Arizona State’s pitching staff has had its fair share of struggles to start the year, but dominant performances against Ohio State from both freshman right-hander Thomas Burns and junior left-hander Matthew Cornelius led the way for arguably the group’s best outing of the young season.
Burns started the night by giving up a solo home run to the first batter he faced, with junior outfielder Trey Lipsey launching one over the center field wall.
After that first at-bat, the freshman got in a groove and did not look back, giving up only two runs and four hits through 4.1 innings pitched.
“The great thing about him is when he does give up runs he doesn’t seem to be rattled,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “He just goes right back to work and continues his game plan.”
Burns credits his success to an adjustment he made in the middle of his start to attack more with his offspeed pitches because his fastball was not as effective.
“The breaking balls and changeups got me out of a lot of jams,” Burns said. “That’s what let me work from behind, having the offspeed pitches to come along with a lot of swing and misses.”
These swings and misses resulted in an impressive eight strikeouts for Burns, who had the Buckeye hitters off balance throughout the game.
After giving up his second run of the game, the Maroon and Gold turned to junior Matt Cornelius to keep the Buckeye lineup in check.
With runners on second and third, the lefty shut the door on OSU, getting the final out of the inning on a ground ball back to the mound.
“Big situations he’s come in with the game still in limbo and done his job,” Bloomquist said. “The moment hasn’t been too big for him.”
The lefty pitched for 2 more innings, finishing with five strikeouts, while only allowing one run and one hit.
The pair of Sun Devils combined for 13 of the 17 strikeouts with both pitchers showing the effectiveness of their put away pitches.
“Being able to go to that whenever needed has been huge,” Burns said. “It helps me get out of any jam and move on to the next inning.”
Ultimately, the two pitched the first 6.1 innings for Bloomquist and finished with only three runs allowed on five hits.
While the Sun Devil’s pitching has been shaky this season, so far through two starts Burns has established himself as the ace of the staff.
However, the bullpen has been the weakest link for ASU this year and will remain the biggest question mark for the Sun Devils this season
If players like Cornelius can step up and provide stability for the Sun Devils, it should help boost the confidence of the entire staff, and help provide enough support for the starters going forward.
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