(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
SCOTTSDALE — There was a lot of excitement at Scottsdale Stadium when newly minted Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini as well as football head coach Kenny Dillingham and his team were in attendance for the Arizona State baseball game on Thursday, but No. 2 Oregon State stymied the excitement quickly.
No. 5 ASU had the momentum early with the bases loaded and no outs in the third inning, resulting in a pair of runs from junior first baseman Jacob Tobias fielder’s choice and a single courtesy of freshman designated hitter Brandon Compton RBI, but the lead only lasted an inning as OSU would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth off of a two-run homer from junior first baseman Mason Guerra and never looked back.
It’s a difficult 3-2 loss for the Sun Devils to swallow as it eliminates them from the Pac-12 Tournament and likely extinguishes their hopes for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. It was always going to be a tough matchup as the Beavers (42-14, 19-10 Pac-12) is ranked No. 6 in the nation according to D1 Baseball, but ASU (32-26, 17-13 Pac-12) was competitive the entire time.
Despite the disappointment of the season potentially ending, ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist is appreciative of the support from the Sun Devil Athletics contingent.
“That’s what ASU does, we support each other through thick and thin,” Bloomquist said. “I was pumped to see Kenny (Dillingham) and his boys out here supporting us today. That matters to us. We support our football team. We support all of our sports. We’re behind each other and that was awesome. They showed up today and supported us.
“As far as Rossini, I couldn’t be happier for him or our entire athletic department. There’s not anyone that cares about ASU sports as much as he does and who’s plugged into the Valley the way he is. He has the intelligence to handle that job as well as anybody, so I’m pumped for him.”
The Sun Devils could not get it done in front of their fellow student-athletes as the bats were silenced against the OSU pitchers. Even though right-handed pitcher Aiden May did not win the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, he is still arguably the best starter in the conference as he posted the lowest ERA in the Pac-12 at 2.59, and the junior started the game for the Beavers.
Despite the regular season statistics, the ASU lineup made him work early on, forcing May to throw 80 pitches through four innings while allowing two earned runs. However, it was the relievers that were especially dangerous as the Sun Devils did not muster a hit in the last six innings.
Four of those frames were covered by sophomore left-handed pitcher Nelson Keljo, who walked sophomore outfielder Kien Vu in his first at-bat but retired the other 16 hitters. The sophomore southpaw’s 5.34 regular season ERA may have been deceiving, but Bloomquist did not underestimate the staff he faced.
“Well, we ran into some good pitching. That happens. It’s baseball,” Bloomquist said. “You can’t expect to put up 12 (runs) every game. These guys have been hot. I don’t fault anybody for anything about that because we ran into some good pitching and got a lot of balls hit hard that just didn’t find holes, so it’s unfortunate for our boys. They played hard and they battled, but we just came up short.”
The problem is that ASU did not need to score 12 runs, they only needed four, and they have a good offense that is capable of doing that. Usually it is the lineup that carries the team, but the pitching is what stepped up against the Beavers.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs nearly reached a quality start, posting a final line of 5 ⅔ innings with three earned runs and 10 strikeouts. The relief pitching was also solid as they did not allow a run. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Sean Fitzpatrick battled through bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning.
Simply put, ASU could not put together a complete game in the Pac-12 Tournament as it allowed eight runs in the fourth inning against Stanford on Tuesday and the offense could only score two against OSU on Thursday.
The loss puts ASU in a difficult spot as they will have an outside chance of making the NCAA Tournament especially with the inability to add to its resume this week, but Bloomquist still thinks his team has a shot if given the chance.
“We’re obviously not where I envisioned us to be,” Bloomquist said. “We want to be continuing to play at this time of year. We don’t want to be finished and I’ll self-reflect and reflect on everyone’s position moving forward and we’ll see where that takes us, but I like the direction we’re going. Just not quite there fast enough. We got a couple of tough injuries this year that I think ultimately — I believe — we’re a regional team. A big part of me still thinks we are a regional team. Whether or not we’ll get in, we’ll see, but I believe we are one of the best 64 teams in the country. Hands down.”
It makes a lot of sense that the team is not where Bloomquist envisioned it to be as the Sun Devils will most likely miss an NCAA Regional appearance for the third straight season, which has not happened since 1959-63 — the program’s first five seasons as a varsity sport — according to Chris Karpman of Sun Devil Source.
If this is the end of the road for the Devils, it could also be the end of an ASU career for junior catcher Ryan Campos. The Mesa native embodies what it means to wear the Maroon and Gold, but it could be his last time wearing the uniform as he is eligible for the MLB Draft this summer.
Campos was visibly emotional afterward as the usually composed and stoic backstop broke down in tears during his postgame press conference, but his words speak to how much he loves his coach and his school.
“He’s (Bloomquist) meant a lot to me and my family,” Campos said. “He’s really been a godsend for me. Great guy, great coach. He gets a bad rap sometimes, but he’s one of the best baseball minds I’ve been around. I grew up coming to ASU games, just always been a part of me. Both my parents came here. I was meant to be a Devil.”
