Sun Devils single-game approach yields fourth series sweep

(Photo: Xavier Littman/WCSN)

PHOENIX — A common theme for Arizona State baseball in 2023 has been achieving feats for the first time in a number of seasons. The accomplishments range from individual and team success, stringing together to create a rewarding second season for head coach Willie Bloomquist.

The latest list of accolades begins with the Sun Devils winning four Pac-12 series to start the year for the first time since 2015, marking the sixth occurrence after 2000. The program reached at least the Regionals during the previous five stints, adding relevance to the act. Additionally, ASU has won 10 conference games through 12 contests, exhibiting the fastest pace to 10 wins since 2009, which saw a 10-1 start and a trip in Omaha.

But when asked about the achievements, program members acknowledge the significance of the feats, but quickly remind themselves they’re playing for bigger triumphs.

“No, not really,” Bloomquist said after Saturday’s series-clinching win. “We’re just trying to win games and not be complacent, not be satisfied. We’ve got a chance to sweep tomorrow, and I expect our guys ready to play again.”

The Sun Devils (23-9, 10-2 Pac-12) responded to Bloomquist’s request, completing the sweep over Washington State (18-12, 5-9 Pac-12) with a 4-1 victory.

The winning effort was led by junior right-hander Khristian Curtis, who threw a gem during his six-inning outing. Curtis made 85 deliveries to the plate, finding the strike zone 56 times, resulting in eight strikeouts and only one walk.

“He came out pumping the strike zone,” Bloomquist said. “… But all in all, he threw the heck out of it, was attacking the zone, mixing his pitches very well for strikes, locating his breaking ball, keeping them off balance, and had a good feel. He and [pitching coach] Sam [Peraza] had a really good feel today on when guys were going to cheat to his fastball and changing them up with his cutter or off-speed pitches. And the fact that he’s able to land those is big and you know he got some good momentum and through the heck out of it. So, great outing for him.”

Against Cal on April 1, Curtis struck out nine batters and allowed four hits in a 5.1 outing. But as his start versus Washington State approached, the Texas native worked to continue his success.

“I was just building off last week,” Curtis said. “Just had a little rough first inning, but settled down and pounded the zone. I mean, Coach always preaches to us, when we pound the zone good things happen. So just build off of that and just trust my stuff.”

After cruising through his first five innings, Curtis faced trouble in the sixth, allowing a solo home run to right field and a ground out to shortstop, prompting Bloomquist to call a mound meeting. But when the second-year head coach got to the rubber, Curtis pleaded his cause to finish the inning, which opted for Bloomquist to keep him in the game.

The next batter didn’t go how Curtis had hoped, resulting in a single to left field but put two runners in scoring position thanks to an overthrow from freshman center fielder Isaiah Jackson. However, Curtis returned to the bump for another batter, striking out sophomore third baseman Cam Magee, who transferred to Washington State after his freshman season in Tempe.

“I had every intention of taking him out, and very rare can a guy flip my mind like that, where my mindset was to go to [redshirt senior righty] Jesse [Wainscott] right there,” Bloomquist said. “I said, ‘Way to do your job, good job. Way to throw the ball.’ And he just stoned face me. I was kind of like, ‘Hey, give me the ball,’ and he said ‘I want this guy.’

“Usually, like I said, when I have my mind made up, I’ll stick with it. But something about the look in his eyes just kind of — you know this is what we’re trying to build is guys that want to compete and want the ball. He wanted his game. So part of me was like, ‘You know what? If a guy wants it that bad and is willing to basically tell me to get off his mound then okay, it’s your game.’”

Although Bloomquist doesn’t want players deciding substations or other in-game decisions, he believes a firey spirit is spreading across the team and stems from the competitive atmosphere that he has been hoping for.

“They’re getting more and more confident,” Bloomquist said. “I feel like guys are buying into the type of mentality that we want — and it’s easy to say that when you’re winning — but the true test is when you go through adversity and you still have guys that want the ball. I’ll take it right now. We’re heading in a really good direction. The guys are confident and they’re, they’re feeling it and guys want to be a part of it, which is awesome.”

The recent onslaught of wins has helped the players build confidence in themselves, especially with there being “a lot of things that we got to get better at,” according to Bloomquist. But much like their skipper, players are quick to look past the season or individual feats, hoping for team success.

Before the series, sophomore catcher Ryan Campos was named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Watchlist by USA Baseball, and although Campos recognizes the significance of the award, his focus is on team objectives.

“That recognition is cool — not that I don’t care about it — but my goals are with the team,” Campos said. “If I go 0-for every game [and] we win, I’ll take that. So, you know, my goal is just to win as many games as we can.”

Even with success in abundance during the early stages of conference play, the Sun Devils have yet to face some of the conference’s best teams. Currently, all four of their series wins were against the bottom four teams in the Pac-12. Bloomquist believes the contests against strong nonconference opponents, such as Oklahoma State and Mississippi State, could help as the difficulty increases.

“Going to play those games early on, I think was important to challenge ourselves,” Bloomquist said. “We were off to a tough start wins and loss wise, but at least I think we’re battle-tested enough to take on our conference early on here. We’re trying not to look too far ahead. We got a tough game coming up on Tuesday with our crosstown rivals, so that’ll be the main focus. And then after that, you know, every conference series is going to be tough from here on out, we know that.”