(Photo: Maya Diaz/WCSN)
After falling at home in a three-game series to in-state rival Arizona, Arizona State was looking to close out the first half of Big 12 conference play this weekend by getting back to its winning ways at Cincinnati. The Bearcats, however, didn’t get that memo, giving the Sun Devils a hard-fought, back-and-forth series.
Arizona State’s offense didn’t disappoint against Cincinnati’s middling pitching staff, scoring at least seven runs in all three games and 22 runs in total, but it wasn’t enough. The Sun Devils lived and died by the success of their bullpen in all three games, and the inconsistent performance that ASU’s relief arms delivered led to a disappointing result.
In the end, Arizona State (23-13, 9-6 Big 12) dropped its second Big 12 series in a row, losing two out of three to Cincinnati (21-14, 8-7). Here are three takeaways from the series defeat.
Bullpen Implosion Leads to Friday Loss
Coming into this year, the ASU’s bullpen was an area that needed improvement from 2024, and after Friday’s game, it will need to address it again as it had a collective meltdown against Cincinnati.
ASU starting junior left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs put the team in a position to win by going five innings and allowing only two runs. He exited the game with the Sun Devils leading 6-2. .
Things went south quickly for ASU, its relievers allowed eight runs in the last two innings and used four pitchers. It took 20 batters for the bullpen to get the final six outs as ASU lost 11-7.
Sophomore right-hander Josh Butler was the first arm to enter for ASU. Butler has been a mixed bag for ASU this season, as he entered the game with a 4.50 ERA but had pitched three scoreless innings in his last two appearances.
In the first three batters Butler faced, the counts were worked full. He walked two batters and recorded a groundout. Butler recorded two more groundouts, but Cincinnati scored on one of them.
In the seventh inning, Butler faced three batters, and on all three, he worked to two-strike counts. However, Butler allowed a single, a walk and recorded a strikeout. He conceded three runs in his 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and three walks while fanning a batter.
Redshirt senior righty Jonah Giblin hoped to be the one to stop the bleeding, but it increased as he allowed two hits in a three-batter sequence. Giblin then hit two batters, and ASU intentionally walked another before recording the final out, but the damage was done as ASU trailed for the first time all game.
Giblin has been a mixed bag for ASU, including having a strange outing last time out against Cal State Northridge on April 8. Giblin allowed no runs charged to him, but he let both of his inherited runners score, including balking in a run.
Giblin entered the eighth and allowed a triple on a ball that center fielder Isaiah Jackson could have caught and got an out before being pulled. Giblin was charged with loss as he went an inning giving up three runs on three hits, a walk, two hit batters and two wild pitches.
Junior southpaw Sean Fitzpatrick then entered the game, who has had a poor season with a 14 ERA. Fitzpatrick allowed a single that scored later in the lone batter he faced. This is Fitzpatrick’s third time this season where he failed to record an out, all coming against conference opponents.
Sophomore righty Wyatt Halvorson then continued the poor performance from the bullpen. Halvorson has had a solid season and has been fairly reliable but could not close at-bats, as four of the five base runners he allowed he had two-strike counts against.
In the two-thirds inning Halvorson pitched, he allowed two runs but only one earned. He recorded a strikeout but allowed two hits, two walks and a runner reached on a fielding error by junior shortstop Matt King.
Some of Arizona State’s best bullpen arms were the catalyst of the loss, and it will need to limit the big innings that create meltdowns like this. – Andrew Hayslett
Carlon Dominates In Relief On Saturday
Coming off a series opener where Arizona State burned through five arms out of the bullpen that combined for eight earned runs, the team desperately needed a strong full-game effort on the mound.
The two-man team of senior right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez and sophomore lefty Cole Carlon answered the call, holding Cincinnati at bay for a 7-4 win to even the series at one win apiece.
Martinez’s season-long performance leading up to Saturday afternoon could best be described as volatile. The Corpus Christi native leads the Big 12ASU’s pitching staff in strikeouts while also having the most wins amongst the team’s starters, but 37 hits and 24 earned runs against had his ERA sitting at 4.76.
Through the first three innings, Martinez was nothing short of flawless. He went 1-2-3 during the first frame then collected three more strikeouts alongside two fly outs and a line out to successfully retire nine9 straight batters.
Any ambitions of a perfect game were instead immediately replaced by lingering fears of a repeat performance from the day before. ASU entered the bottom of the fourth once again leading by four when Martinez gave up a single, hit-by-pitch and walk to load the bases with no one out.
The righty hit the next batter he saw to bring a run across for the Bearcats, but was able to escape the rest of the frame with minimal damage by striking out two batters and allowing an RBI sacrifice fly. Martinez’s outing came to an end after the fifth inning when Cincinnati scored another two runs on a sacrifice fly and fielder’s choice.
Carlon came in on relief, looking to preserve ASU’s 7-4 lead and add another strong performance to his impressive resume out of the bullpen. His 4.1 perfect innings against Arizona last Sunday encapsulated an excellent season to the tune of a 2.12 ERA and a streak of 13.1 straight innings without giving up a run.
The southpaw got right to work in the sixth and never looked back from there. A walk that same half inning was the only time he allowed a Bearcat to take a base from the sixth inning to the eighth inning.
Carlon’s four strikeouts while sitting down seven consecutive batters couldn’t have come at a better time since the Sun Devils’ bats wouldn’t get another run across for the remainder of the contest.
Cincinnati attempted to apply some last-minute pressure on Carlon by hitting a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth, but the Tempe native proved unfazed when he threw back-to-back punchouts then induced a groundout that sealed the victory.
From starters to relievers, ASU’s pitching from game-to-game is one collective roll of the dice. The Sun Devils’ fortunes took a turn for the best to move one game closer towards clinching a crucial in-conference road series win thanks to a duo of arms going the distance. — Keenan Vaughan
Big 12 Standings Update After Series Loss
Arizona State found itself down late in its rubber match against Cincinnati, but in the seventh inning, a glimmer of hope appeared. Arizona State freshman right fielder Landon Hairson stepped into the left-handed batter’s box, representing the tying run with redshirt junior Kyle Walker on third base.
Hairston, who hasn’t displayed much power this season, swung hard at the first pitch he saw off freshman lefty reliever Hudson Johnson, pulling it over the right field wall for an impressive first collegiate home run. It was the first home run either team had hit in the first 24 innings of the three-game series, but it wouldn’t be the last.
After Cincinnati reclaimed the lead in the eighth inning, Walker led off the ninth inning with a solo shot to put the Sun Devils within one. The clutch home run led to a three-run inning for the Sun Devils, sending them into the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead. Unfortunately for ASU, Cincinnati freshman pinch hitter Quinton Coats joined in on the home run party.
Coats’ blast tied the game and set the stage for Cincinnati to walk-off Arizona State 9-8 an inning later. Despite a slow start to the game, the Sun Devil bats came up clutch. It just wasn’t enough to overcome the Bearcats and avoid a second-straight series loss in a tightly packed Big 12.
The Sun Devils’ 9-6 Big 12 record slots them in at sixth in their new conference, with Cincinnati right on their tail at 8-7 after winning the series. The Bearcats are the last team in the conference to hold a winning record against other Big 12 teams, with Texas Tech behind them at 7-8. Behind the Red Raiders, an even bigger gap starts to form. There’s cushion behind Arizona State in the Big 12 standings, but the team won’t want to push its luck.
On the flip side, not much separates the Sun Devils from the top teams in the conference, and they’ve proven they can compete against those squads. ASU has already won a series against No. 22 Kansas, who it shares a conference record with, and 11-4 TCU, the second-place team in the Big 12 standings to West Virginia.
Even West Virginia’s position as the top team in the conference isn’t a secure one. The Mountaineers have a 10-3 conference record, however, eight of those wins come against a mix of BYU, Utah and Houston, who have a combined record of 14-31.
Arizona and Kansas State are also both ahead of the Sun Devils with a 10-5 record each. While the Sun Devils don’t play Kansas State this season, their series loss to Arizona is one that hurts. Not only was it a series loss to their in-state rival, but it also put ASU just behind the Wildcats in the standings. Naturally, seeing your name third is far more visually appealing than seeing it sixth.
After losing back-to-back series to the Wildcats and Bearcats, ASU isn’t where it wants to be as conference play reaches the halfway point. Still, there is another half to be played and it is seemingly an easier one than the first. Every school that ASU is yet to play is below them in the standings with a combined 23-37 record.
The Sun Devils won’t want to drop those series and risk being jumped in the standings, but the fact that they’ve gotten through the seemingly more difficult part of their season with the record that they have is a positive sign when looking ahead.
