(Photo: Jack Simon/WCSN)
PHOENIX – Since the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2027 MLB spring training campaign concluded on March 23, American Family Fields of Phoenix laid dormant, waiting for elite talent to decorate its field.
On Sept. 27, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta brought Arizona State baseball and the Naranjeros de Hermosillo together to light up the facility once again.
The party started Sunday afternoon, with the Sun Devils bringing an explosive offense to the table in a 10-0 victory while the Naranjeros provided an electric atmosphere.
Although ASU’s performance hinted that the unique environment had no effect whatsoever, the Sun Devil pitchers had something else to say.
“We had a couple of our pitchers come off the mound saying, ‘I can’t hear anything because the music is going,’” Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “I’m like, ‘dude, this is fun, man.’”
With the help of 10 different ASU pitchers, the Sun Devils recorded 11 strikeouts while containing the Naranjeros to just three hits and zero runs. In the batter’s box, Bloomquist’s squad dined on opposing pitchers, tallying 10 runs on 14 hits without even one home run.
“I thought our pitchers did an outstanding job of attacking the strike zone, only two walks over nine innings,” Bloomquist said. “Offensively, we did some things OK, but we got some things that we got to clean up as well. But all in all, (I’m) happy with the performance today for it being (in) the fall.”
The Sun Devil bats arrived just on time to the carnival.
In the first inning, second-year shortstop Davis Perkins jogged to first base after being hit by a pitch.
This proved to be a mistake for the thirty-year-old Narajeros pitcher Wilmer Ríos Bojórquez, because the reigning Big 12 player of the Year and single-season ASU home run record holder strolled to the plate next.
As fans still searched for their seats, third-year Sun Devil right fielder Landon Hairston seasoned a pitch to left-center field for a double.
With runners now stationed on second and third with no outs, the new key ingredient to the ASU lineup who hit .339 with 20 home runs in his previous year at Washington marched to the plate.
But, third-year Sun Devil outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss failed to put the ball in play, resulting in a strikeout.
Luckily for the former Huskie, fourth-year first baseman Dominic Smaldino whipped up a two-run single, granting ASU an early lead.
It took until the fifth inning for ASU’s hitters to put runs on the board again. But once the RBI party awakened, it didn’t stop.
From the fifth inning until the seventh, the Sun Devils cooked up eight runs with five occurring in the fifth alone.
“We did a good job being patient,” Bloomquist said.
The top of the fifth started with a hard single by Perkins, followed by Hairston getting hit by a pitch and Hotchkiss reaching on a walk.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, 38-year-old Naranjeros right-handed pitcher Ozzie Covarrubias found himself in a pickle.
Against the next four Sun Devils batters, Covarrubias issued three singles and a walk, accounting for five more ASU runs.
The Sun Devil bat rack acted like a fajita plate, sizzling whatever it touched and creating lasting memories by whoever ordered to use it.
“(Our approach) was kind of passing the baton, just not trying to do too much with our swings,” first-year Sun Devil infielder Jet Berry said. “People were sticking to their approaches today, kind of just staying all over the field, which was really good.”
Although the ASU offense received most of the applause, the pitchers gathered an encore through their consistent performance.
The ten Sun Devil pitchers who stepped on the mound recorded 11 strikeouts, three hits, zero earned runs, two walks and one hit by pitch.
In fact, seven of the nine innings pitched contained a strikeout.
“Our guys came in and they found the strike zone,” Bloomquist said. “It was great to see (the) situational guys. … very proud of the job they did.”
Three of the Sun Devil pitchers who took the bump were returners while the other seven were either transfers or first years.
Third-year Sun Devil right-handed pitcher Taylor Penn started the game, allowing only one hit against the four batters he faced.
Then in the second, the much-anticipated outing of fourth-year left-handed pitcher Alex Valentin arrived.
The former South Carolina Gamecock blended two strikeouts and a groundout to create a solid first showing while in the Maroon and Gold.
Even though ASU’s pitching staff registered more than 10 batters into a strikeout, a lot of the Naranjeros at-bats resulted in balls in play.
But that failed to faze the Sun Devil defense.
“Just made the routine plays,” Bloomquist said. “That’s what we stress upon.”
Only one error blemished ASU’s stat sheet, occurring in the bottom of the fifth when first-year right-handed pitcher Eli Curtis spiked a ball on a pickoff attempt to first base. The error moved the baserunner to second base, signaling a real offensive threat for the freshman. After a walk and a steal of third, Curtis’ outlook continued to sour.
With Jorge Ramírez at the plate, Curtis executed a perfect pitch, resulting in a grounder to second base, starting an inning-ending double play.
Despite the intense situation, Bloomquist and his squad rejoiced in the opportunity to play at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta.
For 15 years the event brought the best winter league teams from Mexico to showcase their skills in the state of Arizona, and this year, it decided to invite the Sun Devils to the celebration.
“We’re just happy (that) we go the invite this year to be a part of it,” Blommquist said. “When they threw that at us, it was like, ‘heck yeah, no brainer we want to be a part of this,’ and hopefully build this bigger and better every year for not only the community, but Maryvale here for the Mexican community.”
