(Photo: Sam Fenway/WCSN)
PHOENIX — In the second inning of Friday night’s game against USC, Arizona State baseball’s offense was in search of a spark after a 1-2-3 inning in the first. The game was scoreless headed into the second, that was, until junior Jacob Tobias stepped up to the plate. With a solo shot to left field, his fourth home run in the last three games, Tobias evoked an ovation from the crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Redshirt freshman designated hitter Brandon Compton followed that up with a double that was later cashed in on a sacrifice fly by senior third baseman Mario Demera. ASU was up to two outs, but that didn’t seem to faze the lineup. With sophomore outfielder Isaiah Jackson on third, junior catcher Ryan Campos hit an RBI single through the right side. An ensuing walk drawn by sophomore outfielder Kien Vu walk made the bases loaded for redshirt sophomore outfielder Nick McLain, who hit a two-RBI single. The spark ASU was in search of came in the shape of a storm.
Ironically, thunder was booming right outside of Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday night. The bright flash of the lightning looked dim in comparison to the illuminated scoreboard that ASU (21-21, 11-11 Pac-12) lit up with double-digit runs in a 12-1 victory over USC (20-22, 10-8 Pac-12).
“It was kind of crazy with the weather,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “Both teams got to play in that, so I was happy our guys showed up well.”
Going off metrics, the Sun Devil bats have been at their best form offensively dating back to almost a month ago. The team batting average of .429 was the first time ASU collectively averaged that total since March 28 against Cal. Furthermore, ASU’s current stretch of two double-digit run games is the first since March 28-29 against Cal that the team has accomplished such a feat. When the offense is performing this well, an abundance of pressure is lifted off the arms.
“It’s a lot better than chasing,” Bloomquist explained. “When your offense gives you a nice lead and to know that you’ve just got to continue attacking the zone and throwing strikes, it gives those guys confidence.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Matt Tieding, who was one of only two pitchers at the mound for ASU tonight. He didn’t enter the game until midway through the seventh inning, and by then, the Sun Devils led USC by a score of 8-1.
“It’s easy to pitch with 8 runs,” Tieding said. “Pitching with that kind of lead is easy.”
ASU didn’t need more than two pitchers because Ben Jacobs had a stellar night. In just over six innings, the sophomore lefty had a career high 11 strikeouts. Complimenting the strikeouts, he pitched no walks on a 106 pitch count.
“It’s good to be able to locate the off-speed and get them off the fastball,” Jacobs said. “I was able to land off-speed for strikes, which was a fun success.”
Perhaps more impressive, Jacobs had this performance with not much experience under his belt despite the sophomore label. Prior to ASU, he was at UCLA, where he only had five innings pitched all season.
“You look at (Jacobs), he’s a sophomore but he had, what, five innings last year?” Bloomquist said. “He’s essentially a freshman.”
Bloomquist views this game as a sign of growth for Jacobs, not just in his performance, but in his confidence as well.
“There’s a couple of innings that you can tell his growth and maturity,” Bloomquist said. “He just continued to attack the zone, trust his stuff, pitch his way out of it.”
