Willie Bloomquist ejected as Sun Devils fall to rival Wildcats 3-2

Arizona State knew they'd be in for a tough one against their bitter rival, traveling down to Tucson for a game against Arizona that technically doesn't count as a conference game.

What the Sun Devils likely didn't expect was for mild-mannered head coach Willie Bloomquist to get ejected towards the end of the game. That's exactly what happened, though, as Arizona State lost a close one in a heated rivalry game with plenty of bad blood.

The Wildcats have been red hot, winning 11 of their last 12 games, and they continued that streak right away. Sun Devil starting pitcher Easton Barrett got rocked in the first inning, giving up two runs in total with one coming with a bases-loaded walk.

Bloomquist would pull Barrett after just two outs in the second inning, ending his night early. Jonah Giblin subbed in for Barrett, which calmed things down. He would go on to pitch 3.1 innings, surrendering just two hits and no runs.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, their offense couldn't get anything going. The Wildcats ended up using seven pitchers throughout the night, with only two lasting longer than one inning, but five of them yielded only one hit. Arizona State's bats were making contact, but the Arizona defense consistently kept them from getting on base.

Cole Carlon took over for Giblin in the sixth inning, with the Sun Devils still trailing 2-0. He immediately walked TJ Adams, and followed that up with a line drive down the infield line for a double that brought Adams home. Carlon finished the inning strong, but Arizona State was now down 3-0 and running out of time.

At long last, their offense responded. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Landon Hairston knocked one to right field for a double. Josiah Cromwick was up next, and he tipped a single down the left field line for a single that brought Hairston home.

The next batter fouled out, ending the inning. But the Sun Devils kept the momentum going the next time they were up to bat.

Kien Vu led things off with a single and later stole second base, advancing to scoring position. A ground out from Brandon Compton advanced Vu to third, setting up a strong double from Jacob Tobias to make it a one-run game.

Of course, the Arizona State skipper wasn't around to see it. He had come out of the dugout at the end of the seventh to challenge a third strike call that he found questionable. The usually even-keeled Bloomquist, perhaps feeling the emotions of the close game, got unusually aggressive and in the face of the umpire before being tossed for the first time this season.

The Sun Devil arms continued to hold the Wildcat offense at bay, setting up a last-ditch effort to come back in the top of the ninth. Hope seemed to glimmer when Hairston singled by way of a botched dive from the second baseman, but it was quickly extinguished when pinch hitter Manny Garza hit into a double play.

That ended the night for the Sun Devils, snapping their five-game win streak, though it will not go in the record books as a conference loss. Arizona State endured a rough outing from starter Barrett, his second of such performances in as many starts. They rallied well, outscoring the tough Wildcats the rest of the way, but it proved to be too little too late.

Arizona State will officially begin their conference play on Friday with a three-game weekend series against TCU in Fort Worth. The next time they face their in-state rival, it'll be a three-game home stand in the beginning of April. The Sun Devils will just have to wait to get their revenge.