A day removed from having his 38-game on-base streak ended, Kyle Walker started a new one with a 3-for-5 outing with two doubles and a home run with three RBIs and three runs scored. The heart of the ASU (33-18, 17-9 Big 12) order of Matt King, Jacob Tobias and Kien Vu all recorded two hits while Brandon Compton added his first home in over a month.
King, Compton and Jax Ryan had two RBIs in a game where nine different Sun Devils recorded a hit
The Sun Devil bullpen picked up starter Jack Martinez, who still battled through 4.0 innings with two earned runs against and four strikeouts. Jaden Alba, Derek Schaefer and Max Arlich combined for 5.0 scoreless innings down the stretch, striking out six between them. After Houston scored a run in each of the first three innings, the pitching staff held the Cougars (28-21, 11-14 Big 12) off the board for the remainder of the game.
ASU will look to take the rubber match and series victory on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. AZT.
TURNING POINT
From the get go, the Sun Devils were able to bring a runner home in the first two innings, but were not able to pull away from the Cougars. Heading into the bottom of the third, Houston regained a 3-2 lead with an unearned run but the Sun Devils bats were ready to answer in a big way. Kien Vu got things going with a single down the left field line, followed by a moonshot opposite field homer from Brandon Compton to take a 4-3 lead. Isaiah Jackson stepped up to the plate and delivered with a solo home run to extend the lead for the Sun Devils. Two bases were shortly occupied in prime condition to score extra runs, which Matt Kingtook advantage of. The senior connected on a two-run RBI single to close out the five-run inning for the Sun Devils, heading into the fourth inning with a 7-3 lead.
BIG MOMENT
After a couple slow innings following a five-run third, The Sun Devils were able carry the momentum from a Kyle Walker solo-home run in the fourth inning for an explosive sixth inning that saw nine batters and another five runs scored to open things up. From the jump, Arizona State was able to land two runners on base courtesy of a pair or singles to right from Jacob Tobias and Kien Vu. A shallow sac-hit from Brandon Compton moved both runners into scoring position and set the table for Ryan Jax to notch a timely first hit of the game for a two-run double. Jax then jumped on the opportunity to steal third as Isaiah Jackson took a walk, putting runners in each corner. Brody Briggs pushed Jackson into scoring position with a sac bunt and Kyle Walker picked up his third hit of the game with a two-RBI double to blow the game open, scoring a couple pitches later on a two-out, double error to make it 13-3, a score that would stay static for the remainder of the game.
FINAL STRAW
The trio of Jaden Alba, Derek Schaefer and Max Alrich combined for 5.0 scoreless innings down the stretch after the Cougars got off to a hot start, scoring a run in each of the first three innings of the ballgame. After Jack Martinez battled through 4.0 innings, Alba was the next man called upon from the bullpen and made his presence known on the mound. The sophomore picked up four strikeouts while only allowing two hits and zero runs in 3.0 innings. Schaefer was the next man up to kick off the eighth and did what he does best. The right-handed dealer didn’t allow a single hit through 1.0 innings, closing out the inning with a strikeout. Alrich was the closing man in the ninth for the Sun Devils and struggled with back-to-back hits from the Cougars to lead off the frame. The freshman remained poised, issuing a double play and a strikeout to end the ballgame.
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Jack Martinez opened up the game on the mound for ASU. After surrendering a double to the first batter, the Cougars notched a pair of sacrifice flies that earned them the first run of the game. The next at bat resulted in a walk before Martinez froze the hitter for a strikeout looking to end the inning down 1-0.
The Sun Devils first showing behind the plate delivered a run after a lead off out grounded to the pitcher, followed up by a walk, and a pair of singles from Matt King and Jacob Tobias that brought in Landon Hairston from second. The five hole hitter, Kien Vu, took a hit-by-pitch to load the bases but ASU was ultimately denied from taking the lead after two more outs ended the inning tied at 1-1.
Second Inning
Martinez worked a quick two outs to kick off the second inning, picking up another early strikeout. The Cougar offense soon got to Martinez, as an RBI single managed to die down before center field, giving Houston the lead once again. Martinez remained poised under the pressure and caught the batter swinging to close the frame.
Brody Briggs made his way to first by way-of-walk and advanced to second due to an error by obstruction. Landon Hairston was the next man up and delivered with an RBI double to left center, tying things back up once again at two a piece.
Third Inning
After picking up an out against the initial batter, the following three hitters would reach for Houston via a double, infield single, and a hit-by-pitch low that followed an error out by the left field line. A subsequent sac-fly to center field scored the runner on third, and the following fly out to center would close out the frame 3-2 in Houston’s favor.
Kien Vu got the ball rolling for ASU with the first hit in the bottom of the frame for a one-out single that dropped behind third plate. Brandon Compton was the next to hit and drove a lead-taking two-run home run to the bullpen over in left field. Following suit, Isaiah Jackson stepped up and delivered a two-out solo-shot over the wall in right-center field that extended Arizona State’s lead to 5-3. Brody Briggs then picked up his second walk of the day and was moved to third as Kyle Walker lifted a double down right-field. Landon Hariston then loaded the bases after taking a hit-by-pitch. Matt King took advantage of the opportunity and rolled a two-RBI single through the infeld gap at third. A strikeout would close out the five-run frame for the Sun Devils, heading into the forth with a 7-3 lead.
Fourth Inning
Martinez worked a quick fourth inning, retiring the Cougars in a 1-2-3 fashionable manner.
The Sun Devils were not able to get things going in the bottom of the fourth, leaving a man stranded on base after way-of-walk.
Fifth Inning
Jaden Alba took over to start the fifth after Jack Martinez’s four innings of work. He quickly found himself behind the ball, allowing the first two batters to reach following a double and a six-pitch walk. Isaiah ackson got the first out of the frame at second as a result of a fielder’s choice. The Sun Devil defense picked up their second out after Brody Briggs cut a man down in an attempt to steal second base. They kept the Cougars from scoring with a fly out that ended the top of the fifth.
The only hit of the bottom half was issued by a Walker home run to far left field. ASU extended their lead to five, with a score of 8-3 entering the sixth.
Sixth Inning
Alba made an immediate impact on the mound to kick off the sixth, picking up two quick outs. The Cougars soon got to Alba by occupying first and second, but Alba stayed the course and managed to send the Cougars back to the dugout without any further damage on the bases.
Jacob Tobias got the momentum boiling for the Sun Devils with a single to right field, followed by another single by Kien Vu. Ryan Jax was the next man up and connected on a two-run RBI double to increase Arizona State’s lead to seven runs. With two more bases occupied after a walk, Kyle Walker delivered with another two-run RBI double to make it 12-3. It didn’t stop there for the Sun Devils, as Landon Hairstonreached first on a fielding error, ultimately leading to Walker scoring on the throwing error by the second baseman. Arizona State closed the inning with another five-run score inning.
Seventh Inning
Alba endured some ups-and-downs in his third inning on the bump. After securing two outs against the initial Houston bats, he wavered some to find the strike zone, conceding two five-pitch walks. He kept his focus and delivered a strikeout looking pitch for another scoreless inning.
The Sun Devil offense retired in order, holding onto the 13-3 lead.
Eighth Inning
Derek Schaefer was called upon from the bullpen to relieve Alba from his duties to kick off the eighth inning. Schaefer made his presence known on the mound and worked a quick frame, retiring the Cougars in order in only 11 pitches.
After Becket Zavorek singled to right center, the Sun Devils retired in order. Arizona State’s offense passed the torch to Schaefer while holding onto a 10-run lead.
Ninth Inning
Alba passed the torch to Max Alrich, who was given closing responsibilities in the circle. Alrich threw for two early hits before a double-play ball left one out to go. After issuing a walk, he sat down the final batter by way-of-strikeout to close out the game 13-3.
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
On hitting a milestone of most wins in a season as the head coach
“I think just overall depth. I think we have more arms that we’re able to rely upon. Older lineup than we’ve had. Guys are more experienced on the mound. All those things help you be able to bounce back after a night like last night where you lose a tough one. The senior leadership is able to keep the waters calm and come back and be ready to go and be resilient today. So I think a combination of a lot of things. They’re a tight knit group and I’d probably point to a handful of those types of things.”
On the bullpen performance today
“It’s great. Way too many walks still for my liking, and we threw a lot of pitches. In a game like that, it’s awfully grueling for the defense to stay locked in. We’re doing a really good job of bouncing ahead of hitters, but we’re just getting to too many 3 ball counts and too many free passes. The bullpen put up zeros, which was huge. Jaden Alba came in and didn’t have his best command today but was able to get through four or three innings there and shave through the heck out of it and did a good job through his inning at work. Max Arlich came in and pounded the zone pretty well, so that was good to see. Gave our offense a chance to get going.”
On being able to bounce back from a tough series opener loss
“I’ve said it all year long, this team’s resilient. They’ll bounce back from adversity, which is a great trait to have. Obviously you’d like to limit the amount of adversity you have throughout the year, but these guys find a way to bounce back and counterpunch as well as any team I’ve been around in a long time. So that’s a good thing to have from this team and like I said, hopefully we can limit the amount of adversity you have to bounce back from. But when you do have it, these guys do a good job bouncing back.”
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics- Jeremy Hawkes
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