Arizona State bats explode, even series with TCU in 26-9 blowout

Arizona State won today's game 26-9 and no, that isn't a typo.

A day after losing 3-2 in the Sun Devils' Big 12 opener on the road against TCU, they absolutely obliterated the Horned Frogs Saturday to even the series. They combined elite offense and another masterful start from Jack Martinez for what will likely be their most complete win all year.

The scoring started right away for Arizona State. Head coach Willie Bloomquist made a lineup tweak, moving Kyle Walker - who has struggled thus far - to the lead-off role. It clearly agreed with him, as Walker blasted the fifth pitch of the game for a solo home run.

That wasn't all, though. The Sun Devils put Brandon Compton, Nu'u Contrades, and Matt King on base just in time for Isaiah Jackson to knock in a single, rackling up another run. Right after that, Josiah Cromwick hit another single, bringing home both Contrades and King.

Just like that, Arizona State had scored more in the first inning than their entire previous game.

The Sun Devils kept it going in the second inning, too. Walker hit a line drive down the right field line for a single that brought home Jax Ryan, upping the lead to 5-0. A ground out from Compton, accompanied by a throwing error, helped Walker reach home soon afterward. King drove in another run with a single before Jackson blasted a three-run dinger.

Arizona State held a 10-0 lead after two frames, and they weren't even close to finished.

Jacob Tobias drove in a run in the third, but it was the only points in that inning. It did not signal a return to the norm, though, as the bats went off for a whopping nine (!!!) runs in the fourth inning alone. Here's the scoring breakdown in order of events:

• Jackson scored on a fielder's choice from Jonathon Hernandez
• Hernandez scored on a single from Walker
• Walker and Compton scored on a double from Contrades
• Contrades scored on a double from Tobias
• Tobias scored on a single from King
• King and Jackson scored thanks to a home run from Cromwick

The Sun Devils cooled off a bit, at least comparatively speaking, from there. Compton hit a two-run home run in the fifth, Jackson hit a solo homer in the sixth, and a fielder's choice brought Ky McGary across home plate in the seventh, upping the lead to a ridiculous 24-0.

At the same time as all of this insane scoring, Martinez was putting on another show from the pitching mound. He was pulled midway through the sixth, but Martinez finished the day with 5.2 shutout innings, throwing seven strikeouts against just two hits.

The eighth inning marked the first frame all day that Arizona State failed to score a run. Apparently, that was enough to light a fire under TCU. They rocked reliever Jake Neely, who had just come into the game and was ultimately pulled without recording a single out, but having given up five earned runs. The Horned Frogs put two more across the plate in the eighth to trim the score to 24-7.

The Sun Devils responded with two runs in the top of the ninth: McGary scored when Manny Garza was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and a fielder's choice brought Camden Bates home to add some extra padding, making it 26-7.

TCU would add two more runs in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a wild pitch and a bases load walk from Eli Buxton. Still, the Sun Devils finished it out to secure a dominant victory that is sure to skew the statistics for the next month.

The win not only evens the series, setting up a winner-takes-all situation for Sunday's game, but it also marks Arizona State's first ever conference victory in the Big 12. That it came in such a dominant manner only makes it that much sweeter. This one is sure to be remembered for years to come.