This four-game series against Ohio State has been up and down for Arizona State baseball’s offense. The unit only mustered four runs on Thursday and Saturday’s losses that sandwiched a 14-run night on Friday.
The Sun Devils returned to their high offensive production on Sunday afternoon. They won 10-8 against the Buckeyes to split the home series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“These are all character-building wins if we can come out on top,” Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “We’re being battle-tested for sure.”
While freshman pitcher Gavin DeVooght pitched three innings in relief, the Buckeyes used six pitchers in the shortened eight-inning game. Two of them, sophomore Hunter Shaw and senior Tim Baird, only managed to punch out one Sun Devil while on the mound.
Additionally, Shaw pitched as the Sun Devils mounted the game-deciding rally. While the Buckeyes led 8-6, Shaw allowed a double, a walk, and hit sophomore outfielder Isaiah Jackson. He found himself in a jam with Sunday’s designated hitter, redshirt freshman pitcher Brandon Compton, walking to the plate.
The Buckeye native smashed the ball past the fences to give Arizona State the 10-8 lead, rallying the 2,818 fans at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“Honestly, I was just trying to do a team job. Just put it in play, no double plays, and just get some runs because that’s what we needed.” Compton said about his home run. “I got something over the plate and I hit it.”
“It felt great,” he said about celebrating with his teammates afterwards. “Going up to that point, I had two strikeouts and just nothing up the middle. I was like ‘man, I got to do something.’ That was huge.”
Elsewhere, junior first baseman Jacob Tobias consistently pressured the Buckeyes’ pitchers, leading a steadfast charge for the Sun Devils.
His RBI double on his opening at-bat added to a three-run first inning. It culminated with Ohio State’s starting pitcher, freshman Chase Herrell leaving the game.
Along with his double that led to Compton’s grand slam, Tobias also notched a two-run single in the second inning to give the Sun Devils a 5-4 lead.
“You just gotta trust yourself and understand the situation you’re put in, you’re there for a reason,” said Tobias, who notched seven RBIs in the series. “Everything that you did beforehand is gonna come out and help you be successful.”
“Guys are getting on base, figuring out a way to start a rally, [and] that’s been huge,” Bloomquist said. “Compton doesn’t hit the grand slam without the at-bats before him today that were phenomenal at-bats.”
The Sun Devils (5-3) will need to show up big next week for their first road trip of the season to Arlington, Texas. This will include two games against Texas A&M (7-0) on Friday and Sunday that sandwich a Saturday matchup against TCU (7-0). Afterwards, they will face UT-Arlington on Tuesday, March 5.
“We know what we can do as a team as a whole when we’re playing our best baseball, which I don’t think we’ve got even close to that yet,” Tobias said. “We can do great things against just about anybody. We’re confident in ourselves as long as we go out and play our game.”
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