(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
PHOENIX — Confident. That’s the word Arizona State’s baseball program used to describe itself.
Arizona State is no stranger to high-scoring affairs, but conceding a six-run lead after the third inning is the type of game that can demoralize a team. However, ASU (2-0) preserved and came out victorious with a 14-13 win over Santa Clara (0-2). ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist began his postgame press conference with a big sigh of relief, but stated he was still confident that his team would pass its first big test of the season.
“I don’t think the confidence would be shaken, but that’s just the importance of staying resilient offensively and continue to score runs,” Bloomquist said. “No lead is safe ever, especially here at Muni. It’s just one of those ballparks that you’ve got to score and keep scoring when you have a lead. Can’t let up and so kudos to the offense for continuing to score runs and piling on.”
The bats were expected to carry the Sun Devils this season, and that has certainly been the case through two games. Besides freshman righty Thomas Burns’ phenomenal collegiate debut on Friday, ASU’s pitching has looked shaky. Conversely, the lineup has produced double-digit runs in both contests, which was a necessity in the second game of the series.
There were several contributors to the offense on Saturday, but the one that stood out the most was sophomore outfielder Isaiah Jackson. The Cienega High School product struggled at the beginning of his freshman year when he only had two hits in his first 15 at-bats, but he has three hits in each of the first two games of his sophomore season. Jackson learned a lot in his first year and applied that to his work in the offseason, which has already paid dividends.
“It’s just a lot of confidence,” Jackson said. “Just the work I put in off the field and just kind of hammering the consistency again in the offseason because that’s something I struggled with last year. Lots of ups and downs, so that confidence [I’m] bringing in every game is really big.”
Not only did Jackson have three hits, but they all came at crucial times in the game. His two-run single against junior starting pitcher Brandon Gomez in the first gave the Sun Devils the lead, but they would squander it after allowing four runs in the next inning. Therefore, Jackson came up to the plate against Gomez again in the third and hit another two-run single — as if it were déjà vu — to tie the game at four runs apiece.
These four RBIs ignited an eight-run explosion in the third inning — including a grand slam from sophomore Nu’u Contrades to cap it off — that seemed to give the Sun Devils all the cushion it needed. As established, those six runs were not enough when the Sun Devils found themselves in a tied ball game at 12 runs each in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one more swing, Jackson put the Sun Devils ahead with a moonshot that sailed over the Whiteman Family Performance Center in right field to finally give the team the lead it needed.
Bloomquist does not need this heroic effort from Jackson every game, but he needs the centerfielder to lead the team on and off the field.
“That’s what he’s capable of when he’s aggressive and stays balanced,” Bloomquist said. “He can clearly hit the ball a long way and it’s fun to watch him break out a little bit offensively because he’s a guy that we’re going to need. Not saying he has to drive in six runs every day, but we need him to be consistent throughout the year and he started off right.”
Consistent. Another “C” word that Bloomquist and Jackson mentioned as a term to describe the Vail, Arizona native this season. The sophomore is certainly confident and consistent right now, which is why the lineup has not skipped a beat despite the loss of redshirt sophomore Nick McLain.
The confidence and consistency is infectious to the entire team, which was definitely the case after Jackson’s go-ahead homer. The bullpen locked down afterward, only allowing one run in the final three innings. Freshman closer Cole Carlon was the highlight of the turnaround, getting the final three outs in a clean inning of work. But for Jackson, there was never a doubt in the first place.
“When I saw him [Carlon] up in the bullpen, I knew we were gonna do alright,” Jackson said. “When he comes out, he just brings us energy that everybody else kind of builds off of and when he gets that first ball in the zone, everybody’s super hyped and that last out was pretty cool.”
Carlon is a clubhouse favorite, so when he and Jackson are at their best, the energy spreads to the other players and elevates the team to another level. The closer can’t impact a game until the last inning, but when Carlon is ready with the team hyped up, it likely means good results are on the way.
“I just do my regular free throw and warm up before I play catch before the game,” Carlon said. “And then just really try to focus on my breath and not speed myself up and just staying in the moment and making sure that I’m focused and ready to attack each hitter.”
