Bullpen lets Sun Devils down again in extra innings loss to Minnesota

It was the same old frustrating story for Arizona State on Friday night, starting off their three-game weekend series against Minnesota with an inexcusable 7-6 loss in 10 innings.

The bats got to work early for the Sun Devils when Matt King popped a single to drive in Isaiah Jackson. A few at-bats later, Kyle Walker hit into a double play that brought King home, making it 2-0 Sun Devils after two innings.

Minnesota responded immediately. They put two men on base right away before Parker Knoll hit a sacrifice fly to drive one run home. Then it was Eastern Richter who put down a bunt, grounding out but driving the tying run home in the process.

Both teams would go scoreless the next two frames, keeping things knotted at 2-2 as each starting pitcher settled into a groove. Then, things started to crack for Arizona State. In the sixth inning, with Knoll already on base, starter Ben Jacobs had a pitch belted by Drew Berkland for a two-run home run, taking the score to 4-2.

That proved to be the end of Jacobs' night. The Sun Devils ace finished with four earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts on 97 pitches over six innings. It marked yet another inconsistent start for Jacobs, who was supposed to be their top arm this year.

Replacing Jacobs was Josh Butler, who's been one of Arizona State's best relievers this season. But after letting Brayden Hellum get on base, Butler surrendered a single with two outs that brought the base runner home, extending the lead to 5-2.

Up until that point, it had been a dreadful night for the Sun Devil bats. They hit into five double plays on the night, frequently leaving men on base. But the seventh inning stretch seemed to wake everyone up.

It started with Josiah Cromwick getting walked. On the very next pitch, Kyle Walker was hit, sending him to first base. Nu'u Contrades drilled a single after that, loading up the bases with no outs. Next up was Kien Vu, who ultimately took a fourth ball on a 3-0 count to walk in a run.

Up next: slugger Brandon Compton. On the very first pitch he saw, Compton blasted the ball to left field, bringing Walker to home plate for another run and keeping the bases loaded. Still with no outs, Jacob Tobias came up to bat. He ultimately hit into another double play, but it drove Contrades home for the tying run.

Just like that, Arizona State had gone from down three to a 5-5 game.

A solid inning of pitching from both Butler and Sean Fitzpatrick got Arizona State through the eighth inning. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Walker drove in another run without getting on base by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field. That brought in the go-ahead run, putting Arizona State up 6-5 with one inning to go.

Head coach Willie Bloomquist opted to let Fitzpatrick stay in for the ninth inning. After all, he had quickly pulled closer Will Koger after putting two men on base in his last save attempt, and the coach's faith in Koger clearly had not returned yet.

Fitzpatrick, though, left after giving up a hit right away. He was replaced by Lucas Kelly, easily the Sun Devils' top reliever, who made quick work of the first two batters. The last man in his way of a win was Knoll. Kelly got two strikes quickly, but then Knoll dragged the at-bat out to a 2-2 count.

On the seventh pitch, Knoll blasted the ball deep to center field, where Jackson just missed a leaping effort at the backstop. It wound up being Minnesota's first triple of the year, driving home the tying run in the process.

Kelly got an out on the very next at-bat, but the damage had been done. He had blown his first save attempt of the year, and the Sun Devils would now be going for a walk-off win. However, the bats were silent in the bottom of the ninth, sending this into extra innings.

Jonah Giblin took the mound in the top of the 10th and quickly got two outs, but then Josh Fitzgerald knocked the 0-1 pitch deep to left field and just over the fence for a solo home run. In the blink of an eye, the Sun Devils were now trailing and in desperate need of some offense.

Things started off so promising, too. Jackson hit a tricky infield ball that bought him just enough time to reach first base for a single. Then Jax Ryan bunted right at the first baseman, allowing him to reach first base; a fielding error also helped Jackson reach third. After that, Cromwick was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with no outs.

Walker came up to the plate, hoping for another RBI on the night. With a full count, he flew out to shallow right field, but for some reason the speedy Jackson opted not to push for home plate. That turned out to be a fatal mistake, as both Contrades and Vu were struck out on the next two at-bats, ending the game with a loss.

The Sun Devils' bullpen let them down in this one, giving up critical runs in each of the last two innings, but the real story of this game was the offense playing their most inefficient game of the season: Arizona State had 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position and procured just three runs from it.

This is a loss that is sure to sting, but the Sun Devils will get a chance to bounce back from it tomorrow night with another contest against the Golden Gophers.