ASU’s 11-run performance too much for Gonzaga, comples three-game sweep

(Photo: Katelyn MacCrory/WCSN)

PHOENIX — Arizona State baseball is in the midst of a five-game win streak, with plenty to be excited about.

Coming into Sunday, ASU had allowed only three runs in their last three games, which is unusual for a team that often relies on their offense to win games. The pitching has managed to take some of the spotlight away from the usual culprits.

Gonzaga and UNLV aren’t exactly top-tier offenses, but holding opponents to less than two runs per game for any length of time can be a confidence-booster for a pitching staff in need of one before conference play begins.

On Sunday, the Sun Devils were only one win away from sweeping Gonzaga and winning five straight games. They accomplished the feat in a relatively dominant manner. ASU (12-4) scored 11 runs and 13 hits, and its bullpen was as solid as it had been all week, allowing only six hits and four runs to sweep the Bulldogs (2-11), winning 11-4.

Six of the nine starters had multiple-hit games today, and four of the five pitchers allowed no runs. Sunday’s win was about as all-around as they come, with some struggling arms and slumping hitters even getting opportunities to join the party.

The Sun Devils’ recent four-game stretch of allowing six runs or less was the first time they had done so since April of last year, an encouraging sign for a pitching staff that has improved their team ERA by nearly two points this season.

Particularly the bullpen and the progress they’ve made since blowing back-to-back leads against Minnesota. A 2.35 ERA in 23 innings over the last four games, including a shutout against UNLV and allowing only four runs in today’s bullpen game.

“That’s not sustainable for (the bullpen) to go out and shut everybody out every day,” Head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “It’s just not going to happen. But the main thing is that we focus on continuing to attack the zone. Try to limit the free 90s, the free passes that we give, and force guys to beat us if they’re going to beat us, make them beat us swinging the bat and not beating ourselves.”

Consistent pitching hasn’t been the norm for Sun Devil baseball in years, so acknowledging when it happens is important, but it makes it all too easy to overlook yet another fantastic offensive performance from one of the Big 12’s highest scoring offenses.

After ASU’s 11-run day, their second of that type this series, it seems that any worries about the Sun Devils offensive output without Nick McClain or Ryan Campos are all for none, as key players are starting to materialize outside of the proven stars in the lineup.

Jax Ryan, a sophomore infielder who started only a few games last season, is one of the team’s new impact bats. Ryan had two RBI knocks today, raising his average to .333. Including a double off the top of the wall in left field that came inches short from a three-run homer.

Then there’s junior outfielder Isaiah Jackson, who has finally broken out offensively. He also tallied an RBI single and an RBI double, the gapper being his tenth extra-base hit hit this season through 16 games. Jackson is now six extra-base knock shy of his whole season total from last year, which was 16.

“I just think the position I was in was ( (last year) hitting wise, it just couldn’t be consistent with it,” Jackson said. “It was too much moving, too much going on, that I just couldn’t repeat a lot. I think now I’m in a lot better position. So seeing the ball and being in a good position to hit, this leads to consistency. So that’s what I wanted to see this year.”

The typical three headed monster of junior outfielder Kien Vu, sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton and senior first baseman Jacob Tobias combined for five hits, two doubles, one home run, and four RBI. Vu, who hit the home run, reached base four times and recorded his fourth in four games with his dead center homer.

The Sun Devils face their first Big 12 opponent, Arizona, in Tucson on Tuesday. While sweeping a two-win Gonzaga team was good fun and all, a matchup against an Arizona team that defeated No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 18 Mississippi State on consecutive days may be the more telling of the two matchups.

Play time in the non-conference slate is officially over. Their first Big 12 series against TCU will follow Arizona. It’ll be difficult to determine where this team stands in the conference until they reach that point, but the non-conference schedule showed us glimpses of what this team is capable of.

The summer hype wasn’t all talk. This squad wants to and can be right in the thick of the Big 12 race.

“We understand where we’re at and A, where we could have been. B, where we are,” Bloomquist said. “And then most importantly, where we’re going. I think that there’s some positives. We’re capable of doing some really nice things, but there’s a lot we can improve on too.”