Cromwick’s big day leads Sun Devils to back-and-forth opening day win over Ohio State

February 15, 2025 Logan Brown Baseball, Inferno Intel 0

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Redshirt junior infielder Kyle Walker and graduate catcher Josiah Cromwick helped propel Arizona State to a 9-8 victory over Ohio State in the 2025 season opener. (Zina Garcia/Inferno Intel)

Nothing kicks off a new college baseball season more than a pair of home runs soaring into the Tempe night sky, some defensive wizardry, and a chaotic finish that has probably never happened before.

Arizona State (1-0) outlasted the Ohio State Buckeyes (0-1) for a 9-8 win at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday night.

Graduate student catcher Josiah Cromwick drove in four runs, including a three-run homer and a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning. Senior first baseman Jacob Tobias also added a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season. The pitching staff faced some issues similar to last season’s four-game split with the Buckeyes, but manager Willie Bloomquist doesn’t believe those issues will last long.

“It was a fun game when you look at it from an entertainment standpoint. Blood pressure wise, not so much,” Bloomquist joked. “Just when you think we have them on the ropes, they battle back and put up a four spot and took the lead. But our guys were resilient and battled back.”

Junior lefty Ben Jacobs got off to a rough start in his season debut. After retiring the first two batters of the game in quick order, a two-out walk turned into a two-run rally for the Buckeyes. Junior shortstop Marc Stephens lined an RBI double to left, and sophomore designated hitter Mason Eckelman followed with an RBI single that dropped into center. Ohio State took a strong 2-0 lead out of the gate.

The Sun Devils kept their ace in the game with a rally of their own. Junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades, making his first start in nearly a full calendar year following a back injury, drew a four-pitch walk. Sophomore left fielder Brandon Compton lined a hard ground through the legs of Stephens at short, and Contrades scored the first run of the season for ASU on the error.

What followed was loud, fast, and dripping with swagger. Tobias unloaded on a 2-1 pitch that soared 432 feet to right field and gave ASU a 3-2 lead. The ball landed beyond the bullpen and well before Tobias reached first base, launching his bat into the air as his teammates spilled out from the dugout. It was only the first inning, but the Sun Devils were overflowing with energy.

Jacobs put forward a solid effort to start 2025, pitching four innings and allowing four runs, while striking out five Buckeyes along the way. He threw 87 pitches, which was right around where Bloomquist wanted to keep him in his first start.

“He’s a strikeout guy,” Bloomquist said. “His pitch count’s going to be high, especially when you’ve got a team that battles like [Ohio State] does … He wanted to go back out there for another inning, but we weren’t having it. He’s too valuable in the long run for us. Next outing, we’ll keep ramping up the pitch counts slowly and get him up to where he wants to be.”

The Sun Devils snatched the lead back in the third inning, thanks to one big swing from someone Bloomquist raved about all offseason. Cromwick cranked a three-run homer to right center to take a 6-3 lead. Cromwick, who played in just 18 games a season ago after transferring from Oregon, is relishing his opportunity as the starter behind the dish.

“He caught a great game,” Bloomquist said of his new backstop. “There was some good pitches that I think he did a good job receiving … Offensively, that’s what he’s been doing all fall and all spring. So, hoping that continues.”

Elsewhere on the diamond, the new middle infield for the Sun Devils shined on defense, where ASU struggled as a team last year. Junior second baseman Kyle Walker helped turn the first double play of the season in the fifth inning with ease. To follow, Walker made an incredible diving catch up the middle to save a run.

“I felt really good,” Walker said about his defense. “The moment was really big. I’m watching my pitcher up there doing the best he can and [I’m] just trying to play instinctual, play the game, and just have fun. It happened to fall the right way.”

After leading 6-3, the Sun Devils’ bats were silenced for the middle innings. Ohio State junior righty Hunter Shaw retired each of the first nine ASU bats he faced. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes picked up the slack on offense. Ohio State used a four-run rally in the seventh to take an 8-6 lead in the late stages.

ASU finally broke through against Shaw with a leadoff double in the seventh by Walker. He scored on an RBI single to right by junior right fielder Kien Vu. The Sun Devils then took back the lead on a double pulled down the line by Cromwick. A three-run answer in the seventh gave the Sun Devils a slim 9-8 edge.

“We won the game because of that at-bat,” Cromwick said about Walker’s rally-sparking double. “The amount of energy you get from an at-bat like that; you can’t compare anything to it.”

Senior righty and Louisville transfer Will Koger earned his first career save in his first appearance as a Sun Devil. Koger gave up a walk and a hit to put the tying run at second base and the go-ahead run on first. However, Eckelman lined out to Walker, who flipped the ball to King at second base to double up the runner and end the game.

The replay review that followed was like no other. The umpires convened and quickly decided to review whether or not King’s foot and the ball beat the runner to the base. After an apparent malfunction with the replay system along the third baseline, the umpires reconvened and took their journey to the stands. They walked through the crowd and into the press box to take a closer look at the play. In the end, the umpires declared the runner out, and the Sun Devils blitzed the field in triumph.

“We were thinking they were going to confirm the targeting call,” Bloomquist joked in reference to ASU’s football loss to Texas at the Peach Bowl in January. “I’ve never seen that before. Thought he made the right call on the field. I think he was out by six to eight inches from my point of view. They wanted to make sure they got it right because the game was on the line, and I think they owed it to them [Ohio State] … I’ve never seen umpires go up in the press box before. But they got the call right, so that’s what matters.”

ASU opened the season with a win for the fourth straight season. The Sun Devils will look to stay unbeaten on the young season on Saturday against the Buckeyes in game two of the series.

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