Sun Devils explode for 17 runs, complete sweep over Long Beach

(Photo: Nickolas Montei/WCSN)

PHOENIX – When Arizona State junior right fielder Kien Vu came up to bat in the bottom half of the first inning, he had all the momentum on his side. He and his Sun Devil teammates were trailing visiting Long Beach State by one run, but ASU’s batters continued to move through the lineup and passing the baton.

After a disappointing top half of the first inning, where Arizona State sophomore right-handed starter Wyatt Halvorson allowed three runs, the Sun Devils didn’t hang their heads. Instead, they got in the batter’s box and went to work, grinding at-bats. After freshman left fielder Landon Hairston was hit by a pitch and senior shortstop Matt King and senior first baseman Jacob Tobias worked walks, junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades roped a double down the left field line to put the Sun Devils within one.

Arizona State was still down, but it still had work to do in the bottom half of the first inning, and Vu was able to capitalize. One strike away from becoming the second out of the inning, he shot a 0-2 pitch into right-center field, scoring Tobias and Contrades, tying and giving head coach Willie Bloomquist’s team a lead that they grabbed firmly and never let go of.

Arizona State (30-16) was able to score four more runs in the first inning, bringing their total to eight, and managed to pour on nine more runs between the second and sixth inning to give the Sun Devils a 17-6 victory and clinching a midweek sweep over Long Beach State (16-26).

“We’re honestly really just picking each other up,” Vu said. “If one guy does fall short of a good at-bat, the guy after them is chomping at the bit and picking that guy up. It feels good. I knew we had it in the tank the whole time, it was just a matter of time until we let it eat like that.”

The four runs that the Sun Devils scored in the first after Vu’s single were all scored with two outs. A mixture of causing chaos on the basepaths on a record night for speed, alongside timely hitting, brought those runs in to score.

The offense continued to wreak havoc against nearly all seven arms that the Dirtbags threw out on the mound, but the approach to scoring in the second and fourth innings was rooted less in small ball and more in the long ball. Junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson and redshirt freshman catcher Brody Briggs were both able to complement the run game by driving in three runs via home runs.

“Having three or four guys in the lineup that can run, and nine guys in the lineup who can put the ball in the seat, they complement each other well,” Bloomquist said. “Having that different ways of being able to beat somebody is nice to have.”

Jackson’s home run was his 10th of the season and his fourth in three games. It’s been a highlight stretch during a breakout season for Jackson. The defensive wizard is posting a .940 OPS this year after failing to post one above .800 during his first two years in the Valley.

“(Jackson’s) just another kid who’s put time and dedication and work into it,” Bloomquist said. “No other explanation than that. (He) understood that he had to get better and there’s a lot of things that he needed to fix in order to continue to be consistent. … He’s starting to take off and get to that point where we all aspired him to be as a freshman.”

Jackson’s breakout has added length and depth to the lineup, but that same length and depth is needed in the bullpen. Bloomquist took Wednesday night’s blowout as an opportunity to test that depth out in game situations.

Freshman southpaw Max Arlich and freshman right-handers Jake Neely and Eli Buxton came into the night having pitched just a combined 13.1 innings for Bloomquist this season, yet combined to record the last seven outs in ASU’s shortened win. The trio only allowed one base runner and each member of the group recorded a strikeout.

“I like winning baseball. Right now it’s a great time,” Arlich said. “My approach this whole year has been every time my number’s called, I’m going to do whatever it takes (to) do my thing and I can’t control the rest. Whatever helps put the team in a good position to win, that’s what I want to do.”

The three, alongside fellow freshman left-hander Easton Barrett, shut down the Dirtbags’ offense after Halvorson allowed six earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. The righty had good stuff as shown by his six strikeouts, but he was bitten by falling behind in counts and the longball, giving up two three-run home runs in a disappointing outing.

The ability for the offense and bullpen to push each other to be better as the game went on and build off of each other for sustained success over the course of games was something that the Sun Devils were missing earlier in the season, but have recently found over their five-game winning streak.

“We have a bunch of bulldogs in that locker room and so when our backs are kind of up against the wall, it’s go time,” Vu said. “I wish we were to turn that on earlier on in the season, but I knew we’d get it going like the way we are.”

Arizona State has shown flashes of performances like its recent stretch over the course of the season, but rarely ever to this extent. The Sun Devils have a +39 run differential over their winning streak, and while the pitching staff has done its job and deserves its credit, it’s in large part due to the offense getting into its groove and living up to its preseason potential.

“I think these guys are starting to see the light as to what we’re capable of doing and why, at times, I’ve been frustrated throughout the year, because this is the offense that I anticipated us having,” Bloomquist said. “Sometimes it takes a minute to find your stride. … I’ve said it all year, this is going to be a fun offense when we start rolling and we’re starting to show signs of that.”