PHOENIX – Happy not satisfied is one of Arizona State baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist’s sayings after tough wins. On Saturday night, happiness seemed a bit far-fetched for Bloomquist.
The Sun Devils had a lead of six runs heading into the ninth, with their closer, junior righty Derek Schaefer, on the mound. The pitching staff struggled immensely, allowing eight runs, and they needed the Sun Devil bats to bail them out, which they did in the bottom of the ninth. No. 20 Arizona State (25-11, 8-6 Big 12) won 14-13 over Utah (17-14, 6-8 Big 12).
“For me, that was one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever watched,” Bloomquist said. “A lesser team folds right there and that’s the positive I can take out of that inning. The top half of it there isn’t a positive thing I can say.”
All Sun Devil starters reached base safely tonight as the hitting fired on all cylinders, thriving with runners on with a .423 batting average. All but the final run was scored on a home run.
Graduate outfielder Matt Polk was the unlikely hero of the night, hitting a walk-off single. Polk went 0-4 with a walk on the night, before the crucial hit.
“It was just about getting the job done for the boys,” Polk said. “I’ve been trying to establish myself the whole season, and it’s just an amazing opportunity to take that moment and come through.”
Junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis smashed the game-tying home run, with it going 359 feet, his fourth on the season. He went 2-5, with a pair of runs scored on the night.
Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston raked his 21st and 22nd home runs of the season. He currently leads the nation in home runs this season. He is 5 short of tying the Arizona State record of most home runs in a season that Mitch Jones set in 2000.
“He’s (Hairston’s) the most consistent hitter I’ve ever seen,” Moutzouridis said. “He’s the best player when he steps on that field.”
Hairston went 2-5 with three runs, one of which was the winning run, five RBI and a walk. He now has a 19-game hit streak. The Arizona native set his single-season high in hits tonight. The only major positive stat he has yet to beat is his single-season walk total, as he is 14 shy of last season’s mark of 14.
Junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino went a perfect 5-5 with a run scored.
Sophomore catcher Coen Niclai went 1-4 with a walk in place of junior catcher Brody Briggs, who is suspended. Niclai slugged his 422-foot grand slam, his second in five days, his fifth home run this season. The Alaska native is having a breakout season with career highs in every positive offensive category except doubles.
Junior outfielder Sam Myers went 3-4, with a pair of runs scored. This was his first action since April third. Myers, Polk, junior Dominic Longo and sophomore Ky McGary are competing for the third outfield spot.
“He’s (Myers’) a grinder, he does all the little things right,” Hairston said. “His bunt today was huge, getting us rolling in that inning, and we ended up scoring a bunch of runs in that inning.”
Redshirt junior second baseman Nu’u Contrades had a great game, going 2-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. He slugged his ninth home run of the season, setting a career high.
Fifth-year right fielder Dean Toigo went 2-5 with a run and a walk.
Redshirt sophomore infielder Austen Roellig failed to get a hit, but walked thrice against his former team.
The pitching staff’s performance was the opposite of the hitting. The staff threw 232 total pitches.
“The whole idea of pitching is something that we have to get better at right now,” Bloomquist said. “It’s not acceptable on any level.”
The ninth-inning implosion’s roots were in the eighth inning, where sophomore right-hander Finn Edwards got two outs and loaded the bases with two walks and a hit. That forced Bloomquist to go to his closer, Schaefer, for a potential four-out save in what was a two-run game. He took care of business in the eighth, recording a strikeout against the lone batter he faced.
Bloomquist left Schaefer out after the Sun Devils extended their lead to seven. Schaefer faced seven batters in the ninth and retired only one. Bloomquist turned to graduate righty Colby Guy with the score 12-9.
Guy retired the first batter he faced, but could not retire any of the next three he saw. Bloomquist went to sophomore right-hander Eli Buxton with a one-run lead.
Buxton allowed a two-run single before getting the final out of the ninth, but Utah already had the lead.
Edwards struck out two, walked two and allowed a hit in the two-thirds of an inning he threw. His ERA lowers to 3.86. He has struggled with walks this season, with nine in nine and a third innings pitched.
Schaefer threw two-thirds of an inning and allowed six runs, a career high in a single game. He allowed two walks, four hits and struck out three. The Arizona native did not allow any of the three inherited runners from Edwards to score.
This is back-to-back rough outings from Schaefer, as he allowed a run in an inning in his last appearance. His ERA rises to 7.02.
“It can’t be great one day and awful the next,” Bloomquist said. “And you don’t know what you’re getting and not sure who you can go to in certain situations.”
Guy threw a third of an inning; he allowed two runs on one hit, a wild pitch and two walks. He allowed both of his inherited runners to score. The South Carolina native has allowed 12 walks in 14 and a third innings this season.
Guy has struggled his last four times out, allowing at least a run in each appearance. His ERA rises to 6.75.
In the third of an inning that Buxton threw, he allowed a hit and struck out a batter. Two of the three inherited runners he had scored. His ERA falls to 13.50.
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn struggled to start the game. In his third start for the Sun Devils this season, he went two and two-thirds innings on 76 pitches. He allowed four runs on five hits, four walks, two wild pitches and three strikeouts. His ERA rises to 3.58.
Penn had not struggled with walks this season. In 25 innings he threw before Saturday, he walked six batters this season. He walked five in 31 innings in his freshman season at Western Kentucky.
“Today he (Penn) was up a lot, missing high in the zone and not making a whole lot of adjustments,” Bloomquist said. “Usually he’s a guy you can count on, he’s gonna come in and dial in the zone.”
Junior right-hander Alex Overbay threw a good three innings, allowing a run on three hits, a wild pitch while striking out three. He did not allow his inherited runner to score.
Overbay has logged back-to-back solid outings after a rough patch as a starter. His ERA falls to 6.75.
Senior southpaw Sean Fitzpatrick threw the ball well after failing to retire three batters he faced in Friday night’s series opener. He threw a scoreless one and a third innings, allowing a hit and striking out two, and not allowing his two inherited runners to score. His season ERA falls to 3.86.
In total, the Sun Devils allowed 10 walks, had four wild pitches and hit a batter. The Sun Devils allowed 4/11 inherited runners to score.
“It’s just a matter of being consistent,” Bloomquist said. “Right now we’re not getting that.”
Utah made three errors compared to the Sun Devils zero.
“I think our potential is through the roof,” Polk said. “Once everything gets clicking on all cylinders, I think there’s not a team in America that could beat us.”