Arizona State (3-2) went quiet offensively Thursday night, dropping the first of a four-game set to Ohio State, 11-4, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Through the first four innings, both starters dominated. Left-handed UCLA transfer sophomore pitcher Ben Jacobs started the game by holding the Buckeyes hitless and striking out seven – six of which went down looking – in the first four frames.
Jacobs caught several Ohio State batters off-guard with a well-located breaking ball to ease through the start of the game.
However, in the fifth inning, Jacobs missed his spot a few times, and the Buckeyes made the Sun Devils pay for it. After a leadoff double by graduate student right fielder Mitchell Okuley and a triple by junior designated hitter Nick Giamarusti that pushed a run across, Jacobs left a breaking ball up in the zone to junior left fielder Trey Lipsey, who deposited it in the Arizona State bullpen for a two-run home run.
Those three runs in the fifth marred an otherwise solid start for Jacobs.
“Just missed some pitches up in the zone,” Jacobs said. “Could have executed a little bit better, but there’s not much I can do when it comes to home runs and hits. Proud of myself that I was able to fill up the zone today, but I can execute some pitches a little bit better.”
Despite a strong start from Jacobs, the Sun Devils offense had trouble getting after Ohio State’s starter, sophomore left-hander Landon Beidelschies.
Arizona State took the first lead of the night, courtesy of an RBI groundout by junior catcher Ryan Campos in the first inning.
However, the Sun Devils would only register three hits against Beidelschiles in seven innings of work, as the left-hander tallied seven strikeouts.
After a scorching start to the season, where the Sun Devils scored 47 runs and slugged 11 home runs, the bats were ice cold against the Buckeyes, with just five hits on the night.
Manager Willie Bloomquist was frustrated by the lack of focus from his team in the loss and shared the blame for the offense’s ineptitude.
“Today was extremely disappointing,” Bloomquist said. “I didn’t have these guys ready to play today and it showed. They were embarrassing from the offensive standpoint, didn’t stick with the plan in any way, shape, or form into that guy [Beidelschiles].”
Arizona State junior first baseman Jacob Tobias shared his coach’s sentiment, acknowledging that the clubhouse wasn’t ready for the game and possibly underestimated the Buckeyes.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re Big Ten, any school, any conference,” Tobias said. “Whether it’s the smallest school in the nation or the biggest school in the nation, we’ve got to take them as they’re one of the best teams that we’re going to play all year.”
After Jacobs departed in the fifth, the Sun Devils’ bullpen woes took center stage.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Jonah Giblin surrendered three runs on two big flies in the seventh inning, freshman right-hander Josh Butler gave up a loud two-run double in the eighth inning to Ohio State’s junior center fielder Josh Stevenson, and then freshman pitcher Rohan Lettow allowed three more runs in the ninth.
“I think where we got hurt is we need to be able to throw off-speed pitches for strikes more often,” Bloomquist said. “Right now we’re one-pitch guys. You know, whatever that one pitch is, we’re able to throw it for a strike.We have to be able to throw more than one pitch. Whether it’s a fastball or whether it’s a changeup, we have to be able to throw more than one for a strike and execute more than one pitch.”
Campos was the sole source of offense for the Sun Devils on the night, accounting for all four runs with a three-run homer beyond the scoreboard in right-center field in the eighth inning. Campos’ long ball extended his 15-game on-base streak, dating back to last season.
Senior shortstop Steven Ondina followed up his multi-hit performance on Tuesday with two more base hits on Thursday, marking his 25th career multi-hit game as a Sun Devil.
The rotation for Arizona State will reset Friday night when Opening Day starter freshman Thomas Burns will be on the mound as the Sun Devils look to even the series with Ohio State.
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