(Photo: Joshua Eaton/WCSN)
PHOENIX — April in the Valley is normally a time of sunshine and perfect weather, with the smell of hot dogs and popcorn dominating any baseball field. However, on Friday night, as Arizona State baseball attempted to capture a series win over Texas Tech, the weather was more reminiscent of the ending scene of the film Shawshank Redemption.
As the lights illuminated just how hard it was raining all night, the Sun Devils attempted to get a full game. The umpires and grounds crew flirted with bringing out the tarps multiple times, but chose to wait until the seventh inning to postpone the game until Saturday afternoon prior to the series’ final game.
The game was postponed right after junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson tied the game at 7-7 with a single up the middle, setting up senior infielder Kyle Walker with the bases loaded and two outs as play resumed Saturday. Texas Tech struggled coming out of the break as sophomore right-handed pitcher Lukas Pirko walked two consecutive batters, giving ASU a 9-7 lead that they would not lose.
The Red Raiders (11-23, 7-10 Big 12) threatened in the top of the ninth, scoring one run and getting the tying run to second, but the Sun Devils (25-14, 11-6) held on for the 9-8 win over a two-day affair.
Earlier in the game, when the rain was falling a little bit slower, the Sun Devils got out to a 4-1 lead thanks to freshman outfielder Landon Hairston. Hairston is the son of a 12-year Major League outfielder and has all the baseball bloodlines you can ask for. When junior outfielder Kien Vu went down with an injury in March, Hairston jumped at the opportunity.
Playing every day in the two holes of the lineup, Hairston has drawn comparisons to former ASU catcher Ryan Campos from head coach Willie Bloomquist, which is as high of praise as Bloomquist can hand out. In conference play, Hariston is looking like a professional hitter, slashing .349/.480/.461 while walking twice as much as he strikes out.
The only part of his game that hasn’t bloomed is his power, but in the bottom of the second, with two runners on, Hairston flashed that power potential, hitting his first Phoenix Municipal Stadium bomb 420 feet to right center field.
That wasn’t all, as the freshman reached base in all five plate appearances, tallying two more singles and two walks to go along with the homer. Hairston wasn’t the only positive offensive player, as Walker and Jackson both added two RBIs a piece on the night.
On the mound, it was obviously a difficult circumstance given the constant rain, but senior righty Jack Martinez still delivered an effective performance. Martinez’s changeup was dominating as he worked his way to seven strikeouts while allowing three earned runs. The command wasn’t quite as sharp from Martinez, allowing three walks and six hits, but he did enough to give his team a chance to win.
The Sun Devils surrendered eight runs on the night, but only four of them were deemed as earned. After almost bringing out the tarp at the end of the sixth, the umpires decided to play on, and it came back to hurt ASU. Junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades couldn’t quite get the correct grip on a slow roller third, throwing the ball down the line and scoring three Red Raiders.
Following a rough weekend on the road that saw them blow three leads in the seventh inning or later, the Sun Devils bounced back with a series win and a potential sweep of the Red Raiders. The Big 12 is as tight as a conference can be, and stacking each one of these wins is paramount for ASU.
