Ethan Mendoza Displaying Growth In Sun Devils’ Middle Infield

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

PHOENIX — Arizona State freshman second baseman Ethan Mendoza has been one of the team’s best first-year players with a .281 batting average in 36 starts entering Wednesday, but the power was not there as he had a big goose egg in the home run column.

That zero turned into one against UC San Diego.

Mendoza hit a 382-foot home run to left field to extend the lead to 11 runs in the second inning against the Tritons. It wasn’t crushed like sophomore outfielder Kien Vu’s 480-foot shot later in the night, but it was enough to give the freshman his first collegiate home run.

The Sun Devils (24-22, 12-12 Pac-12) defeated the Tritons (26-16, 13-9 Big West) 19-8 in seven innings because of college baseball’s mercy rule. Mendoza’s play was a big reason why as he finished with three hits and only needed a triple to complete the cycle.

“That was exciting,” Mendoza said of his home run. “It was definitely a moment I won’t forget.”

ASU is hot as it has now won seven of its last eight games, but Mendoza’s development is also noteworthy as head coach Willie Bloomquist is hoping the second baseman will be a key component of the team’s future.

The middle infield had some uncertainty entering the season with second baseman Luke Keaschall getting drafted and shortstop Luke Hill transferring to Ole Miss, but players like Mendoza and senior shortstop Steven Ondina stepped up to fill those spots. Ondina transferred in from Florida International and has been a good mentor for a young middle infielder like Mendoza.

“(Ondina) knows a lot about what he’s doing,” Mendoza said. “Obviously, you can see in the field. He knows what he’s talking about and he’s helped me a lot knowing which balls to charge, which ones to not and the timing of the game is definitely different from high school. He’s helped tell me how to adjust myself from the game.”

Ondina’s veteran leadership is beneficial for a first-year player to have, especially because Mendoza was not necessarily considered an elite prospect coming out of high school. Even though the Texas native was outside the top 100 for shortstops in the class of 2023 according to Perfect Game, Bloomquist liked what he saw when he was scouting Mendoza.

“We kind of got him before he started developing — I guess for lack of a better term — and just saw something in him at a camp that we had out here that we really liked,” Bloomquist said. “Bat-to-ball we thought was tremendous and fundamentally defensively he was pretty solid. Now to see him put it all together and start to get more comfortable with each and every game out there. He goes through his typical ups and downs that they all do their first year, but he’s got a bright future.”

Bloomquist also mentioned that he liked Mendoza’s baseball instincts and that he played good competition coming out of Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas. Mendoza may have been a young product that other colleges passed up on, but Bloomquist saw him in person and just felt like this someone to take a chance on.

Mendoza still has not finished his first year yet, but it looks like that decision may pay dividends for this season and potentially the future of the program. Bloomquist likes what he sees in the early going of the Southlake Carroll graduate’s collegiate career, but Mendoza has the chance of getting even better with the players around him.

Ondina is a big help defensively, but Bloomquist also mentioned how Mendoza could take a similar path offensively to Vu, who entered Wednesday with the second-highest batting average in college baseball with a .438 average. Vu has grown a lot since his freshman season and hit six home runs in his last 10 games, so there is a lot of hope within the program that Mendoza can show more power in the future.

“I don’t mean to embarrass the kid, but I got right up next to him and he’s got nothing but peach fuzz on his face and you’re like ‘the kid’s not even shaving yet,’” Bloomquist said. “He’s going to develop and get stronger and bigger. Those are the things you look at when you’re talking to a 15-16 year old kid. He’s going to grow, he’s going to get stronger. He’s not tapped out, but I think he’s still got plenty of room to grow and get stronger and fill out. When he puts on more strength, he’s got a chance to be really good.”