Arizona State did not come to play against the visiting New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday night, ultimately losing 6-4 in Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Coming off a competitive three-game series against Oregon at home, ASU looked to pick up a win before heading down to Tucson to take on their in-state rival at the University of Arizona.
However, that was not the case as the Sun Devils only brought in one run through putting the ball in play. Three wild pitches in the first inning surrendered by the Lobos allowed ASU to take a 3-0.
ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist spoke about the offensive struggles at the plate.
“They literally gave us runs,” Bloomquist said. “We did our best to not let them give us three runs with our offensive approach.”
ASU’s lineup drew eight walks in the game but only followed it up with five hits. Sun Devil batters left 10 runners on base, which limited their usual high-scoring offense.
Arizona State was given several opportunities to bring in runs with the bases loaded throughout the game and stranded runners.
Furthermore, the top four hitters in ASU’s batting order went a combined 1-13 with junior catcher Ryan Campos’s infield single being the lone hit.
Both teams scored their runs in bunches. ASU scored three in the first inning and one run in the eighth inning. New Mexico sent two baseballs over the fence for three-run shots in the fourth and sixth innings. The homers came from senior infielders Devon Dixon and Reed Spenrath for the Lobos.
Freshman right-hander Wyatt Halvorson got his first career start for the Sun Devils. The Scottsdale, Arizona native pitched three innings, allowed one hit and a walk, and struck out six Lobos batters.
His coach was complimentary of the young pitcher’s effort despite the loss.
“Wyatt threw the ball great,” Bloomquist said. “He came out and impressed and did very well. I was very happy for him.”
Halvorson and sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs were the two standout Sun Devil arms in the contest. Jacobs pitched the final 2.1 innings and struck out three Lobos.
For New Mexico, junior right-handed pitcher Dayne Pengelly pitched 4.1 innings and shut down ASU hitters. Pengelly allowed only three hits and had five strikeouts.
Bloomquist believes his team needs to be more vocal with each other to succeed and to build off mistakes.
“But the problem is we need a little bit more edge,” Bloomquist said. “We need a little bit more willingness to call each other out.”
Junior right-handed pitcher Brian McBroom came in to close the door for New Mexico and did just that in the ninth inning. After Campos reached on an error, McBroom struck out redshirt freshman outfielder Brandon Compton and senior infielder Kevin Karstetter to end the game. With the potential tying run at the plate for ASU, the Sun Devils weren’t successful in completing the comeback.
The Sun Devils have a tough task as they take on the Wildcats of Arizona for a three-game series in Tucson. The series starts Friday, March 15.
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