After some up-and-down performances throughout April, Arizona State finished the month in style. The Sun Devils (30-16, 14-7 Big 12) ripped off wins in their last five games, capping off the month with a 17-6 win over Long Beach State in seven innings to secure a midweek sweep Wednesday night.
The six games in eight days took their toll on the Sun Devil pitching staff. ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist turned to sophomore righty Wyatt Halvorson in a midweek starting spot. Halvorson made it just 2.1 innings before being pulled and gave up six runs, courtesy of two homers by the Dirtbags.
Luckily for the sophomore, the Sun Devil offense blasted Long Beach starter, right-hander Alex Ramos, who only recorded two outs before heading to the bench. By the end of the third inning, ASU had tagged Long Beach for 13 runs. The Big West squad couldn’t handle the explosive Maroon and Gold offense throughout both games, but put up more of a fight Wednesday night.
“I think the guys are starting to see the light as to what we’re capable of doing,” Bloomquist said.
Sun Devil junior right fielder Kien Vu made history before the end of the fifth inning. Vu swiped six bases, breaking a school record for single-game steals. One of the former players tied for the record before tonight was Bloomquist himself.
“I gave him the red light so he wouldn’t break my record,” Bloomquist said. “No, I was very happy for him. He’s just a dynamic player.”
Vu finished with three hits and four RBI and even worked a walk for good measure. The offense around the junior outfielder has started to come alive down the stretch of the season, helping the pitching staff more than ever.
“It’s easy to score runs when the pitchers are dealing like that,” Vu said. “We just feed off of their energy and it feels really good to have these team wins that we have been having.”
Following Halvorson’s early struggles, a group of young Sun Devil relievers carried the team home on the mound. Freshman lefty Easton Barrett was the standout performer in 2.1 innings of work in which he struck out five. With the pitchers settled in, the offense, as Vu alluded to, teed off.
The five-game streak should give Bloomquist’s unit more confidence as it heads into a crucial stretch in conference play. While West Virginia has exploded to a 14-game win streak and Kansas continues to play strong baseball, the Sun Devils remain in the top five of the conference standings.
For the players, the urgency to ensure a shot at the postseason exists, but they remain focused on the task every day.
“Not getting ahead of ourselves and not trying to look too far in the future, and I think that’s what we were doing earlier in the season,” Vu said. “To really focus on one game at a time and stack these wins has been huge.”
With the offense clicking at the right time, Bloomquist’s vision for the team has begun to come true.
“When things are working like that, it becomes an extremely fun offense. This is kind of what we’ve been hoping for and urging our guys that we know we’re capable of doing this more frequently,” Bloomquist said. “We just need to continue to strive to do what we’re capable of doing … When we do that, we have a chance to be pretty good.”
The win also clinched the program’s third 30-win season in four years under Bloomquist. While the pressure to reach the postseason always exists in Tempe, Bloomquist still believes the program is on an upward trajectory despite not playing in the NCAA Tournament under his guiding hand.
“My personal opinion is that the program is going in the right direction. Other people out there maybe have different opinions, and that’s OK, but I’m confident in what we’re doing,” Bloomquist said. “I’m confident not only in our current guys, but the young men we’re bringing in here are going to continue to represent this program in the right way … We continue to do things the right way, and the wins will follow.”
With the newfound confidence and surging offense, ASU enters a stretch in which it’ll play weaker conference opposition to end the season. The Sun Devils’ next stop will be in Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears, a team toiling toward the bottom of the Big 12 standings. First pitch in the series opener is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MST Friday night.
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