(Phoenix, AZ) Sun Devil Baseball secured their second straight victory via run rule courtesy of a dominant 11-1 midweek victory over Long Beach State in eight innings at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State (29-16, 14-7) was powered by a seven-run sixth inning that threatened the historic 10-run second inning from Saturday’s win over BYU.
On Tuesday night, the Sun Devils did it differently, piecing together great at bats and using station-to-station baseball effectively to light up the scoreboard. However it was a long ball that still represented the difference maker, as Jax Ryan’s pinch-hit three run home run put the game out of reach.
While the home side attempted to find their rhythm at the plate early in the contest, the Sun Devil pitching staff kept the Dirtbags’ at bay. Derek Schaefer set the tone with three innings of efficient work, allowing only one run. The combination of Jonah Giblin and Cole Carlon took it from there, combining to work five scoreless innings to finish out the contest. The duo did not allow a hit and struck out six batters. On the night, Arizona State held Long Beach State to only one run on three hits with a miniscule .136 batting average.
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist‘s squad has taken full advantage of the run rule over the past two games, saving their bullpen by securing back-to-back eight-inning victories. The Sun Devils have outscored opponents 47-10 during a four-game home win streak and have now won eight of their last nine at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The same two teams meet tomorrow night in game two of the midweek series at 6:30 PM MST.
TURNING POINT
Arizona State’s offense had been stale up to the point that Isaiah Jackson stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning. Long Beach State’s 1-0 lead was quickly erased when Jackson launched a 2-2 pitch over the right field fence to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the game. They did not look back, going on to outscore the Dirtbags 11-0 over the final four innings.
BIG MOMENT
In need of some insurance, Jax Ryan answered the call for the Maroon and Gold. Willie Bloomquist pressed the right button when he brought in the right-hander off the bench to face the freshly-entered left-hander Cristian Banda. Ryan sent the second pitch he saw into the desert over the left field fence, extending the lead to 8-1. It was also Ryan’s first home run of his career.
FINAL STRAW
The Dirtbags’ offense generated very little all night thanks to the efforts of the Sun Devil pitching staff. Three ASU pitchers combined to allow only three hits and one run, limiting the Long Beach State offense. It all started with Derek Schaefer’s three-inning effort, allowing only one run. He was backed by the duo of Jonah Giblin and Cole Carlon, who kept the visitor’s off the scoreboard over the final five innings. It is the second time in the past three games that the Arizona State pitching staff has allowed three hits in a contest.
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Derek Schaefer started on the mound for the Sun Devils. He induced back-to-back flyouts before the Dirtbags hit a triple. Schaefer struck out the next batter to prevent the runner at third from scoring.
Landon Hairston hit a one-out single, but nothing came of it as ASU was held scoreless in the first inning.
Second Inning
Schaefer returned to the mound to begin the inning. After two walks, the Sun Devils were able to get a double play with a runner at third. Schaefer then struck out the next batter.
The Sun Devils had a chance to get on the scoreboard after a leadoff single from Jacob Tobias and advancing to second on a groundout, but were unable to. The score remained 0-0 heading into the third.
Third Inning
Long Beach State began the top of the third with two singles, and runners moved into scoring position on a groundout. A sacrifice fly gave the Dirtbags a 1-0 lead, and a flyout ended the top half.
Arizona State went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the third.
Fourth Inning
Jonah Giblin took over pitching duties to start the inning. A Long Beach State runner was caught stealing second, and a fantastic throw by Brody Broggs to second base got the out. Giblin finished the top of the inning by striking out the next batter.
Arizona State was not able to record a hit and went down the order at the end of the inning with Long Beach State leading 1-0 going into the fifth.
Fifth Inning
After allowing a walk to start the inning, Giblin recorded three-straight outs to keep the deficit at one run.
Kien Vu walked to begin the bottom half, then with one out he stole second base. Vu then took third on a throwing error. With two outs, Isaiah Jackson hit a clutch two-run homer to vault the Sun Devils in front. The inning ended with ASU holding a 2-1 lead.
Sixth Inning
Giblin was back on the mound for the Sun Devils. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning including striking out the last two batters from Long Beach State.
Following a double from Landon Hairston, he was able to reach home plate off an RBI double from Matt King to extend the lead. Following a single through the right side from Jacob Tobias and a walk from Kien Vu, the Sun Devils had the bases loaded and added on to the lead with an RBI single from Nu’u Contrades. Following a pitcher change, Jax Ryan blasted a three run homer down the left field line. Brody Briggs and Kyle Walker each recorded a single, which set up an RBI single from Landon Hairston. The Sun Devils ended the inning recording seven runs to further extend their lead at 9-1.
Seventh Inning
Cole Carlon entered to pitch for ASU. While he allowed a leadoff walk, Carlon was effective and kept the Dirtbags from doing anything more productive.
The Sun Devils went down in order in the seventh.
Eighth Inning
Carlon returned to action for the Sun Devils. He struck out the first batter. With a runner at second, he was able to force back to back fly outs to close the top of the inning.
Nu’u Contrades tripled to left field to get things going for the Sun Devils. Jax Ryan was then able to draw a walk. With runners at first and third, Isaiah Jackson hit an RBI single to second base. With the bases loaded, Matt King delivered on an RBI single to first to give the Sun Devils the win in the first game of the series.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
“Early on it kind of had a feeling of one of those games that we just weren’t gonna snap out of it. And good thing Isaiah (Jackson) hit a homer there and picked us up and kind of got us going. Next inning Jax Ryanhad a big pinch hit home run that kind of sparked us as well. But, yeah, pretty flat up until that 4th or 5th inning. Walking some guys that was uncharacteristic and it just was like, ‘come on guys, sharp sharpen up a little bit.’ But, they were able to put it together there in the fifth and play a good second half of the game.”
On overcoming the slow start
“The guys were pressing and came out of the gates. We hit a few balls hard right at guys and it was just one of those eerie nights where all of a sudden the wind is blowing in at Muni, which how often do you see that? – that’s happened a handful of times this year where I don’t think I’ve ever seen the wind blow in the last three years. It just seemed like one of those eerie nights. A bad pick off throw hits the umpire and kicks right back to the first baseman and throws our guy out, come on man, it’s not gonna be one of these nights, is it? It just took us a while to kind of get going and kickstart ourselves, but again, Zay came up with a big, big homer there and kind of got us going.”
On Jax Ryan’s first career home run and versatility
“It’s big. I think it’s not only big for him, but big for everybody. I think it keeps everybody on their toes. You can’t get complacent and you gotta be on your toes, you gotta be on your A game every day, otherwise we got kids chomping at the bit to take over. But for him to come through at that moment, it was big for our team tonight, cause we were struggling getting going and big for him on a personal level. If I think I know Jax Ryan like I do, I mean, I’m sure the kid’s frustrated – what more I gotta do to get in the lineup? Well, Nothing. You got a kid hitting .440 in front of you right now. I don’t know what to tell you, kid, other than stay ready and I’ll try to get you opportunities. If I gotta mix them in at DH, I’ll mix them in at DH or wherever I can out there. But between him, Matt King and Kyle Walker, it’s tough sledding finding a way in the lineup over those two kids. But Jax just waits his turn, and every time he gets the opportunity, he seems to have a knack for coming through, so we gotta try to find other ways to get him in the lineup.”
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes
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