(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
PHOENIX — Entering the fourth inning of Saturday’s contest against California, Arizona State baseball trailed 2-0 with just one hit to its name. Through only three frames, it appeared the Sun Devils’ lineup might have hit another rough patch after scoring at least ten runs in consecutive games.
Perhaps those early struggles were for the better.
Just as it did in its previous two matchups against the Golden Bears, ASU’s offense came to life to erase a multi-run deficit. Powered by back-to-back jacks from junior first baseman Jacob Tobias and senior designated hitter Eamonn Lance, the Sun Devils (14-14, 6-6 Pac-12) put up a six-spot in the fourth to take the lead for good, defeating Cal (15-10, 5-7 Pac-12) 9-6 for their first three-game sweep of the 2024 campaign.
“I think it’s hopefully just these guys starting to trust their abilities and come with the mindset of (being) ready to play every day,” Bloomquist said. “I’ve never asked for perfection. We’re not going to be perfect, things are going to be ugly at times, but just keep battling, keep fighting. This was a great bounce-back week for these guys.”
Through his first five starts of the 2024 season, senior lefty Connor Markl has cemented himself as one of ASU’s most reliable starters, pitching to a 4.26 ERA with 29 strikeouts across 25 ⅓ innings of work. On Saturday, he was his usual self, providing five innings of two-run ball and striking out six, but it wasn’t always easy going for the Scottsdale native.
In the first, Cal junior center fielder Rodney Green Jr. knocked an RBI single into left field to drive in freshman shortstop PJ Moutzouridis and break the scoreless tie. An inning later with runners on first and third, freshman second baseman Jarren Advincula reached on a fielding error — one of ASU’s two on the day — which scored another run and gave the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead.
Markl conceded four hits in the opening two frames, but quickly locked in and shut the door. He allowed only three more knocks in his final three innings and limited the damage the rest of the way, keeping Cal off of the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing.
“(Markl’s ability to put up strong starts) is why we went out and got him,” Bloomquist said. “We knew he was a senior, a veteran arm that knows how to pitch. And is he going to light up the radar guns with 95, 96 (mph)? No. But he knows how to pitch and knows how to get in, eat up innings and keep us in a game, and that’s exactly what he’s done.
“He’s going to give up some hits, we knew that. But the facts are he limits damage very well. It keeps guys off balance and then he gets guys thinking…”
The Sun Devils had trouble getting hits to fall in the first two innings despite putting balls in play, thanks in part to a stellar outing from Cal junior southpaw Ian May, who only allowed two baserunners in two innings. However, a frame after May was pulled from the game, ASU’s fortunes at the plate quickly changed.
Tobias and Lance led off the fourth with consecutive solo shots, but those two blasts were far from the only fireworks that took place during the half-inning. After hitting into two straight outs, the Sun Devils posted a stretch of five straight baserunners, which drove in two more runs thanks to knocks from junior catcher Ryan Campos and sophomore outfielder Nick McLain.
ASU struck again a frame later, however. Senior third baseman Mario Demera doubled to left-center field and senior shortstop Steven Ondina singled to tack on another pair of runs, virtually putting the game out of reach. It appears the Sun Devils have found an offensive groove, as their 33 runs are the most scored in a series since opening weekend — a breath of fresh air for a lineup that has struggled with runners in scoring position of late.
“Offensively, we’re a deep lineup,” sophomore outfielder Kien Vu, who added a solo shot of his own in the eighth, said. “It may not seem like it, but as soon as those balls start to fall and as soon as our confidence comes up, and we start swinging it the way I know we can, it’s going to be a really cool lineup.”
When Markl was pulled from the game entering the sixth, ASU appeared to be cruising to its first sweep of the season. That changed, however, with right-hander Jonah Giblin on the bump. In his first inning of work, Giblin was tagged for four runs on three hits but was throwing the ball well nonetheless. This is why Bloomquist and pitching coach Sam Peraza decided to keep the junior in the game, a choice that ultimately proved worthwhile.
Across the next 2 ⅓ innings, Giblin was lights-out, retiring seven of the next nine batters he faced. He located many of his 53 pitches well, with 30 finding the strike zone, and finished his day with two strikeouts to his name. Giblin set the table for junior righty Ryan Schiefer to get the final two outs, which he did with minimal issues.
“My guys really picked me up in the dugout after that (sixth inning),” Giblin said. “Things weren’t looking hot, but they were like,‘Go out there, do you and go get it.’ And they got my back and I know that, so (that) helped a lot with the confidence, ust to get back out there and put up zeros.”
With the win, the Sun Devils are back at .500 and feel they are catching their stride. Things aren’t going to get any easier though, with GCU coming into town on Tuesday before ASU heads up to Corvallis, Oregon to face No. 2 Oregon State. However, it’s likely the Sun Devils’ boost of confidence from their four-game winning streak will bring more improvements as the season progresses.
“It’s awesome,” Vu said. “It’s just the beginning though. We’ve known all year what we can do. We know that we’re really talented, and we just got a great group of guys right now that are playing some good baseball.”
