(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Sunday was perhaps a long time coming for Arizona State Baseball and pitcher Justin Fall. Prior to the 2020 season, the redshirt junior left-handed JUCO transfer from New Jersey was a tantalizing figure. The hype was there, and appeared to be real. Fall’s ceiling was high, aligning with his 6’6 frame, and for a team like ASU – built on bat and star power at the plate – having someone like Fall on the mound would be comforting – and potentially scary for opponents.
But 2020 didn’t go well for Fall. He struggled to start the year, and gave up 10 earned runs in his second and third starts of the season.
A week after an outing against Nebraska, in which Fall gave up six runs in three innings, things seemed to shift. Fall pitched six innings against Fresno State on March 8, 2020 and gave up two earned runs while striking out six batters. ASU pitching coach Jason Kelly praised Fall’s ability to remain calm on the mound postgame, and a tide had appeared to be turned.
But Fall’s outing on March 8 was not only his last of the year, but was the Sun Devils’ last as well. The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for the cancellation of the season, and hopes for Fall and ASU were dashed.
Just a year and 20 days later though, Fall made a start that could have been a glimpse at what might’ve come had last season not fizzled out. Against Washington State (12-8,1-4 Pac-12) on Sunday, Fall pitched 6.2 innings, gave up zero runs, two hits and struck out five Cougars while leading the Sun Devils (15-5, 4-2 Pac-12) to a 9-0 win.
“I thought [Fall] was really competitive in the zone, which is what we asked him to do,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. “He trusted that defense behind him. I thought he set the tone early and did a lot with the fastball, which is good. We needed that out of him.”
The win captured the Sun Devils’ first conference home series win of the 2021 season, and rights the ship after Oregon gave ASU its toughest battle of the year last weekend in Eugene.
“I thought I did pretty well,” Fall said. “I did a lot of preparation throughout the week and felt pretty good going into today. I think if you prepare the right way, good results are going to happen.”
Fall’s start was fueled by some early help though, as the weekend trend of an early lead continued on Sunday for the Sun Devils. Washington State junior right-hander Dakota Hawkins walked ASU redshirt freshman center-fielder Joe Lampe to begin the first inning. Redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift then capitalized on an error by Cougars’ junior shortstop Kodie Kolden by doubling, and moved Lampe to third base.
With two on and no outs, redshirt junior outfielder Hunter Jump then singled to left field, scoring Lampe and Swift to give the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead. But the damage ASU inflicted – and the mistakes by Washington State that set it up – was far from over.
A bobbled ball by Cougars’ senior third baseman Jack Smith allowed ASU redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain to take second base, pitting Jump at third. Freshman first baseman Ethan Long then hit a sacrifice fly to deep right-center field, scoring Jump to make it 3-0 Sun Devils.
Washington State then granted ASU one last gift. With McLain at third, redshirt freshman right fielder Kai Murphy singled and brought McLain home due to another bobbled ball in between first and second base. The RBI extended ASU’s lead to 4-0 with just one out in the frame.
“We came out and jumped on them in [all] three games,” Smith said.
Dawkins corrected his rough start though, as the Cougars and Sun Devils found themselves in a fight for offense through the early innings. ASU had just two hits from the second to fifth inning, and neither base runner made it past first base. Dawkins settled in with a wavy curveball and earned 11 fly-outs, compared to two on the ground.
Washington State subsequently was dominated by Fall though, who kept his pitch count low and had tight command throughout the afternoon.
“When he’s dialed in mentally, [Fall’s] different,” Smith said. “Because the physical [side] is not a question. He throws in the 90s.”
Fall added: “I think it’s just being not okay with walking guys. I walked one guy today and it was probably the most pissed I’ve been in a long time.”
After the offensive drought, ASU found life. A deep double to left field by Long put a man on for the Sun Devils in the bottom of the sixth inning. For the first time since the first, they brought the runner home. Murphy singled to right to make it 5-0 ASU, and Dawkins’ day was done. The Washington State junior finished with three earned runs in 5.1 innings, while giving up seven hits and striking out two.
“We were just saying, ‘If we could get two more runs, they’re going to roll over and quit,’” Smith said. “When we got those four in the sixth, we started to feel pretty good about this one being over.”
The pitching change didn’t pay off for the Cougars. After senior right-hander Brody Barnum took the mound, ASU redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri singled to bring Murphy home, giving the Sun Devils a 6-0 lead. Later, a single by redshirt freshman left fielder Seth Nager put two on for Lampe, whose liner got down between Washington State fielders in left. The hit gave ASU an 8-0 lead and Lampe his second RBI of the day.
The sixth inning surge put insurance on Fall’s start, as the left-hander was pulled after 92 pitches in the top half of the inning. Redshirt junior right-hander Brady Corrigan took over and faced one batter before redshirt freshman right-hander Cam Dennie replaced him.
After last weekend’s disappointing series in Oregon, this weekend’s sweep of Washington State puts momentum in the Sun Devils’ favor heading into a pivotal series against rival Arizona. The highly-touted Wildcats are living up to expectations set for them this year – ones higher than those set for ASU. While the Sun Devils’ 15-5 record might be surprising, their true tests are perhaps still coming.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” Swift said. “[Arizona’s] just another Pac-12 team. We just take our same game-plan into them.
“I think we’re ready to go.”
