This story was originally published on May 25, 2023.
After Tuesday’s loss to Arizona, both junior second baseman Luke Keaschall and head coach Willie Bloomquist discussed a lack of execution by Arizona State.
The Sun Devils came to work on Thursday, especially with the bats, mustering a 14-10 victory over second-seeded Oregon State.
The team held a 7 a.m. practice Wednesday after being battered by Arizona, which clearly affected the approach entering the game against the Beavers.
“They realize the disappointment that that does for the program,” Bloomquist said. “They needed to be reminded of that.”
Keaschall answered the call, playing his part in the seventh inning. The junior ambushed the first pitch of his at-bat and hit a high-arching home run to left field. The homer proved crucial later in the game.
The Beavers made a ninth-inning push, bringing the tying run to the plate with 2 outs. Fortunately, ASU had Keaschall’s insurance and a four-run eighth inning.
“You got to remain focused the full nine,” Bloomquist said. “It was enough to get the job done today but it wasn’t pretty.”
However, it was the second, third and fourth innings that marked a change in the momentum for an ice-cold offense of late.
With runners on first and second, the right man for the job came to the plate: sophomore outfielder Ryan Campos. Campos, first pitch swinging, drove in a pair with a single to right field.
The decision to move Campos to the leadoff spot paid off for Bloomquist.
The lineup was reconfigured to account for the suspension of senior outfielder Wyatt Crenshaw after he was ejected on Tuesday.
The third inning saw a similar outcome: singles and small ball driving in a pair of runs.
The damage was done by freshmen Nu’u Contrades and Nick McLain and senior catcher Bronson Balholm.
Contrades and McLain continued to mash in the fourth. McLain pounded a triple into left-center, bringing a run across. Contrades matched his teammate with a triple that snuck under the glove of junior center fielder Micah McDowell, bringing another run across.
McLain played hero in Thursday’s game. The freshman finished with three hits including two triples.
“I was pretty pissed off after that first [strikeout], I didn’t think he had good enough stuff to strike me out,” he said. “It ended up being a good day.”
By the end of the fourth inning, the Sun Devils had secured a five-run lead.
ASU started junior left-hander Timmy Manning and reaped the rewards of saving him until Thursday.
He worked for three innings, tallying six strikeouts and zero walks with one earned run on a solo shot.
Manning was relieved by junior right-hander Khristian Curtis in the fourth. The righty struggled with control in the fifth and walked the bases loaded.
Oregon State scored three runs before recording a hit, cutting the lead to just two runs.
Junior reliever Blake Pivaroff replaced Curtis and the Beavers tagged him for another run. The momentum had swung completely in the opposite direction by the end of the fifth, with the Beavers trailing 6-5.
Pivaroff pitched 2.1 innings and escape a pair of jams throughout his outing.
“Can’t say enough about the job of Pivaroff, coming in and giving us probably more outs than he’s gotten all year in one appearance,” Bloomquist said.
McLain and Contrades added a pair of runs in the sixth, with McLain’s second triple coming in that frame. Contrades finished with five hits in six at-bats in perhaps his most important performance of the season.
With the offense carrying the load today, the pitching was able to simply outlast the Beavers and give the Sun Devils a sliver of hope.
Arizona State’s Pac-12 future hinges on the results of games later today. With wins by USC and Stanford, the Sun Devils can clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Semifinals on Friday.
As the team left the dugout and the Trojans players began to prep for their afternoon game, one Sun Devil hollered at them to get a win.
Nonetheless, the win over Oregon State will boost hopes for a potential NCAA tournament appearance. It would be the team’s first since 2021 and the first in the Willie Bloomquist era.
Bloomquist was asked what his pitch to the selection committee would be.
“These guys have battled and played hard all year and, at times, played as good as anybody in the country,” he said. “We’re not done in this tournament yet either and hopefully we get an opportunity to play Friday.
Leave a Reply