Series takeaways: ASU survives BYU scare

As Arizona State traveled into the mountains of Provo, Utah, it was carrying the weight of inconsistent form, along with a fallen national reputation. After avoiding a nightmarish series loss to Utah the weekend prior, ASU had gone from a possible projected one seed in the NCAA Tournament to a projected three seed.

While the Sun Devils (28-13, 11-7 Big 12) continued their run of inconsistent performances, they still found a way to take the series from Brigham Young (20-18, 9-9 Big 12). The same struggles continued for ASU, but its situational hitting came back to save it to keep the Sun Devils winning, even as they worked through the issues.

Here are three takeaways from the series.

Thursday – Rotation troubles bite again (Ethan Ignatovsky)

With ASU’s three-game set against BYU taking place on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as opposed to the more typical Friday, Saturday, Sunday scheduling, Sun Devils head coach Willie Bloomquist had to decide how he wanted to change up the rotation and start the opener.

The hurler he ended up going with was sophomore left-handed pitcher Easton Barrett, a Utah native who began the year as the Sunday starter, but entered Provo with a 7.32 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched across six starts and nine appearances.

His last start on March 7 against Grand Canyon was especially difficult, giving up six runs in just an inning and a third.

Unfortunately for Barrett, Thursday against BYU was more of the same.

His afternoon started with surrendering doubles to two of the first three Cougars he faced, putting the Sun Devils into a quick hole after a scoreless top of the first. He followed that up by allowing a walk to put two runners on, and while the fielder’s choice that followed brought him the second out of the frame, his troubles weren’t over.

Another single, two more walks and a wild pitch resulted in two more runs and Bloomquist deciding he’d seen enough, bringing an end to Barrett’s day.

From there, it was up to the bullpen, being represented first by junior RHP Jaden Alba, to figure things out.

Alba, however, struggled and was forced to wear nine runs over 3.2 innings pitched – so as not to burn arms in the first game of the series – taking the Sun Devils from losing to out of the picture in the process, falling 19-9 in seven innings when the day was said and done.

With Barrett’s track record heading into the series, Bloomquist’s decision to go with the southpaw may appear to be a head-scratcher, but none of the fifth-year skippers’ realistic options were particularly awe-inspiring.

It wasn’t going to be ace junior left-hander Cole Carlon, who’s been glued to Friday nights, or senior righty Kole Klecker, who’s become the anchor of ASU’s rotation.

It could’ve been redshirt junior RHP Colin Linder, who started the season as the Saturday starter, but he got bumped from the role after giving up four runs against Tennessee on Feb. 18. He’s also struggled as of late in the bullpen, giving up five runs in his last 7.1 innings.

Other pitchers who might’ve been in the running include sophomore RHP Taylor Penn, who had an 8.10 ERA over his two starts the past two weekends, and junior RHP Alex Overbay, but he recorded a 13.50 ERA across four starts this season.

Therefore, the blame isn’t solely on Barrett, but ASU’s lack of three consistently solid starters has hindered the team, not only this season, but throughout Bloomquist’s tenure as a whole.

Last year, it was Alba who started on Sundays before a 9.33 ERA in five conference starts, which relegated him to the bullpen. The year before that saw 10 different starters take the ball on the weekend. Of that group, only the senior and sophomore southpaw duo of Connor Markl and Ben Jacobs became regulars.

The failure to find a consistent third option was one of the factors that led to the Sun Devils finishing directly in the middle of the Pac-12 and missing the NCAA Tournament despite scoring the second-most runs (482) during the conference’s final year.

As of April 14, D1Baseball projects ASU to make this year’s tournament as a No. 3 seed, but in order to find success in a setting where games are played day after day, the Sun Devils will need to buck recent trends and find a reliable third head of the dragon.

Friday – Hitters Respond After Defeat (Caleb Harris)

After BYU punched ASU in the mouth on Thursday, the Sun Devils found themselves stunned and tasting blood. On Friday, they struck back, earning a mercy-rule of their own for a 13-0 win and a chance to salvage the series.

The victory was another confirmation of ASU fans’ belief that when Cole Carlon pitches and their hitters are right, any victory is attainable.

Carlon’s best outing of the season came two weeks ago against Arizona when he threw six scoreless innings. The junior matched that performance on Friday, reaching double-digit strikeouts and blanking his opponents across six innings once again.

While Carlon’s two performances were nearly identical, the difference in game outcomes was decisive. In two weeks his supporting cast was able to turn a 7-4 loss to the Wildcats into the Cougars’ largest defeat of the season.

One of the Sun Devils’ best attributes has been their ability to respond to adversity. This season, they have won seven games immediately following a loss, or bounce-back wins. Offensive revitalizations have fueled each of these turnarounds.

ASU is batting an average of .385 with 14 home runs across its seven bounce-back wins, compared to just .256 with seven home runs in the losses leading up to them. Two losses can end a playoff run, making the ability to reset critical for all great teams.

Landon Hairston felt the emotions of defeat when he ended his freshman season with consecutive losses to UCLA and UC Irvine. A year later, his play demonstrates his determination to avoid stacking losses.

The sophomore outfielder has been a multifaceted leader for the Sun Devils, and has especially excelled in bounce-back situations. Hairston’s 0.485 batting average paces his average of 0.434 in all other games. He also hit 0.34 more home runs per game in those outings.

Against BYU on Friday, Hairston tied Brody Briggs and Beckett Zavorek for the team lead with two hits, while striking out just once. Even though his stats looked human for once, he sets the tone as the leadoff batter and team leader.

ASU started hot, scoring five runs in the second inning alone. It took them five innings to reach that number on Thursday. Catcher Brody Briggs made his return to the lineup after Coen Niclai had a lackluster performance as his replacement in game one.

Fighting for his position on a team desperate for a spark, Briggs lived up to the moment. He smashed his first hit of April up and over the outfield walls of Miller Park Complex. The redshirt sophomore added another run while reaching base three total times.

The Sun Devils’ ability to respond to defeat has been a defining part of their season. As conference play continues, their ability to persevere will be further tested. No matter when the struggle comes, it’s clear that they will rely on Hairston to pull them out of it.

Saturday – Comeback kids strike again (Jacob Fredericks)

After evening the series on Friday night, ASU entered its fifth rubber match of the season. In fact, the Sun Devils have only played one series in which they were not forced into a deciding game.

Coming into Saturday, the Sun Devils were 3-1 in such situations this season, with their lone loss being against then-No. 17 West Virginia. While ASU had success to start, Saturday opened up similarly to its recent form.

When senior starting pitcher Kole Klecker walked onto the mound, the Sun Devils were hoping to get a performance out of him similar to what Carlon had done the night before. Klecker’s last outing against Utah featured him throwing seven innings of four-hit baseball.

However, on Saturday, Klecker was not up to the task.

The chandler-native allowed a home run on the first pitch he threw, followed by another just two at-bats later. By the time Klecker exited the game at the beginning of the third inning, the Sun Devils found themselves down 6-0. That deficit would become seven after junior pitcher Alex Overbay would concede another run in the bottom of the third.

Finally, in the fourth inning, something awakened inside the Sun Devil offense. After the graduate left-fielder Matt Polk reached on a single to start the inning, sophomore catcher Brody Briggs struck out to leave ASU with just a runner on first with two outs. It looked as if the Sun Devils’ chances were getting slimmer and slimmer as the outs kept piling up.

Then, junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis knocked a two-run double into right field, followed by an ole’ reliable RBI single from sophomore center-fielder Landon Hairston. Two more hits later, and the bases were loaded for redshirt-junior designated hitter Nu’u Contrades, who had left the bases loaded the inning prior.

Contrades turned on the third pitch he saw, and cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to cut the Cougar lead to 7-6. Even not being able to run at full speed or even help defensively to the best of his ability, Contrades has continuously come up clutch for ASU, batting .368 with 35 RBIs.

ASU would add one more big inning in the seventh, as it put up three runs to take the lead for the first time in the game, headlined by sophomore pinch-hitter Ky McGary’s lead-off triple, along with RBIs from Polk and Moutzouridis.

The Sun Devils went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Saturday, as head coach Willie Bloomquist has been stressing all season that ASU needed to fix its situational hitting. Given all of the power in the bats, the Sun Devils showed they can still win without home runs, as none of the 12 runs scored were via the long ball.

The bullpen, which had struggled in recent weeks against Utah and Arizona, came in after Overaby and essentially locked the Cougars out. Led by Linder, the Sun Devils allowed just one run after the third inning, allowing the offense to inch ASU into the lead. Given the recent performances, Saturday’s win was a step in the right direction for a bullpen that will likely be relied on if the Sun Devils were to make a postseason run.

The two big innings and better bullpen outing allowed the Sun Devils to finish the comeback and defeat the Cougars 12-8. Saturday’s win is the second time in two weeks ASU has come back from down 7-0 to win 12-8, as it did the same thing on the road at Grand Canyon on April 7.

As the Sun Devils make the push for the NCAA Tournament, they will need to continue to find ways to win close games, utilizing a plethora of hitters, like Saturday’s game in Provo.