Takeaways: Sun Devils stay hot with series win at Baylor

(Photo: Nickolas Montei/WCSN)

When Arizona State landed in Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor, the Sun Devils were scorching hot. The team was riding a five-game win streak, and sported a +44 run differential in those five wins, thanks to amazing offensive performances that ended three of those games early due to the run rule and relatively solid pitching. The road trip wasn’t quite as dominant, but it was still successful.

Arizona State’s (32-17,16-8 Big 12) offense was slowed down by Baylor (29-18, 10-14) for most of the series, allowing the Bears’ bats to nab a game against the Sun Devils’ bullpen and keep the series competitive. However, in the end, the Sun Devils still managed to take two out of three and keep momentum rolling with the conference tournament right around the corner.

Here are three takeaways from the series.

Disastrous Bottom of the Seventh Results in Series Opener Loss

In a common theme that has played out throughout the season, Friday night saw Arizona State experience what it’s like to have momentum firmly in grasp just before it vanishes in the blink of an eye.

Starting left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs picked up 10 strikeouts and gave up just one earned run in five innings for another outstanding effort on the mound. Not long after he exited the game, the Sun Devils finally came through with run support in the form of a four-run top of the sixth to take a 4-1 lead against Baylor.

Rather than continue to ride the hot hand it had been dealt, a comedy of errors in the bottom of the seventh to the tune of six unearned runs handed Arizona State a dejecting 7-4 defeat.

Junior right-handed pitcher Lucas Kelly was the man chosen to relieve Jacobs at the start of the sixth inning. Prior to his appearance on Friday, the San Francisco native’s 2.00 ERA in 18 innings pitched reflected his status as one of ASU’s most reliable arms out of the bullpen.

Kelly got right to work and induced the bottom of Baylor’s lineup into a 1-2-3 inning on just ten pitches. Head coach Willie Bloomquist opted to stretch him out to the next frame which came with substantial risk considering Kelly had only pitched more than one inning three times out of his 15 total appearances.

The roll of the dice led to back-to-back singles to leadoff the inning, but Kelly then struck out a batter swinging and forced a fly out to bring the Sun Devils within one out of escaping the jam.

On a 1-0 pitch, redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons grounded a ball right to junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades who snagged the ball into his glove, spun his body around, and sailed the throw to first base into Baylor’s dugout. Once one unearned run came across for the Bears, the floodgates fully burst open when senior left fielder Wesley Jordan hit a game-tying two-RBI double the next at-bat.

Bloomquist hoped to stop the bleeding by taking out Kelly for sophomore left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon. The homegrown southpaw has been nothing short of a dynamo for ASU when called upon, picking up 28 strikeouts while giving up just two earned runs in 17.2 innings pitched since the start of April.

After Carlon walked the first batter he faced, Contrades again failed to come up with a ground ball cleanly to allow another unearned runner to advance home and relinquish the lead to Baylor.

The Bears also came away with two extra insurance runs thanks to Carlon allowing a RBI single through the right side alongside lightning striking Contrades yet again for his third fielding error of the half inning.

ASU never got back on its feet following the implosion throughout the bottom of the seventh for a loss that goes back to the last time the team hit the road against an in-conference opponent. If they want to avoid a repeat of the Cincinnati series, the Sun Devils need to learn how to close the door fully instead of keeping it open themselves.

— Keenan Vaughan

Martinez and Alba Shine on Mound as ASU Evens Series

After a disastrous bullpen performance Friday, ASU turned to sophomore right-handed pitcher Jaden Alba, the usual Sunday starter, in relief. Alba proceeded to toss four innings of one-hit-baseball allowing the Sun Devils to coast to a 4-1 victory.

Senior right-hander Jack Martinez got the start for ASU and struggled to locate throughout. He surrendered five walks but was great at limiting the damage on the basepaths, only allowing a singular run across in his five innings of work, and punching out five. It was a gritty performance from the Texas native in his return to the Lonestar state.

Baylor struck first in the 3rd inning flashing its explosiveness on the basepaths. Redshirt sophomore Travis Sanders singled to left field and then was able to steal second base. Martinez retired the next two Bears before freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock slapped a single down the line that scored Sanders, putting Baylor in front, 1-0.

The Sun Devils offense struggled to get much of anything going in through the first three innings but in the top of the 4th, they came alive. Senior first baseman Jacob Tobias singled and junior right fielder Kein Vu was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with a pair of outs for fifth-year catcher Josiah Cromwick. Cromwick came up with a clutch double down the line, clearing the bases and putting ASU back in front, 2-1.

Neither team could get on the board in the next two innings as both pitching staffs worked their way through the orders for a third time. Baylor freshman starter Carson Bailey was excellent in six impressive innings of work, allowing just the prior mentioned pair of runs and striking out six along the way.

Once Bailey left the game, however, the ASU bats began to go to work. Senior right-hander Caleb Bunch entered the game for Baylor and immediately lacked control. He walked two Sun Devils right away, putting two runners on for the red-hot freshman left fielder, Landon Hairston. Hairston continued to show his elite hitting ability and split the left side of the Bears’ infield, scoring junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson, giving ASU a two-run cushion.

Another Cromwick RBI padded the ASU lead in the eighth, but with Alba cruising, Baylor had no chance to get more runs across. It was by far Alba’s best performance of the year and interestingly enough came out of the bullpen, something that he has not done at regular this season.

Bloomquist will have a tough decision to make on Sunday with who he will elect to give the start to. Alba had been the Sunday starter for most of the year but with him throwing four innings Saturday, he will obviously not get the nod Sunday.

With no midweek game on the horizon, Bloomquist may opt to hand the ball to freshman left-handed pitcher Easton Barrett who has been the go-to-guy in the aforementioned midweeks. Bloomquist could also turn to Carlon, who has been dominant in extended relief this year and boasts a WHIP under one.

— Seth Gilefsky

Offense gets back on track in rubber match, propelling the Sun Devils to a series win

Heading into the rubber match, ASU’s offense had been stifled — at least by its standards — by Baylor’s pitching. Heading into Sunday, the Bears were the only team to hold the Sun Devils to less than five runs and 10 hits in back-to-back games. Through six innings, it looked like Baylor had a chance to do it for a third game in a row.

Entering the seventh inning, the Sun Devils had eight hits, but they were only good for three runs and the Bears were right behind them with two. Whoever slipped first was giving the opposing team a major advantage. Luckily for the Sun Devils, they were able to benefit from a Baylor mistake, awaken the offense and charge forward to an 8-6 victory.

The chaos started when Jackson hit a chopper to Riebock at third base. Even with the speedy center fielder hustling down the line, it seemed to be a routine play that would lead to ASU starting the frame with one out. Instead, the third baseman’s throw forced redshirt freshman first baseman John Youens off the bag, allowing Jackson to reach on the error.

Redshirt junior second baseman Kyle Walker followed Jackson up with a double down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position against redshirt sophomore right-hander Lucas Davenport.

Davenport was able to record a strikeout and got senior shortstop Matt King to fly out to center field. Jackson scored on the fly out, making it a sacrifice, but with two outs in the inning and only one run given up, things were looking about as good as they could for Baylor. That didn’t last long.

Sophomore southpaw RJ Ruais was brought in with two lefties coming up. Unfortunately for the Bears, Ruais walked them both before being pulled from the game. Now with two outs and the bases loaded, junior right-handed pitcher Grayson Murry was brought in with the right-handed Cromwick coming up.

With one swing of the bat, Cromwick broke through both the five-run and 10-hit barrier, driving a ball to the base of the left field wall, clearing the bases and making it a 7-2 game. Cromwick later scored on a single, adding the last little bit of insurance that the Sun Devils’ offense would give its pitching staff.

The big inning was mandatory for ASU’s series-clinching win, with the bullpen giving up four runs across the final three frames. Despite the game getting hairy at the end, with the win secured and Sunday losses from Kansas and Arizona, the Sun Devils have sole control over second place in the Big 12 with just two conference series remaining.

— Ethan Ignatovsky