(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
PHOENIX – It was Friday night and the floodlights illuminated the field of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Earlier in the evening, the lights reflected off the diamond’s tarp, protecting it from a storm that caused a 45-minute delay. It cruised through its Pac-12 opener against Oregon, exchanging runs through the middle innings.
But there was a glimmer of hope as ASU rolled into the game’s final moments in a 4-4 tie.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, first up to bat was senior Harris Williams, who walked to first base. Afterward, junior Ryan Campos reached on a fielder’s choice to shortstop, and Williams narrowly advanced to second. This was when Oregon made a pitching substitution from senior Logan Mercado to sophomore Grayson Grinsell. That substitution didn’t pay off as Sun Devil sophomore Nick McLain walked to first base. With the bases loaded, junior Jacob Tobias hit a flyout.
ASU was set to rely on a freshman in a crucial situation. For head coach Willie Bloomquist, entrusting freshmen is something that he’s been doing all season. With 16 first years on the roster, there’s simply no choice.
This time, it was second baseman Ethan Mendoza. Despite the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Mendoza didn’t feel a sense of pressure. He stepped into the box and hit a ball up the middle, resulting in a groundout to second base that drove in the game-winning run from third base to seal a 5-4 win over Oregon. The Sun Devils improved to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 play. The Ducks fell to 9-4 on their season and 0-1 in the conference.
“I kind of told him even when he was in the hole I said, ‘Hey you’re going to win this thing,’” Bloomquist said. “[Mendoza] just kind of looked at me like, ‘Yeah no kidding.’ And I’m like ‘OK, you’re not nervous I guess, so that’s good.’”
The dugout ran onto the field to celebrate Mendoza’s RBI, and it was a moment of pure excitement. Not just for the team, but for the freshman himself.
“That was awesome, I don’t really know what happened. [The dugout storming the field] kind of bombarded me but it was super cool,” Mendoza said. “I’ve had a couple [walk-offs], nothing like that. That’s a way different experience from high school to college.”
The walk-off RBI was set up in the top of the ninth inning when ASU replaced junior righty Ryan Schiefer with freshman lefty Cole Carlon. It was evident that the substitution was matchup-related, as Scheifer had a solid 2.1 innings pitched with no errors, no earned runs allowed, three strikeouts, one hit allowed, and no walks pitched.
Nevertheless, trusting a freshman pitcher to give the Sun Devils a chance on offense is a decision that requires a significant amount of confidence.
“Obviously, the track record is not there for people to use the scouting report on,” Bloomquist said. When talking about the potential disadvantages, Bloomquist highlighted the lack of experience. “We understand that if we’re going to do what we want to do, these kids got to get experience.”
Along with an opportunity to gain experience, Carlon got a chance to help the Sun Devils take their Pac-12 opener. Carlon capitalized on the opportunity by allowing no runs, giving ASU a chance on offense like he was asked to do, and resulting in his first collegiate win.
“We got a lot of freshmen out of there, and they’re starting to get a little more comfortable,” Bloomquist said. “I think you just see the confidence of Carlon, a guy like that coming in and just starting to walk around with a little swag.”
For Bloomquist, tonight’s result was an indication of what’s to come for not just the remaining two games of the weekend series against Oregon, but for his season.
“There’s not going to be any breezing to the finish line,” Bloomquist said. “With the teams that we’re playing, we’re going to have to ratchet down the screws and be ready to have a dogfight for 27 outs.”
