PHOENIX - Sun Devil Baseball (1-0, 0-0) opened the 2024 season with a dominant 11-6 victory over the Santa Clara Broncos (0-1, 0-0). Led by true freshman pitcher Thomas Burns' seven strikeouts and a five-run second inning, the Sun Devils never gave the 3,101 fans at Phoenix Municipal Stadium a doubt.
In his collegiate debut, Burns threw 64 pitches over 5.0 innings, striking out seven and walking one. He allowed one hit that went yard, but that was all. His pitching was followed up by Ben Jacobs recording three strikeouts and one walk over 2.0 innings. Wyatt Halvorson and Josh Butler rounded out the lineup, moving the strikeout mark up to 13 to just two walks for Sun Devil pitchers.
The pitchers had much of the pressure lifted after the Sun Devil hitters notched eight runs over the second and third innings. They added one in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, giving plenty of room to their freshman relief as the team climbed out to an 11-1 lead. On 17 hits, the Sun Devils launched three home runs and eight doubles.
Brandon Compton and Isaiah Jackson paced the Sun Devil attack, each recording a homer and two doubles with three RBIs each as nine different ASU players notched a base hit.
TURNING POINT
Thomas Burns made it look easy on the mound in his debut. The freshman held Santa Clara to one run over five innings making it easy for the offense to support him on the other side of the ball. Burns held the Broncos to one hit with seven strikeouts and a walk.
BIG MOMENT
Leading off the second inning for the Sun Devils, Jacob Tobias homered to right field. The next two pitches saw Kevin Karstetter single to right field and Isaiah Jackson send them both home with a bomb out of right center. Steven Ondina reached second on an error, and Kien Vu sent him home with a double. Not quite done scoring, Contrades sent a sac fly to center field and Vu's run left the Sun Devils up 5-0 after the inning.
FINAL STRAW
In the top of the seventh inning, up 10-1, Ben Jacobs had to throw just 10 pitches to send all three batters back to the dugout with a strikeout.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist on the performance on both sides of the ball tonight:
"It was a lot of good things and things to work on still, of course, but I was really happy with the way Thomas (Burns) came out and set the tone and threw the ball well. For a freshman to come out and give us a good solid start like that and get through five was impressive. And then on the flip side of the ball just, said it before, but that kid is a pretty good pitcher. Cade Pilchard's pretty dang good. After the first inning, I'm like, 'Man, we're in for a dogfight. That kid's gonna be tough. It's gonna be a low-scoring game.' And we came out in the second inning and put some really good swings on a really good arm. I was extremely pleased with the offensive output and the way that they attacked the zone and were ready to hit. That was exciting. To be able to put up some fireworks off an arm like that is exciting for the offense."
NOTABLES
First Inning
Thomas Burns opened his freshman campaign with a strikeout. After Harris Williams caught a deep fly to left field, Nu'u Contrades bare-handed a grounder to shortstop and sent it to Jacob Tobias at first to send Santa Clara off 1-2-3.
Williams made contact with the first pitch, flying out to center field. Contrades grounded out to first base, and Ryan Campos saw a strike go by to end the inning.
Second Inning
Burns put away the side by adding two more strikeouts to his night and a hard hit groundout to Contrades at third.
Tobias led off the second half of the inning with a homerun to right field to put the Devils on the board and the bats followed after that. Kevin Karstetter reached on a single and Jackson followed with another home run to pad the lead. Ondina then reached on an error and Vu sent him home with a double to left center field. A sac fly off of Contrades' bat gives the Devils a five-spot.
Third Inning
Santa Clara's first batter was hit by pitch to reach first. Burns' redeemed himself with his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the night - the latter followed by Campos' throw to second for the strike 'em out, throw 'em out to end the frame.
After a fly out to short left field, Karstetter hit the back left center wall for a double. Isaiah Jackson sent him home with an ensuing double to right. After a couple fouls, Brandon Compton sent one flying over the center field fence to put the Sun Devils up, 8-3. The last two batters had a foul caught and struckout.
Fourth Inning
A leadoff homer put Santa Clara on the board, but Burns escaped further damage with a flyout, a forceout and a strikeout, leaving a single surrendered on the basepaths.
A fly out came before Contrades' double down the left field line. He was left on second after another fly and ground out.
Fifth Inning
Isaiah Jackson caught a deep fly to center field, followed up by Burns fielding a grounder for the second out. His seventh strikeout sent the Broncos back to the dugout.
Following a strikeout, Isaiah Jackson doubled to left field and scored on a double down the left field line from Brandon Compton. A fly out to left field and a groundout to first base ended the fifth with the Sun Devils leading 9-1.
Sixth Inning
After Burns put himself in position for first collegiate win in the stats, Ben Jacobs started the sixth on the mound for ASU. Both on 1-2 pitches, the first two Santa Clara batters would ground and line out to second and third, respectively. Jacobs walked the next batter, who reached second after a balk. Steven Ondina left him stranded, catching a pop fly to end the frame.
Campos hit the Sun Devils' third line drive narrowly down the third base line after a strikeout and fly out to begin the frame. Tobias joined him on base via walk. Karstetter sent one over the second baseman to bring Campos home. The next batter struck out to close the inning.
Seventh Inning
Jacobs began the seventh with a strikeout. And then another. And then another. Jacobs went 1-2-3 down the lineup on just 10 pitches, coming one borderline pitch short of the immaculate inning.
A fourth double down the left field line brought Brandon Compton to second. Ondina flied out to right field. After Compton advanced to third on a wild pitch, Kien Vu took a hit by pitch. Harris Williams brought Compton home on a single to shortstop. The Broncos got off the field on a double-play. Sun Devils lead 11-1.
Eighth Inning
Wyatt Halvorson came in to relieve Jacobs and hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next batter he faced. After a Santa Clara double down the left field line, a home run brought three scores in. The Sun Devils held the damage there after catching a foul ball and another strikeout from Halvorson.
ASU's first batter grounded out to second before Jacob Tobias reached first on an error. Ethan Mendoza singled down second base to get runners and first and second. Another double play from Santa Clara ended the inning 11-4.
Ninth Inning
Josh Butler started the ninth and hit the batter on his first pitch, but proceeded to strike out his next batter. The hit batter advanced to second on a wild pitch and a single would send him home. A throwing error and another single would give the Broncos another run, but Butler managed to close out the game with a groundout.
ON DECK:
Sun Devil Baseball is back at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 1:00 p.m. MST to face Santa Clara for game two of the three-game series.
In his collegiate debut, Burns threw 64 pitches over 5.0 innings, striking out seven and walking one. He allowed one hit that went yard, but that was all. His pitching was followed up by Ben Jacobs recording three strikeouts and one walk over 2.0 innings. Wyatt Halvorson and Josh Butler rounded out the lineup, moving the strikeout mark up to 13 to just two walks for Sun Devil pitchers.
The pitchers had much of the pressure lifted after the Sun Devil hitters notched eight runs over the second and third innings. They added one in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, giving plenty of room to their freshman relief as the team climbed out to an 11-1 lead. On 17 hits, the Sun Devils launched three home runs and eight doubles.
Brandon Compton and Isaiah Jackson paced the Sun Devil attack, each recording a homer and two doubles with three RBIs each as nine different ASU players notched a base hit.
TURNING POINT
Thomas Burns made it look easy on the mound in his debut. The freshman held Santa Clara to one run over five innings making it easy for the offense to support him on the other side of the ball. Burns held the Broncos to one hit with seven strikeouts and a walk.
BIG MOMENT
Leading off the second inning for the Sun Devils, Jacob Tobias homered to right field. The next two pitches saw Kevin Karstetter single to right field and Isaiah Jackson send them both home with a bomb out of right center. Steven Ondina reached second on an error, and Kien Vu sent him home with a double. Not quite done scoring, Contrades sent a sac fly to center field and Vu's run left the Sun Devils up 5-0 after the inning.
FINAL STRAW
In the top of the seventh inning, up 10-1, Ben Jacobs had to throw just 10 pitches to send all three batters back to the dugout with a strikeout.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist on the performance on both sides of the ball tonight:
"It was a lot of good things and things to work on still, of course, but I was really happy with the way Thomas (Burns) came out and set the tone and threw the ball well. For a freshman to come out and give us a good solid start like that and get through five was impressive. And then on the flip side of the ball just, said it before, but that kid is a pretty good pitcher. Cade Pilchard's pretty dang good. After the first inning, I'm like, 'Man, we're in for a dogfight. That kid's gonna be tough. It's gonna be a low-scoring game.' And we came out in the second inning and put some really good swings on a really good arm. I was extremely pleased with the offensive output and the way that they attacked the zone and were ready to hit. That was exciting. To be able to put up some fireworks off an arm like that is exciting for the offense."
NOTABLES
- Santa Clara starting pitcher Cade Pilchard had never given up more than six runs in a game, and only allowed seven earned runs over 26.2 innings in his last five appearances of last year. In 31 appearances and over 80 innings pitched, he had only given up more than three runs twice. He allowed six earned runs in the first three innings tonight and eight total for the game.
- Last season, Santa Clara led the WCC in team ERA, WHIP, hits allowed per nine and walks allowed per nine and held opponents to a .244 average for the season. While it was just one game, ASU gave the Broncos a 10.12 ERA while batting .436 and a 2.25 WHIP in the opener.
- The 11 runs on 17 hits were the most for ASU in a season opener since scoring 15 on 15 hits against Milwaukee on Feb. 20, 2009.
- Burns' start (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB) was the best by a true freshman in his collegiate debut since Boyd Vander Kooi threw a seven-inning complete game in his collegiate debut, allowing no earned runs and striking out five in a 11-1 victory over Miami (OH) during opening weekend in 2018.
- In five at bats tonight, Isaiah Jackson had more hits than he did in his first six games last season. Jackson recorded a home run, two doubles, and three RBIs tonight.
- It was a night of collegiate debuts for Arizona State with three true freshman pitchers seeing time on the mound in Thomas Burns, Wyatt Halvorson and Josh Butler. Jax Ryan and Ethan Mendoza made their debuts as position players - the latter recording a base hit. Redshirt freshman Brandon Compton finished 3-for-4 with a homer and two doubles with three RBIs.
- Harris Williams, Kevin Karstetter, Steven Ondina and Ben Jacobs all made their Sun Devil debuts after transferring in this season. Karstetter added three hits of his own with two runs and an RBI. Harris Williams also added a multi-hit game.
First Inning
Thomas Burns opened his freshman campaign with a strikeout. After Harris Williams caught a deep fly to left field, Nu'u Contrades bare-handed a grounder to shortstop and sent it to Jacob Tobias at first to send Santa Clara off 1-2-3.
Williams made contact with the first pitch, flying out to center field. Contrades grounded out to first base, and Ryan Campos saw a strike go by to end the inning.
Second Inning
Burns put away the side by adding two more strikeouts to his night and a hard hit groundout to Contrades at third.
Tobias led off the second half of the inning with a homerun to right field to put the Devils on the board and the bats followed after that. Kevin Karstetter reached on a single and Jackson followed with another home run to pad the lead. Ondina then reached on an error and Vu sent him home with a double to left center field. A sac fly off of Contrades' bat gives the Devils a five-spot.
Third Inning
Santa Clara's first batter was hit by pitch to reach first. Burns' redeemed himself with his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the night - the latter followed by Campos' throw to second for the strike 'em out, throw 'em out to end the frame.
After a fly out to short left field, Karstetter hit the back left center wall for a double. Isaiah Jackson sent him home with an ensuing double to right. After a couple fouls, Brandon Compton sent one flying over the center field fence to put the Sun Devils up, 8-3. The last two batters had a foul caught and struckout.
Fourth Inning
A leadoff homer put Santa Clara on the board, but Burns escaped further damage with a flyout, a forceout and a strikeout, leaving a single surrendered on the basepaths.
A fly out came before Contrades' double down the left field line. He was left on second after another fly and ground out.
Fifth Inning
Isaiah Jackson caught a deep fly to center field, followed up by Burns fielding a grounder for the second out. His seventh strikeout sent the Broncos back to the dugout.
Following a strikeout, Isaiah Jackson doubled to left field and scored on a double down the left field line from Brandon Compton. A fly out to left field and a groundout to first base ended the fifth with the Sun Devils leading 9-1.
Sixth Inning
After Burns put himself in position for first collegiate win in the stats, Ben Jacobs started the sixth on the mound for ASU. Both on 1-2 pitches, the first two Santa Clara batters would ground and line out to second and third, respectively. Jacobs walked the next batter, who reached second after a balk. Steven Ondina left him stranded, catching a pop fly to end the frame.
Campos hit the Sun Devils' third line drive narrowly down the third base line after a strikeout and fly out to begin the frame. Tobias joined him on base via walk. Karstetter sent one over the second baseman to bring Campos home. The next batter struck out to close the inning.
Seventh Inning
Jacobs began the seventh with a strikeout. And then another. And then another. Jacobs went 1-2-3 down the lineup on just 10 pitches, coming one borderline pitch short of the immaculate inning.
A fourth double down the left field line brought Brandon Compton to second. Ondina flied out to right field. After Compton advanced to third on a wild pitch, Kien Vu took a hit by pitch. Harris Williams brought Compton home on a single to shortstop. The Broncos got off the field on a double-play. Sun Devils lead 11-1.
Eighth Inning
Wyatt Halvorson came in to relieve Jacobs and hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next batter he faced. After a Santa Clara double down the left field line, a home run brought three scores in. The Sun Devils held the damage there after catching a foul ball and another strikeout from Halvorson.
ASU's first batter grounded out to second before Jacob Tobias reached first on an error. Ethan Mendoza singled down second base to get runners and first and second. Another double play from Santa Clara ended the inning 11-4.
Ninth Inning
Josh Butler started the ninth and hit the batter on his first pitch, but proceeded to strike out his next batter. The hit batter advanced to second on a wild pitch and a single would send him home. A throwing error and another single would give the Broncos another run, but Butler managed to close out the game with a groundout.
ON DECK:
Sun Devil Baseball is back at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 1:00 p.m. MST to face Santa Clara for game two of the three-game series.