Sun Devils’ Bullpen Meltdown Nearly Costs Them Series-Evening Victory

(Photo: Elijah Longoria/WCSN)

PHOENIX — When Arizona State junior right-handed pitcher Derek Schaefer retook the mound at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in the top of the ninth inning, the conditions surrounding his attempt to close out Saturday’s contest against Utah couldn’t have unfolded more perfectly.

 

He inherited a two-out, bases-loaded situation in the top of the eighth from sophomore righty Finn Edwards and preserved the Sun Devils’ 7-5 lead with a four-pitch strikeout.

 

The following frame, ASU’s bats tacked on five more runs to hand Schaefer a 12-5 advantage and seemingly remove any pressure from the three outs he needed to collect.

 

Even when Utah junior left fielder Jake Long skied a solo shot to deep right field five pitches into the ninth, it appeared to be nothing more than the Utes’ last gasp at offensive output at too late a juncture.

 

Instead, Schaefer became one of three pitchers No. 20 ASU (25-11, 8-6 Big 12) used during a meltdown on the mound that saw Utah (17-14, 6-8 Big 12) rattle off eight consecutive runs to take the lead before the Sun Devils prevailed 14-13 in walk-off fashion.

 

“For me personally, that was probably one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever watched,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “At the end of the day, that is just… not good.”

 

Schaefer appeared to get back on track by picking up a swinging strikeout in the second at-bat of the frame, but was thrown right back into danger when he issued two walks and a base hit. 

 

After a mound visit where the Cave Creek native ultimately remained in the game, it only took three pitches for the Utes to notch three RBIs on two singles and whittle the lead down to three.

 

With two runners still on base and only one out recorded, Bloomquist made the call for Schaefer to be replaced by graduate righty Colby Guy. 

 

The UNC Asheville transfer had given up seven combined earned runs in four of his last five appearances, but his three strikeouts in 1.1 innings to seal ASU’s comeback win over Grand Canyon on Tuesday hinted at a possible change of fortune.

 

Guy put himself on the brink of rolling snake eyes again right out of the gate with a wild pitch that allowed runners to advance to second and third.

 

“The free 90s are what’s killing us, not only from a walk standpoint or hit batter standpoint, but wild pitch standpoint,” Bloomquist said. “Those things, they wear you down a little bit and they take the momentum out of the sails.”

 

However, Guy managed to induce an RBI groundout the very next at-bat that put the Sun Devils just one out away from clinching a two-run victory.

 

Staring down Utah junior right fielder Luke Jacobs while the crowd rose to their feet, the righty tossed a pitch that dribbled off the bat and stayed within the infield long enough for a runner to come home without a play being made at first base.

 

Two consecutive walks immediately after to put ASU in a bases-loaded situation for the second time in the frame was enough for Bloomquist to head up to the mound and take the ball out of Guy’s hand.

 

“Bottom line, we’re gonna have to learn how to locate fastballs,” Bloomquist said. “We can’t continue to fall behind and walk guys and give free passes, and have to come into their sweet spot when we’re behind in the count. It’s just a horrible recipe for success on the mound, and we’ve seen it way too often, so it’s got to change.”

 

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Eli Buxton emerged from ASU’s bullpen for the second night in a row in an attempt to stop the bleeding in what had turned into a 12-11 ballgame.

 

Once thundering cheers turned into stunned silence when Buxton’s 2-1 offering rolled into shallow left field for a two-RBI single. By the time the half-inning finally ended on a swinging strikeout five pitches later, a once seven-run lead had transformed into a one-run deficit.

 

This marks back-to-back weekend series where the Sun Devils have given up at least seven runs in a single frame from the seventh inning onward; a testament to the pitching staff’s sheer unpredictability in any given situation.

 

“They’re very capable, and if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be so upset, I guess, at them right now,” Bloomquist said. “They just gotta do it on a consistent basis. Can’t be great one day and then awful the next and then great. You don’t know what you’re getting and not sure who you can go to in certain situations.”

 

Junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis’s game-tying solo home run and graduate designated hitter Matt Polk’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth prevented the eight-run implosion from robbing ASU of a win that forces a Sunday rubber match.

 

Regardless, most teams typically don’t prevail when allowing six hits and four walks across three different arms before a third out is recorded. 

 

If the Sun Devil bats proved on Saturday that they are capable of producing offense at a pace matched by few in collegiate baseball, then the pitching staff further cemented its struggles to add a consistent two-dimensional element to the team’s arsenal.

 

“We threw 232 pitches tonight; I mean, we kidding me?” Bloomquist said. “I’m not trying to make this offense versus defense. We’re one team, but we pick each other up on certain nights and tonight, the offense picked us up.”

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