(Photo: Sam Fenway/WCSN)
PHOENIX – After sweeping the Bruins in Los Angeles last week, Arizona State baseball welcomed USC to Phoenix Municipal for ASU’s last conference home series this year. The bats of the Devils looked to stay hot, as did the pitching staff after giving up just six runs in three combined games against UCLA.
Both sides did exactly that as the Devils (21-21, 11-11 Pac-12) dominated the Trojans (20-22, 10-8 Pac-12) in a game where ASU hit four home runs on its way to a 12-1 victory. Sophomore lefty Ben Jacobs stopped the Trojans dead in their tracks straight from first pitch. In six innings, he struck out 11 batters while giving up just one run off seven hits.
“There were a couple of innings where you could see his (Jacobs’) growth and maturity,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “You look at Ben and he’s a sophomore, but he only pitched about five innings last year. It’s been amazing watching him grow from a bullpen pitcher to a starter this year. When your offense gives you a nice lead and to know you just need to keep attacking the zone and throw strikes gives him confidence.”
The sophomores stood out for the Devils tonight both on the mound and in the box. Sophomore center fielder Isaiah Jackson added to his highlight reel with a solo shot in the fifth inning to extend ASU’s lead to nine runs. It may not top his home run robbery from last Sunday against UCLA that earned the number one spot on SportCenter’s Top 10, but his 4-for-4 outing was a big help to the Sun Devils win nonetheless.
Jackson went a combined 1-for-8 in the UCLA series and was in desperate need of a solid night, and he got much more than that. He’s now tied for third on the team in home runs after hitting his seventh, and also stole his third base of the year, good for fourth on the team as well. The Devils also used the hit and run technique and found success in it just as they had last week against UCLA.
“We’re finding ways to pick each other up no matter what,” Jacobs said. “The hitters are getting the next guy up consistently and finding ways to get on base to trigger those hit and run opportunities.”
Jacobs entered this game second on the team in innings pitched with 38.1, but has struggled with his ERA. He’s fifth on the team with a 5.40 ERA, but also leads the team with 56 strikeouts. It’s the 22nd time this year that the Devils pitching staff combined for double digit punchouts, but only the third time a pitcher has done it on his own.
“I had all four pitches today,” Jacobs said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch when we have a lead like that. I can throw the fastball first pitch to get quick leverage, and the more we score our confidence grows.”
The Devils head into Saturday’s game on a four game winning streak with both sides clicking. With this being the final home conference series and sitting right at .500 for their record, a successful weekend could take this team’s confidence further than they thought it could get to.
“I’m confident in our starters,” Bloomquist said. “If the weekend rotation can do what Ben did today, we can save arms for when we really need them in a close game to shut the door on whatever team we face.”
