Arizona State returned to Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday afternoon facing UC Irvine once again, needing a win to keep their season alive.
Derek Schaefer took the ball for the Sun Devils, getting just his third start of the season. The Anteaters got to work on Schaefer quickly, pushing the first run of the game across in the 1st inning thanks to two base hits and two walks.
The Devils would answer the call in the bottom half of the first against Irvine starter Ryder Brooks, as a Jacob Tobias sacrifice fly drove in Kyle Walker after his leadoff single and a brilliantly executed hit and run with Matt King at the plate.
After a scoreless second inning for both sides that saw Irvine put two on with two out, the Anteaters took the lead back on an absolute bomb to RF off the bat of Jacob McCombs that still hasn't landed yet. Thankfully that was the only traffic on the bases as Schaefer retired the side. The Devils threatened in the bottom of the 3rd, getting runners on the corners with 1 out after singles by Walker and King, but a double play by Tobias ended the scoring opportunity.
In a surprising move, Schaefer returned for the top of the 4th, a move that quickly unraveled. A 2-run home run by Alonso Reyes pushed the Anteater lead to 4-1, and a base hit by Blake Penso called for the hook without recording an out in the inning.
Lucas Kelly came on in relief, retired his first two batters in short order but a Chase Call home run to straightaway center pushed the lead to 6-1, giving the Anteaters their 4th game of the season with 3 or more home runs.
Jackson decided that enough was enough for the offensive struggles, and roped a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall for his 18th HR of the season to inch closer at 6-2. Back-to-back walks with two outs looked to keep the rally going, but Kyle Walker swinging at the first pitch abruptly put an end to that.
Kelly found himself in a little hot water with one out in the top of the 5th after issuing back-to-back walks, but a pop out and strikeout avoided any further damage from Irvine for the time being. Ryder Brooks continued his mastery in the bottom half, retiring the Devils in order. Cole Carlon came on for the 6th inning, and Chase Call launched another no doubt home run to push the lead to 7-2.
With 12 outs to go, it became crunch time. The offense responded with a much needed crooked number. A walk by Kien Vu and a Jackson HBP had both in scoring position with 1 out after a sacrifice by Josiah Cromwick, back-to-back doubles from Brandon Compton and Beckett Zavorek put some life back in to the Sun Devil dugout.
That life was quickly snuffed out. Carlon was not his usually sharp self, imploding for 4 runs in the 7th before being replaced by Sean Fitzpatrick. An intentional walk and a fielders choice had runners at the corners with 2 down, but Fitzpatrick locked in to stop the bleeding. The Devils were able to get two runners in scoring position after walks to King and Vu, but were held off the scoreboard as a fly out by Josiah Cromwick ended the inning.
Josh Butler came on for the 8th inning looking for some answer to slow down the clinic being put on by Irvine. It wasn't exactly pretty but Butler managed to hold the Anteaters off the scoreboard, despite loading the bases in the inning.
With time winding down, it was time to put up or face the end of the season. Singles by Zavorek and Landon Hairston put two on with two out, and Matt King came through in the clutch, driving Zavorek in to bring the score to 11-6. Tobias grounded in to a fielders choice to end the inning, continuing a tough final game of his career that saw him go 0-4 after tearing the cover off the ball in the first two games this weekend.
The combined efforts of Butler and Easton Barrett held the Anteaters scoreless for a second straight inning, as the Devils stared the offseason head on. A one out walk from Jackson flirted with hope, but the Devils went quietly as Brandon Compton lifted a lazy fly ball to LF, sealing the 11-6 defeat and closing the book on the 2025 season.
Friday's gritty 4-2 win looked like it set the tone for a promising tournament run, but walks and errors were once again a factor in the downfall.
A combined 10 walks by the pitching staff and 4 errors on defense only extended innings and the Devils were outscored 22-11 in the final two games. Making matters worse, the offense could not capitalize on 7 walks from the Irvine pitching staff, stranding 11 runners on base. the 4-5-6 spots of Tobias, Vu, and Jackson went a combined 1-for-9 today, the only hit coming on Jackson's 4th inning home run.
July's MLB Draft will shed some light as to where the roster will stand heading in to 2026, but as Willie Bloomquist enters the final year of his contract, his seat will be warm to build off the progress made in 2025 and play deeper into the post season.