Sun Devil Baseball capped off its most complete series of the season with a 13-1 rout over UCLA on Sunday afternoonin Los Angeles to sweep the final Pac-12-era series between the two prestigious programs.
(Los Angeles, CA) Sun Devil Baseball capped off its most complete series of the season with a 13-1 rout over UCLA on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles to sweep the final Pac-12-era series between the two prestigious programs.
The Sun Devils (20-21, 10-11 Pac-12) were again elite in all facets in the first sweep over the Bruins since 2010 and the first road series sweep for the program since 2016. The 12-run margin of victory was ASU’s largest over the Bruins since a 16-2 win in Tempe in 2005 and largest at Jackie Robinson Stadium since a 15-2 victory in 2002.
The Sun Devils homered four times, all two-run shots, as the team combined for 12 hits. Jacob Tobias recorded a pair of two-run homers with Kien Vu and Eamonn Lance recording one of their own. Ethan Mendoza notched three hits as well.
Hunter Omlid earned his first start as a Sun Devil, and while he didn’t get the win, he spun 4.0 solid innings with eight strikeouts and just one run allowed. Cole Carlon earned the win with 3.0 scoreless innings in relief and Wyatt Halvorson and Matt Cornelius each had scoreless outings as well.
Halvorson’s scoreless inning was a direct result of an absolutely incredible leaping catch at the wall by Isaiah Jackson on what looked like a surefire three-run shot, leaving Jackie Robinson Stadium full of surrender cobras to cap off the eighth inning.
TURNING POINT
Jacob Tobias has been swinging a hot bat lately and continued that trend right out the gates this afternoon with a soaring blast OVER the batter’s eye in dead center for a two-run shot in the first inning and a 2-0 ASU lead that would inevitably prove to be the only offense the team would need. UCLA put together a rally in the second, scoring a run behind a pair of one-out doubles sandwiched around a walk to put two runners in scoring position with one out and a 2-1 ASU lead. A failed squeeze bunt allowed Omlid to get to the second out and Jackson got him out of his frame with his first electric catch of the day, a spinning, leaping grab at the warning track in center to strand the two runners in scoring position.
BIG MOMENT
ASU tacked on two runs in the fourth on a Jackson RBI single and a Mario Demera sac fly to make it 4-1 before exploding for seven runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Campos led off with a single and Kien Vu turned a hit-and-run into a hit-and-jog with a backside homer to make it 6-1. McLain reached on an infield single before Tobias went dead-red again off the batter’s eye for his second two-run shot of the game and an 8-1 lead. ASU wasn’t done there, manufacturing three more runs behind some free bases, singles, stolen bases, wild pitches and a sac fly to plate three more and take an 11-1 lead through five.
FINAL STRAW
Cole Carlon tossed three scoreless innings to keep the ASU lead intact before Wyatt Halvorson took the bump in the eighth. Halvorson struck out two around a pair of singles but looked like he had given up a three-run bomb to right center off the bat of Jon Jon Vaughns. Isaiah Jackson had other plans however, timing his leap perfect to soar up over the wall and snag the ball in one of the most electric catches of the college baseball season to end the inning. Eamonn Lance put the icing on the cake in the top of the ninth with a two-out, two-run pinch hit homer to cap off the scoring at 13-1.
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Vu reached on a one-out drag bunt and Tobias got the Sun Devils going in a loud way, ripping a two-out bomb OVER the batter’s eye in dead center for a 2-0 lead right out the gates. Hunter Omlid struck out the side to open the game – ASU first 1-2-3 first inning since the finale at Arizona on March 17.
Second Inning
Jackson reached on a one-out error but it evened out as he was thrown out attempting to steal second as ASU only brought the minimum to the plate in the frame. Markl got a leadoff strikeout before running into a jam with a pair of doubles sandwiching a walk getting the Bruins on the board and putting two in scoring position with one out. A failed safety squeeze bunt led to the second out and Jackson made a spinning leaping catch at the warning track in center for the final out to keep ASU on top, 2-1.
Third Inning
Vu reached on a two-out walk but that was the extent of the ASU action. Markl struck out the first two batters of the frame before giving up an HBP and that runner moved to second on a stolen base before Omlid notched another strikeout to get out of the jam and strike out the side in the process.
Fourth Inning
Williams drew a one-out walk and went first to third on a perfect hit-and-run from Mendoza to put runners on the corners. Jackson brought him home with a hard single to right. Mendoza moved to third on the play and Demera followed that with a sac fly to make it 4-1 in favor of the Devils. Omlid gave up a tough leadoff single that was almost an includible diving stab from Demera but squirted out of the glove but the veteran pitcher settled in with a strikeout, foul out to get back into the frame. A walk put two on but Jackson made a nice play in left center of a hard-struck ball to strand both runners and keep the lead at three.
Fifth Inning
The Sun Devil bats came alive in the fifth in a big way en route to a seven-run eruption to blow the game open. Campos led off with a single and Vu followed that with a backside homer on what originally looked like a hit-and-run play that ended up being a hit-and-jog, making it 6-1. McLain reached on an infield single and Tobias went big fly for the second time, again to dead center to make it 8-1. ASU wasn’t done with Mendoza doubling and Jackson getting hit by a pitch. Demera plated Mendoza with a hard-struck single. Jackson and Demera were successful on a double steal which didn’t matter after Ondina was hit by a pitch. Jackson would then score on a wild pitch and Demera came home on a Campos sac fly to cap off the seven-run frame and take a commanding 11-1 lead. Carlon entered in relief and recorded a 1-2-3 frame.
Sixth Inning
The Sun Devils would go down in order and Carlon had a little trouble in the bottom half with a leadoff single and walk. The freshman escaped the jam with no damage done though with a strikeout, flyout and a sweet leaping snag from Ondina to end the frame.
Seventh Inning
Mendoza got another hit to lead off the frame but a tough double play wiped him off the basepath as ASU was only able to bring up the minimum in the frame. Carlon worked around a one-out walk but had two more strikeouts to cap off a solid 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.
Eighth Inning
The Sun Devils went down in order. Halvorson, who struck out 13 in his midweek start at Fullerton on Tuesday, added two more in between a pair of UCLA singles as he came on in relief. The Bruins’ Jon Jon Haughsn looked like he had tagged the freshman for a two-out, three-run shot but Isaiah Jackson picked his pitcher up with a majestic leaping snag over the wall in right center to steal three runs from UCLA and keep their score at a match stick.
Ninth Inning
Jacob Tobias drew a two-out walk and Eamonn Lance put the icing on the cake of the day with a monster tank off the palm trees in left field, a two-run pinch hit homer to make it 13-2. UCLA notched a two-out single in the bottom half of the frame off Cornelius but he easily stranded the runner at second to seal the win.
On Deck
ASU will have a rare midweek-free week ahead as the team returns from a week in the Los Angeles area. The team will start the first of three home series over the final month of action on Friday against USC at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 6:30 p.m. AZT.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes
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