The scoring didn’t stop there for the Sun Devils, as the bottom of the order got things going. This time, the contribution came from freshman third baseman Cam Magee, as he doubled down the right-field line, plating redshirt sophomore Kai Murphy and giving the Sun Devils a 6-2 lead.
The very next at-bat, Lampe doubled down the right-field line, bringing in two runners to score and extending the Sun Devils’ lead to 8-2.
The Sun Devils tacked on another run thanks to Lampe’s speed, as he came home on a shallow sac fly by redshirt sophomore infielder Sean McLain. The Sun Devils led 9-2 after four innings.
Utah did not go away easy, as it put together a three-run inning of its own in the top of the fifth thanks to a three-run home run from sophomore right-fielder Kai Roberts, bringing the Utes within four runs.
After the three-run homer, the Utes chased Tulloch out of the game, and in came ASU redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Christian Bodlovich.
The Utes were able to tack on another run with two outs, and made things interesting going forward, trimming the Sun Devils’ lead to just 9-6 going into the bottom of the fifth.
Baez wasted no time responding in a loud way for the Sun Devils, as he hit a rocket over the left-field wall for a solo home run – his second shot of the night – which more importantly gave the Sun Devils a 10-6 lead.
Baez finished a remarkable 4-5 at the plate, including his two home runs and five RBI.
“Offensively I challenged [Baez] a little bit and put him in the four-hole and he responded,” Bloomquist said.
Thanks to a Utah wild pitch with a runner on the third base, the Sun Devils added another run as Tobias came around to score and give the Sun Devils a 11-6 lead after five innings of play.
Following a scoreless top of the sixth, graduate first baseman Conor Davis singled sharply through the right side, bringing in freshman catcher Ryan Campos and extending the Sun Devils’ lead to 12-6.
The runs kept coming for ASU, as Baez scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tobias to give the Sun Devils a 13-6 lead.
Moments later, with runners on second and third base, freshman left-fielder Will Rogers sharply doubled down the left-field line, bringing in Davis and Murphy to open up the floodgates and lead 15-6.
After another scoreless inning from the Sun Devils’ bullpen, ASU’s offense was able to score another run in the bottom of the seventh as Campos scored on a Tobias fielder’s choice.
The Sun Devils led 16-6 after seven innings of play.
The Utes added a run of their own in the top of the eighth as ASU sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Meyer issued a bases-loaded walk, however, Utah scored just one run, preserving the Sun Devils’ 16-7 lead heading to the bottom half of the eighth inning.
The Sun Devils were able to add on three more runs in the bottom frame to seal the deal and put Utah away for good.
With the win, ASU now improves to 21-25 on the year, snapping a five-game losing streak.
“Regardless of where they’re playing or who’s playing, these guys will play hard and to me, that’s a tribute to them and the mentality and attitude they are coming with every day,” Bloomquist said.
The win also tied ASU with Utah in the Pac-12 standings.
