After last week’s 6-4 loss to New Mexico, Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist expressed discontent with his side’s offensive performance.
A week later against Utah Valley, another non-conference opponent, the Sun Devils’ bats continued to struggle. But this time, the outcome changed.
The Maroon and Gold (10-10) won 5-4 over the Wolverines (7-13) on Tuesday night to take the first half of the two-game series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“I think the desire for our guys is certainly there to want to play well,” Bloomquist said. “But there’s times where I question the mental focus, I guess, more than anything. Just on watching the game and seeing how they’re pitching us and making an adjustment to it. That’s gotta be better.”
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Tyler Meyer logged his fifth start on the mound for the Sun Devils. The righty has struggled this season, as he entered Tuesday’s contest with a 10.95 ERA.
Meyer’s problems persisted while facing his first two hitters. He allowed sophomore Daniel Dickinson to lead off with a double and senior catcher Burke Camper to launch a two-run home run past the right-center field wall.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines starting pitcher, senior righty Jayse Burkett, quieted the Sun Devils’ bats and held ASU hitless in the first two innings.
But redshirt senior outfielder Harris Williams played party crasher in Burkett’s strong start, putting the Sun Devils on the board in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI double.
The Wolverines responded in the fourth with Dickinson’s second double of the night, which brought two runs home.
After Camper was hit on the ensuing pitch, Meyer was relieved of his duties. He finished the day with five hits and four runs allowed and threw four strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
Utah Valley lost its command in the bottom of the fourth, walking multiple Sun Devils. In turn, junior first baseman Jacob Tobias scored on a fielder’s choice. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Nick McLain reached home on a bases-loaded walk.
Bloomquist’s side continued to punish the visitors for the free bases an inning later. Redshirt freshman pitcher Brandon Compton, the game’s designated hitter, hit a two-run home run to give Arizona State a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning.
“Keep it simple,” Compton said about his home run. “For me, there’s a lot. Hitting is already hard. Round ball, round bat. Somehow you’ve gotta hit it with eight defenders. So, just hit it up the middle, you know. Go for it.”
After three scoreless innings, senior Hunter Omlid notched the save to give the Sun Devils their third win in four games.
In a season where the Maroon and Gold’s bullpen has struggled, Omlid’s performance Tuesday night provided stability. He struck out 11 batters while only allowing two hits and one walk in 5.1 innings pitched.
“Execution in my fastball,” Omlid said about what worked. “Just locating that helps me locate my slider. I did that really well tonight.”
The lengthy outing helped calm Bloomquist, who has struggled to find successful combinations out of the bullpen for much of the season.
“Hats’ off to him, that was an unbelievable performance by him,” Bloomquist said. “He pretty much saved us tonight on an otherwise pretty dismal performance.”
The Wolverines outhit the Sun Devils 7-4 and won the stolen bases battle 4-0. But ASU out-walked its opponent 10-3, putting players into scoring position.
Arizona State looks to sweep the midweek series against Utah Valley tomorrow at 1 p.m. Freshman Wyatt Halvorson will start for the Sun Devils.
Despite the win, Bloomquist presses that his team needs to be better and become well-balanced.
“If we can ever put it all together on both sides of it, on the flickers that we’ve shown, we have a host to be pretty good,” Bloomquist said. “There’s been times where this offense has been lights out. There’s been times where the starting pitching’s been lights out, and there’s been times where the bullpen has been lights out. So, the potential is there if we can put it all together.”
Leave a Reply