The Sun Devils needed a lot to go their way on Thursday to stay alive at the Pac-12 Tournament in Scottsdale, but none of it would matter if the bats didn’t wake up after an ugly showing on Tuesday.
Arizona State (32-25) couldn’t do enough offensively to back a strong performance from the Sun Devils’ arms in a 3-2 loss to No. 6 Oregon State (42-14).
“Never easy when a season comes to an end,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “These guys have put a lot of effort and energy into this season and been phenomenal teammates to each other and care about each other. To see that come to an end, it’s never easy.”
Facing Beavers’ junior ace Aiden May, the Sun Devils threatened to score multiple times early on. The leadoff batter reached base in each of the first three innings, creating stress on the base paths for May.
The spark that the ASU offense may have needed arrived moments before the first pitch in the form of the 109 players from the ASU football program, led by head coach Kenny Dillingham.
“That’s what ASU does, man,” Bloomquist said. “We support each other through thick and thin. I was pumped to see Kenny and his boys out here supporting today. That matters to us. We support our football team, we support all of our sports. We’re behind each other.”
Several members of the football team got after May with a variety of chants and jeers. In the third, the noise messed with May’s command, and the Sun Devils used it to their advantage.
Junior third baseman Jacob Tobias brought home the first run of the day on a fielder’s choice. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year designated hitter Brandon Compton followed with an RBI single to right to open up a 2-0 lead.
The Beavers responded in the fourth with a sacrifice fly by senior right fielder Brady Kasper and a booming home run off the bat of junior first baseman Mason Guerra to give Oregon State the lead and silence the rowdy football crowd.
From there, the Beavers bullpen dominated the game. Sophomore left-hander Nelson Keljo pitched four hitless and scoreless innings in relief. After walking the first batter he faced out of the bullpen, Keljo retired 12 straight Sun Devils to get the game to junior closer Bridger Holmes in the ninth.
ASU starter sophomore Ben Jacobs did everything he could to keep his squad in the game. He pitched 5.2 innings and tallied 10 strikeouts in the loss. The bullpen arms of redshirt senior Matt Tieding, sophomore Sean Fitzpatrick, and junior Ryan Schiefer combined to keep the Beavers off the scoreboard throughout the rest of the contest.
Holmes sat down the final three Sun Devils in order to close out a 1-1 finish in Pool B in the Pac-12 Tournament for Oregon State. Arizona State was held hitless after their only two scores in the third inning and managed just one baserunner.
“We just ran into some good pitching,” Bloomquist said. “We hit a lot of balls hard that just didn’t find holes. It’s unfortunate for our boys. They played hard and they battled, but we just came up short.”
The loss meant the end of the season for the Sun Devils and the ASU career for a few. Junior catcher Ryan Campos, who is widely expected to hear his name called in the 2024 MLB Draft, was emotional following the game.
“Best times of my life,” Campos said of his time at Arizona State. “There’s not a guy I would rather play for than Bloomie. I’ve met guys that will be friends the rest of my life. Didn’t win as much as you wanted to, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
ASU’s tournament elimination was also the school’s final game as part of the Pac-12 Conference before leaving for the Big 12.
“This conference has been a staple for a lot of years,” Bloomquist said. “Brought home a lot of national championships and produced an ungodly number of major league players and draft picks. To see that dissolve is saddening, I guess. In a lot of ways, it’s been a very fun, competitive, rival-filled conference for a long time, and to see that part of it come to an end is disappointing. But, you know, you turn the page and we’re welcomed to the Big 12, which is going to be a great conference for us.”
After three years at the helm, Bloomquist said the Sun Devils still have work to do to reach their full potential as a program. With new athletic director Graham Rossini announced on Thursday, Bloomquist hopes the NIL collective at Arizona State can help the program establish its glory from years ago.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” Bloomquist said. “We’re not where we want to be yet, but I’m confident we’re going to get the support that we need to get this program where it needs to be … Graham is a huge supporter of all ASU athletics, but baseball is a passion of his. So I’m confident that with Dr. [Michael] Crow and Graham behind our sports programs, we’re going to get what we need to hopefully be successful.”
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