(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
PHOENIX — While Feb. 16 marked the beginning of a new college baseball season, Arizona State Baseball was already faced with one major question that carried over from last year.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 campaign, ASU lost a large portion of its staff. Starters Ross Dunn, Timmy Manning and Khristian Curtis — who comprised the Sun Devils’ weekend rotation — were all taken in the MLB Entry Draft last summer, while relief arms such as Owen Stevenson, Blake Pivaroff and Brock Peery also departed the program. In total, only three pitchers from last season were listed on the Opening Night roster.
This left ASU (1-0) with a major unknown heading into the 2023 season, but the question was at least partially answered, in an 11-6 win over Santa Clara (0-1) on Friday.
With 11 first-year pitchers on this year’s roster, it was inevitable that head coach Willie Bloomquist eventually needed to put a freshman on the mound in a big-time situation. By starting freshman right-hander Thomas Burns against the Broncos, he did just that and was rewarded for showing trust in the young pitcher.
Burns, ASU’s first true freshman to start on Opening Night since Ike Davis in 2006 — who won Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Honors that season — made a lasting impression in his first taste of collegiate action, allowing two baserunners and an earned run while fanning seven in 5.0 innings of work and earning his first win.
“There’s a reason that we have him on Friday,” Bloomquist said. “For a freshman to keep his composure the way he does, and change speeds when he needs to, and not get so into a pattern is good. He’s able to change up guys and throw different pitches in different counts and keep them off-balance. So, again, that’s why he’s on Friday as a freshman, he does a good job.”
Burns had no trouble getting ahead of counts, throwing first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 17 batters he faced with 42 of his 64 pitches landing inside the zone. Despite being known for his velocity, the Wisconsin native used a combination of a mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider to find success — which he found early and often. Burns faced the minimum in all of his first three innings on the bump, striking out five during that stretch.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, as the freshman was met with his first dose of adversity in the fourth frame. With the Sun Devils already leading 8-0, Santa Clara senior outfielder JonJon Berring got all of a 1-1 pitch, sending it over the right field wall for a leadoff solo shot. Despite this, Burns instantly locked back in, navigating the remainder of the inning without allowing any added damage.
“You just have to bounce back,” Burns said. “Hitters hit. I mean, the whole staff today came back, and everyone bounced back good. I thought all the [work on the] mental side that everyone’s been putting in paid off today.
“It definitely helped a lot, knowing that the defense and the bats got my back. And anything that happens, they’re always going to be there.”
If nothing else, Burns’ ability to return to his dominant form after a lapse is a true testament to his mental fortitude. Part of this strong-minded approach is due to consistently facing a high-powered lineup during intrasquad scrimmages, but Burns is also meticulous in his mental preparation. Even before he arrived at the field on Friday, the righty had already envisioned himself facing each member of Santa Clara’s lineup.
“Mentally preparing every night,” Burns said. “Every hitter I faced out there today, I’ve already faced in my head before, so it’s just easy. You know everything that’s going on.”
Thanks to ASU’s lineup scoring 11 runs on the night — and Burns’ strong five-inning start — there was little pressure for sophomore lefty Ben Jacobs, who entered the game in the sixth. This wasn’t the southpaw’s first time facing college bats, as he logged 5.0 innings of work at UCLA last season, and his experience showed.
Jacobs started hot, retiring the first two batters he faced, but then appeared to run into some trouble. After walking senior outfielder Coleman Brigman, the California native handed him second base due to a balk. However, like Burns, Jacobs was quick to reset, inducing the final out of the inning during the next at-bat. He made his second frame of work much easier than his first, striking out the side to finish his 2.0-inning outing allowing only one baserunner.
Freshmen Wyatt Halvorson and Josh Butler, who combined for the final pair of innings on the mound, showed a similar resilience to their predecessors. After plucking a hitter and allowing a double to junior shortstop Malcolm Williams, Halvorson also fell victim to Berring, conceding a three-run shot to make the score 11-4. The righty proceeded to retire the next two batters he faced — striking out one. An inning later, Butler allowed a pair of two-out RBI singles but managed to induce the final groundout of the night to seal the victory.
“The way [Halvorson] bounced back, got the next two hitters out, great job,” Bloomquist said. “Same thing with [Butler], we gave up a couple of hits and runs, but he bounced back and continued to pound the zone. Hits the first guy on the first pitch, it’s like,‘oh boy, here we go.’ But he settled in and he was pounding the strike zone. So I’ll take two walks out of nine innings every day.”
With so many freshmen on his pitching staff, Bloomquist simply has no choice but to put the ball in his young players’ hands. He’s spoken glowingly of almost all of his first-year pitchers, and one game into the season, his praise is warranted. But no matter what happens, these next couple of weeks will give the freshman pitchers ample experience heading into the gauntlet that is Pac-12 play.
“No secret, we’ve got a lot of freshman arms,” Bloomquist said. “But hey, we’re at the end of the freshman year. And after we get through a couple of weeks of this, and we get some jitters out. That was a positive about tonight, we were able to get some freshman in there and get their feet wet on the mound, and hopefully get them over the shock so they’ll be a little more comfortable next time out.
“We’re going to need those guys and those are good arms… We knew they were going to be amped up and they’ll get better as we move on.”
