(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)
Following a 6-4 win Saturday night, Arizona State Baseball looked to take the series win in the rubber match Sunday afternoon against the Oregon Ducks.
The Ducks took advantage of a Sun Devil team that was short handed and lacked focus all afternoon as they topped ASU 15-5 in its final home game of the season.
“We have to spend more time on basic little league fundamental stuff,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
The Sun Devils drew first blood in the bottom of the first as redshirt sophomore second baseman Nate Baez continued his offensive tear with an RBI single to right field, scoring redshirt sophomore shortstop Sean McLain and giving the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead.
Oregon responded in their half of the third inning, getting to sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Meyer.
“This wasn’t his{Meyer’s} best outing certainly,” Bloomquist said.
Ducks junior third baseman Drew Cowley delivered the big blow to start the afternoon, as he ripped a bases-loaded RBI double to left-center field, bringing three Ducks across to score and giving them a 3-1 lead.
The Ducks would add another run in the frame giving them a 4-1 lead after the third.
In the following inning, Oregon got to Meyer once again before he exited the game after 3.0 innings of work giving up seven runs on four hits and four walks.
The fourth inning turned into a disaster for the Sun Devils as they allowed five runners to score which included a “little league home run.” The Sun Devils committed two throwing errors allowing sophomore first baseman Brennan Milone to plate a run and score on his RBI double.
“I expect our guys to be able to catch a baseball, I expect our guys to throw a baseball 90 feet and at times maybe I give a little too much credit for that and don’t enforce it,” Bloomquist said.
The Ducks added four more runs via great baserunning and poor Sun Devil pitching and defense.
Oregon held a substantial lead after the top of the fourth as they led 9-1.
Arizona State committed another error in the top half of the fifth allowing another unearned run as Oregon opened the floodgates with an 11-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
The Sun Devils showed pride in the bottom half of the fifth thanks to freshman catcher Ryan Campos’ two-run single giving the Sun Devil faithful something to cheer about, though they still trailed 11-3 after five innings.
The Ducks responded quickly in the top of the sixth as freshman designated hitter Jacob Walsh blasted a two-run home run over the right-center field wall giving the Ducks a 13-3 lead headed into the bottom of the sixth.
The Sun Devils and Ducks would go on to score two more runs each as the Ducks prevailed 15-5 in the final regular-season game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Campos finished the afternoon with a team-high four hits, raising his batting average to .354 on the year.
With the loss, the Sun Devils fall to 25-27 on the year including 13-14 in Pac-12 play. But with a Washington State loss to No. 22 UCLA on Sunday afternoon, ASU clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament.
The Sun Devils have one series remaining in Pullman, with Washington State awaiting them in their final regular-season series.
“Every game matters and we are gonna have to bounce back with who we have available,” Bloomquist said.
The series will take place from next Thursday-Saturday as the Sun Devils look to gain momentum heading into the Pac-12 Tournament.
