Josiah Cromwick’s two home run day helps power ASU to victory

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

PHOENIX – When Arizona State graduate catcher Josiah Cromwick stepped into Phoenix Municipal Stadium’s right-handed batter’s box in the fourth inning he was already having himself a successful Friday night that was about to get even better.

Leading off the second inning for his first at-bat, the backstop hit a home run into the right-field bullpen, just out of the reach of Kansas senior right fielder Tommy Barth, making it a 2-0 game. In the fourth, with junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson on first, Cromwick had an opportunity to double the Sun Devils advantage. It was an opportunity that he seized.

Cromwick smashed a 1-2 slider from Jayhawks sophomore right-handed starter Dominic Voegele that didn’t break enough, resulting in a 410-foot home run off the center field batter’s eye. The home run was his team-leading eighth of the year and the two Sun Devils that touched home plate on the blast represented ASU’s first multi-run inning of the game.

Cromwick’s home runs were the highlight of an Arizona State (15-7, 3-1 Big 12 Conference) offensive showcase that resulted in a 9-2 victory over Kansas (17-5, 2-2). For many hitters, success comes down to the ability to make adjustments, and Cromwick is no different. An adjustment he’s been working on against off-speed pitches was key for his successes in the Sun Devils’ first Big 12 home victory.

“He’s done a good job on making some adjustments to off-speed pitches which has given him more of a complete repertoire when he’s going to bat,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “He’s not just a one-trick pony that can only hit a fastball. … He’s starting to get locked in, and when he gets locked in it’s scary.”

Cromwick has major power. He destroyed the ball in preseason games in the fall and early spring and it’s carried into the regular season. He has a 7.4 at-bats per home run ratio, half of his hits have gone over the fence and his eight home runs are two more than second-place junior right fielder Kien Vu.

On the surface, it might seem like the grad student has an all-or-nothing approach, but Cromwick tries to keep his approach at the plate as simple as possible.

“(I’m) just honestly trying to keep it simple at look for a good pitch,” Cromwick said.

“I felt like I stuck to that pretty well for the most part.”

In his first at-bat, Cromwick did exactly that. He fell behind 1-2, but he watched and learned Voegele’s repertoire before doing damage. He drove the fourth pitch of the at-bat high in the air to his opposite field. His approach and the result of his first at-bat set him up for his big night.

“I felt like I saw it well,” Cromwick said. “I kind of went up there my first at-bat, just telling myself I’m just going to take (a pitch) and see it, track it. And then after that, I felt like I saw it the rest of the game.”

Catcher isn’t often thought of as one of the premier offensive positions in the sport. But the Sun Devils have gotten used to their catcher being an elite player with Ryan Campos behind the plate the last three seasons. It was a big worry what ASU was going to do without Campos at the game’s most important defensive position.

They have replaced Campos’ production with depth.

Cromwick’s offensive prowess behind the plate is pushed by the team’s second catcher, sophomore Brody Briggs. Briggs has appeared in 11 games, starting nine of them and has two home runs and a .313/.333/.514 slashline.

Catching is the most physically demanding position on a baseball field. Catchers take a beating and need time to rest. Briggs’ ability to supplement Cromwick is an ace up Bloomquist’s sleeve that a lot of other head coaches don’t have.

“It’s nice to have two guys that are A pushing each other, but B, you can spell each other with and keep them healthy and fresh throughout the year,” Bloomquist said. “Offensively, both of them have done a great job, and hopefully that continues.”

Some nights, it’ll be Briggs’s time to shine, but Cromwick took advantage of his start. His fingerprints were all over Friday’s game. The Sun Devils had three innings where they scored two or more runs, and Cromwick was in the middle of all of them. Besides his two-run home run, he scored in ASU’s three-run sixth inning and in ASU’s two-run seventh inning after reaching on a hit-by-pitch and an error, respectively.

Crooked number innings are a trend that Bloomquist hopes to see continue. The Sun Devils have done almost all their damage in just one inning at points this season, and Bloomquist challenged the team to spread the love throughout games. Doing it once is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t make it a pattern.

“Let’s see if they can back it up. Do it again,” Bloomquist said. “They did it off a phenomenal young man that throws the heck out of the ball for them. He’s had a lot of success (for Kansas) in his last couple of years, and for us to come out and put up seven runs off of him, that was an impressive night.”