(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
ASU Baseball entered their midweek matchup against CSUN on a four-game winning streak that can be credited mostly to its bats that have been some of the best in the Pac-12 in recent weeks. They have scored eight runs in the past five games.
However, Tuesday saw the Sun Devils arms come out in roaring fashion to match the dominant production of how their bats have been as they extend their winning streak to five and crawl their way back to .500 in a 6-1 victory over CSUN.
“It’s really what we talked about after the Stanford series,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said on what has caused the recent success. “This is the point of time after a tough weekend like that. You can go one of two ways, you can crumble as individuals, or you can come together as a team, play for the guy next to you and pick each other up. It looks like they’ve taken that to heart.”
This year, ASU came in with a record of 3-6 in midweek games and seemed to have learned that they need to start those games better in order to win. It looked to be working as redshirt sophomore center fielder Joe Lampe began the game with a double to center field. ASU wouldn’t waste the early power from Lampe as sophomore third baseman Ethan Long smoked an RBI single to give ASU the 1-0 lead early.
“We’re really just taking pride in giving it to the next guy,” freshman catcher Ryan Campos said of the team’s offensive success. “We’re not trying to all hit homers. We’re trying to give it to the next guy and getting on base and keeping the line moving.”
ASU redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi got the ball on the mound to start and showed flashes of his past self. After having Tommy John surgery in March 2021, Vander Kooi has been working his way back day by day and, against CSUN, recorded his longest stint of the season with three innings.
“[Vander Kooi] looked good, man,” Campos said. “It’s inspiring to see him where he was to where he’s out now. Every time he gets on the bump, I have the most trust in him.”
March 3, 2020, was the last time the Mesa native recorded an outing as long as Tuesday’s start, but his veteran presence on the bump made it look like he hadn’t missed a day. Vander Kooi faced little resistance by CSUN batters until the second inning, where he allowed three straight singles that tied the game 1-1.
However, the Sun Devil right-hander found his control and composure, recording the next three outs, the last two by way of the strikeout. Vander Kooi ended his start by retiring the last six Matador batters and finalizing his line at three innings, allowing four hits, one run, no walks, and fanning two batters.
“It’s been great,” Bloomquist said of Vander Kooi’s improvement. “The ball is coming out better and better each time out. The breaking ball is getting sharper.”
ASU would score a run in the next three innings, respectively. In the fourth, redshirt sophomore outfielder Kai Murphy would launch a ball into the Tempe sky, rocketing it past the Whiteman Family Performance Center building in right field, extending the Sun Devils’ lead 2-1.
The next frame saw Lampe, again, hit a double to begin the inning and would face a similar fortune as a CSUN wild pitch gave a green light for the ASU sophomore to cross home, making it 3-1 ASU.
Freshman designated hitter Jacob Tobias didn’t want to end ASU’s scoring streak as he walloped a 388 ft moonshot over the center field wall, building on the club’s lead 4-1. This was Tobias’ second straight game with a homer, as all the ASU bats seem to be clicking simultaneously.
“Guys are contributing all the way up and down the lineup,” Bloomquist said. “It lengths our one through nine out, and it gives us a threat everywhere in that lineup.”
The CSUN bats continued to struggle even after Vander Kooi’s departure in the third inning, as the ASU bullpen stayed locked in, only allowing two hits and a walk in the subsequent three frames.
However, the CSUN side of the eighth saw ASU experience a major jam as redshirt junior right-hander Will Levine quickly loaded the bases after a single and hitting two opposing batters. Bloomquist then called on redshirt sophomore right-hander Christian Bodlovich to try and salvage the Sun Devils out of a tough spot, and he dominated the opportunity.
Bodlovich would strike out the next three batters and help ASU escape the eighth with their three-run lead intact.
“It was awesome,” Bodlovich said. “Just coming in and picking up one of your teammates, [Levine] has picked me up a bunch, so being able to do that for one of your guys is always a good feeling.”
CSUN’s huge missed opportunity in the eighth was one of the many the club failed to cash in as they left eight runners on base, hitting 1-9 with runners in scoring position. Those missed chances, especially the last one, seemed to take the air out of the Matadors.
“That was pretty much the whole game right there,” Bloomquist said of Bodlovich’s save. “Obviously, in a hairy situation, he came in there, and three straight punch outs through the heart of the order was big.”
Campos would add some insurance with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to strengthen the Sun Devils’ lead 6-1. Campos has been one of the most prominent bright spots during the Sun Devils’ strong offensive stretch as the freshman has recorded 20 hits in the past 12 games, recording a hit in 11 of those games, and eight of which have been multi-hit games.
Sophomore right-hander Jared Glenn would strike out the side in the ninth for ASU, as he recorded his first save of the year, giving the Sun Devils their fifth straight win.
“These [wins] are big. The momentum helps a lot,” Bodlovich said. “If we keep playing the way we’ve been playing, we’ll be just fine.”
ASU, now back at .500, has its work cut out for them as the Sun Devils travel down to Tucson this weekend for their in-state rivalry against Arizona. The Sun Devils are halfway through Pac-12 play and sit sixth in the conference, behind the third-place Wildcats by three games, meaning that ASU could make up some serious ground this weekend.
“I imagine the excitement level won’t be a problem,” Bloomquist said on the Arizona series this weekend. “This is the series of why you play college baseball. You look forward to things like this, and the rivalry games are a big deal, and we’re going to go down to Tucson and try to play our best.”
