PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball struck out a season-best 16 batters but one big late inning hit again proved to be the difference in a 6-4 loss to Minnesota on Saturday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Sun Devils (7-4) led 4-0 through five innings but a solo shot in the sixth and an eighth inning grand slam for the Gophers (4-4) would give Minnesota its first lead of the game before adding an insurance run in the ninth.
Jack Martinez had arguably the best game of his senior career, striking out a career-high 11 batters in 5.2 innings of work, allowing just one run and scattering four hits with just one walk.
On the offensive side, Isaiah Jackson came up a triple short of the cycle while Matt King had his second consecutive game with two doubles.
The Sun Devil bats again struggled with situational hitting, going just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position after a 3-for-16 outing last night.
The Sun Devils will try to salvage the final game in the series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. AZT first pitch.
TURNING POINT
ASU was largely in control through five innings, jumping to a 4-0 lead while Martinez continued to shove on the mound. The senior gave up his lone run on a solo shot in the sixth inning to get Minnesota on the board and cut the lead to 4-1. The Sun Devils looked to be in a good spot to respond in the bottom of the frame with Isaiah Jackson reaching on a one-out single before King laced a ball right down the first base line for what surely looked like extra bases if not for the fact it went right into the glove of the Minnesota first baseman, who easily doubled up Jackson at first and kept things at a three-run lead.
BIG MOMENT
With ASU still holding on to a 4-1 lead, Minnesota loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth inning. Pinch hitter Jake Perry had the magic hit for the Gophers tonight, as he took advantage of a ball up in the zone for his first hit of the season over the wall in right field for the go-ahead grand slam.
FINAL STRAW
The heart of the ASU order went down quietly in order in the bottom of the eighth, as did the first two batters in the ninth after Minnesota tacked on an insurance run in the top of the frame. King recorded his second double of the game to keep the Sun Devils alive but Manny's Garza's line drive to the outfield went directly to the right fielder to end the game and seal the series for the Gophers.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jack Martinez started off the game firing, and after a rocky first inning, settled in for the strongest outing he has had as a Sun Devil. The senior pitched through traffic in multiple innings while also collecting five scoreless innings and three 3-up, 3-down innings. He now boasts a 4.76 ERA and a team high 25 strikeouts through three starts.
NOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening statement
"These guys will bounce back. They'll be just fine. Two tough ones. I take responsibility on this one tonight. I put a freshman in a really tough spot there with (Eli) Buxton in the 8th. I got a lot of confidence in that kid. He's got really, really good stuff. Looking back, I'll take the heat for that one, putting him in a really, really tough situation. Not saying he can't get that done, that's why I brought him in there, I thought he could. But that's a tough, tough situation to bring a freshman into, but I have a lot of confidence in that kid."
On Jack Martinez's performance
"He was outstanding. 11 punch outs and 5.2 (innings). The only negative thing is that the pitch count got high pretty quick. He threw the heck out of the ball. Very pleased with how he threw."
On keeping emotions in check just three weeks into the season
"Of course these last two games sting. They sting a lot. Expect to win those games and we had every opportunity to come away with wins and you don't, so what can you do about it? We're disappointed, obviously, we're frustrated with it. But we can't let that affect what we have going in here. I believe in these guys, they're a good group. They resist. They keep bouncing back, they keep fighting, you're not gonna see these guys cash their chips in, especially in week three."
Pitcher Jack Martinez
On what was working for him
"I felt like all my stuff was working. Was able to get ahead a lot of the times, and on my out pitches, I had more than one today. Change-up was working late, slider was working late, then I mixed it up and kind of went fast while heavy at certain times, just to keep them from getting a consistent approach. So I felt fairly confident with a lot of my stuff today."
On adjustments made after the first inning
"I think just getting ahead. Hitting is super hard. We give hitters a lot of credit, sometimes too much credit, and so getting in the zone early and getting to two strikes fast, pitchers win almost all the time. And so that's kind of the mentality I had. And as you get more comfortable, you can kind of start going out of the zone. Once people understand that, you can go in."
Outfielder Isaiah Jackson
On changing his approach at the plate
"I think it was the approach to being more aggressive. I was just trying to find something in my swing. I've been seeing the ball really well, but the result wasn't there. And then we had a meeting before the game today as a whole offense, as a collective, and we were kind of just talking about how we just need to be back, being fully ready for the fastest pitcher they've got, and just being able to adjust off of that. And I think that just clicked something in my head that got me back to my approach that I was doing earlier in the year, in the early spring and fall. Just kind of getting the ball middle away, getting on the heater, and I was able to see the ball really well, spinning off of good pitcher's pitches, and then getting my pitch and grabbing it."
On his home run at-bat
"I was just seeing the ball really well that at-bat. I stuck with my approach throughout the whole AB. I knew that he didn't have anything to beat me with, so I was staying disciplined. Hitting the ball over shortstop was my physical cue, and the pitcher left the ball a little low and in so I was able to turn on it."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Starting pitcher Jack Martinez got things started for the Sun Devils, striking out the first batter he faced. He then got into a bit of trouble, giving up a walk and a single. A double steal moved the runners into scoring position, but a strikeout and a diving catch from shortstop Matt King finished off a scoreless first for Martinez.
The Sun Devils failed to get any momentum started in the bottom of the first, with Nu'u Contrades, Kien Vu, and Brandon Compton going down in order.
Second Inning
Martinez returned for his second inning, sending the Gophers down in order with a pair of strikeouts while doing so to keep it scoreless.
Jacob Tobias got the inning going and connected on a loud swing of the bat which resulted in a solo home run off the scoreboard to put ASU on the board, 1-0. Isaiah Jackson later smoked a double and was then brought home as Matt King put one right through the third baseman's wickets to make it 2-0 Sun Devils. The big inning rolled on with Jax Ryan sending a ground rule double to left field to push the lead to three. The three spot put the Sun Devils up by exactly that as the second closed.
Third Inning
Martinez pitched another quick scoreless inning, retiring the side on a groundout and two strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the inning, Arizona State struggled to get anything going, as a groundout, strikeout, and flyout ended sent the Sun Devils back to the dugout.
Fourth Inning
Martinez saw his first deal of adversity, giving up back-to-back singles with just one out. He then battled his way out of the jam, striking out the next two Gopher batters to evade the threat and keep Minnesota's score at zero.
Isaiah Jackson absolutely unloaded on his second at-bat of the night, crushing a no doubt shot to center field to extend the lead to four. Matt King nearly missed connecting on back-to-back homers, but deposited one over the left fielder's head for a ground rule double. The inning then came to a halt with the Sun Devils taking a 4-0 lead.
Fifth Inning
Martinez continued his dominant performance, striking out the first batter he faced to set a new career high in strikeouts. He got the next two batters to ground out and line out to finish off a scoreless fifth.
Contrades started things off with a right field, but was picked off first base for the first out. Vu doubled, bit a strikeout and a pop up left him stranded as the Devils went down scoreless, still holding on to a 4-0 lead.
Sixth Inning
Martinez's name was called once more to begin the sixth. After a quick groundout, Martinez gave up a solo shot for Minnesota's first run of the night. His night would conclude in very fitting fashion, recording his career high 11th strikeout to put a lid on his stellar outing. Lefty Cole Carlon was the first man out of the pen for the Sun Devils and retired the lone batter he faced to close the top half with his team ahead 4-1.
Isaiah Jackson collected his third hit of the evening, but was doubled off as he was frozen between first and second. Matt King hit a seed right to the first baseman, who was practically standing on the bag to retire two and end the inning.
Seventh Inning
Carlon returned to the mound for the top of the seventh, hitting the first batter he saw before striking out the next. A fielder's choice with a lengthy review process followed, and Carlon was able to finish out the scoreless inning with a ground ball to shortstop.
The Devils struggled to get anything going on the basepaths in the bottom of the inning, going down in order.
Eighth Inning
The eighth inning was not a friendly one for the Sun Devils. A leadoff knock and a walk chased Carlon out, giving way to Eli Buxton. Buxton then gave up a walk of his own to load the bases, where Minnesota took advantage and hit a grand slam to make it 5-4. The Gophers then reached second on a double, but Buxton was able to escape the threat and leave the inning with no further damage.
The Sun Devils went down in order to end the eighth, now trailing by a run.
Ninth Inning
Will Koger came out of the bullpen for the Sun Devils holding on to a one-run lead. After getting two quick outs, Koger ran into some trouble, as a single and a double allowed Minnesota to add another run to their lead. A strikeout followed to end the top of the inning.
Landon Hairston led off for the Devils, pinch hitting for Cromwick. He went down swinging for the first out, and Jackson followed with a ground out to second. With ASU down to its final out, Matt King stepped up to the plate and delivered a double off the left field wall to extend the inning. Manny Garza then lined out to right field to end the game.
The Sun Devils (7-4) led 4-0 through five innings but a solo shot in the sixth and an eighth inning grand slam for the Gophers (4-4) would give Minnesota its first lead of the game before adding an insurance run in the ninth.
Jack Martinez had arguably the best game of his senior career, striking out a career-high 11 batters in 5.2 innings of work, allowing just one run and scattering four hits with just one walk.
On the offensive side, Isaiah Jackson came up a triple short of the cycle while Matt King had his second consecutive game with two doubles.
The Sun Devil bats again struggled with situational hitting, going just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position after a 3-for-16 outing last night.
The Sun Devils will try to salvage the final game in the series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. AZT first pitch.
TURNING POINT
ASU was largely in control through five innings, jumping to a 4-0 lead while Martinez continued to shove on the mound. The senior gave up his lone run on a solo shot in the sixth inning to get Minnesota on the board and cut the lead to 4-1. The Sun Devils looked to be in a good spot to respond in the bottom of the frame with Isaiah Jackson reaching on a one-out single before King laced a ball right down the first base line for what surely looked like extra bases if not for the fact it went right into the glove of the Minnesota first baseman, who easily doubled up Jackson at first and kept things at a three-run lead.
BIG MOMENT
With ASU still holding on to a 4-1 lead, Minnesota loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth inning. Pinch hitter Jake Perry had the magic hit for the Gophers tonight, as he took advantage of a ball up in the zone for his first hit of the season over the wall in right field for the go-ahead grand slam.
FINAL STRAW
The heart of the ASU order went down quietly in order in the bottom of the eighth, as did the first two batters in the ninth after Minnesota tacked on an insurance run in the top of the frame. King recorded his second double of the game to keep the Sun Devils alive but Manny's Garza's line drive to the outfield went directly to the right fielder to end the game and seal the series for the Gophers.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jack Martinez started off the game firing, and after a rocky first inning, settled in for the strongest outing he has had as a Sun Devil. The senior pitched through traffic in multiple innings while also collecting five scoreless innings and three 3-up, 3-down innings. He now boasts a 4.76 ERA and a team high 25 strikeouts through three starts.
NOTABLES
- After giving up 7 first inning runs over the first five games of the season, the Sun Devils have flipped that trend and now have posted six consecutive games without allowing a first inning run. Two of which, including tonight, came in games started by Jack Martinez.
- Martinez set his career high in strikeouts tonight with 11. His previous career high came in his time at Trinity, posting nine in the 2023 season.
- The Sun Devils had a season-high 16 strikeouts in the game - the 7th time in 11 games with double digit strikeouts this year.
- Nu'u Contrades has reached base safely in all eleven games this season.
- Big innings have been the theme of ASU's season as the team has now scored in 38 halves of an inning on the year and have plated two or more runs in 25 of those
- Isaiah Jackson recorded his first three hit game of the season. It is the fourth time in his career logging a three-plus hit game, his last coming against USC on April 26, 2024 against USC where he recorded four hits. (W, 12-1).
- Matt King logged two doubles tonight, the fourth time in his career doing so between his time at ASU and UTSA.
- The Sun Devils had a season-best five doubles in the contest, the eighth game of 11 with multiple doubles in a game.
- ASU has lost two games in a row for the first time this season. The last time the Sun Devils had a losing streak of 2+ regular season games was last April, when they lost five in a row.
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening statement
"These guys will bounce back. They'll be just fine. Two tough ones. I take responsibility on this one tonight. I put a freshman in a really tough spot there with (Eli) Buxton in the 8th. I got a lot of confidence in that kid. He's got really, really good stuff. Looking back, I'll take the heat for that one, putting him in a really, really tough situation. Not saying he can't get that done, that's why I brought him in there, I thought he could. But that's a tough, tough situation to bring a freshman into, but I have a lot of confidence in that kid."
On Jack Martinez's performance
"He was outstanding. 11 punch outs and 5.2 (innings). The only negative thing is that the pitch count got high pretty quick. He threw the heck out of the ball. Very pleased with how he threw."
On keeping emotions in check just three weeks into the season
"Of course these last two games sting. They sting a lot. Expect to win those games and we had every opportunity to come away with wins and you don't, so what can you do about it? We're disappointed, obviously, we're frustrated with it. But we can't let that affect what we have going in here. I believe in these guys, they're a good group. They resist. They keep bouncing back, they keep fighting, you're not gonna see these guys cash their chips in, especially in week three."
Pitcher Jack Martinez
On what was working for him
"I felt like all my stuff was working. Was able to get ahead a lot of the times, and on my out pitches, I had more than one today. Change-up was working late, slider was working late, then I mixed it up and kind of went fast while heavy at certain times, just to keep them from getting a consistent approach. So I felt fairly confident with a lot of my stuff today."
On adjustments made after the first inning
"I think just getting ahead. Hitting is super hard. We give hitters a lot of credit, sometimes too much credit, and so getting in the zone early and getting to two strikes fast, pitchers win almost all the time. And so that's kind of the mentality I had. And as you get more comfortable, you can kind of start going out of the zone. Once people understand that, you can go in."
Outfielder Isaiah Jackson
On changing his approach at the plate
"I think it was the approach to being more aggressive. I was just trying to find something in my swing. I've been seeing the ball really well, but the result wasn't there. And then we had a meeting before the game today as a whole offense, as a collective, and we were kind of just talking about how we just need to be back, being fully ready for the fastest pitcher they've got, and just being able to adjust off of that. And I think that just clicked something in my head that got me back to my approach that I was doing earlier in the year, in the early spring and fall. Just kind of getting the ball middle away, getting on the heater, and I was able to see the ball really well, spinning off of good pitcher's pitches, and then getting my pitch and grabbing it."
On his home run at-bat
"I was just seeing the ball really well that at-bat. I stuck with my approach throughout the whole AB. I knew that he didn't have anything to beat me with, so I was staying disciplined. Hitting the ball over shortstop was my physical cue, and the pitcher left the ball a little low and in so I was able to turn on it."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Starting pitcher Jack Martinez got things started for the Sun Devils, striking out the first batter he faced. He then got into a bit of trouble, giving up a walk and a single. A double steal moved the runners into scoring position, but a strikeout and a diving catch from shortstop Matt King finished off a scoreless first for Martinez.
The Sun Devils failed to get any momentum started in the bottom of the first, with Nu'u Contrades, Kien Vu, and Brandon Compton going down in order.
Second Inning
Martinez returned for his second inning, sending the Gophers down in order with a pair of strikeouts while doing so to keep it scoreless.
Jacob Tobias got the inning going and connected on a loud swing of the bat which resulted in a solo home run off the scoreboard to put ASU on the board, 1-0. Isaiah Jackson later smoked a double and was then brought home as Matt King put one right through the third baseman's wickets to make it 2-0 Sun Devils. The big inning rolled on with Jax Ryan sending a ground rule double to left field to push the lead to three. The three spot put the Sun Devils up by exactly that as the second closed.
Third Inning
Martinez pitched another quick scoreless inning, retiring the side on a groundout and two strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the inning, Arizona State struggled to get anything going, as a groundout, strikeout, and flyout ended sent the Sun Devils back to the dugout.
Fourth Inning
Martinez saw his first deal of adversity, giving up back-to-back singles with just one out. He then battled his way out of the jam, striking out the next two Gopher batters to evade the threat and keep Minnesota's score at zero.
Isaiah Jackson absolutely unloaded on his second at-bat of the night, crushing a no doubt shot to center field to extend the lead to four. Matt King nearly missed connecting on back-to-back homers, but deposited one over the left fielder's head for a ground rule double. The inning then came to a halt with the Sun Devils taking a 4-0 lead.
Fifth Inning
Martinez continued his dominant performance, striking out the first batter he faced to set a new career high in strikeouts. He got the next two batters to ground out and line out to finish off a scoreless fifth.
Contrades started things off with a right field, but was picked off first base for the first out. Vu doubled, bit a strikeout and a pop up left him stranded as the Devils went down scoreless, still holding on to a 4-0 lead.
Sixth Inning
Martinez's name was called once more to begin the sixth. After a quick groundout, Martinez gave up a solo shot for Minnesota's first run of the night. His night would conclude in very fitting fashion, recording his career high 11th strikeout to put a lid on his stellar outing. Lefty Cole Carlon was the first man out of the pen for the Sun Devils and retired the lone batter he faced to close the top half with his team ahead 4-1.
Isaiah Jackson collected his third hit of the evening, but was doubled off as he was frozen between first and second. Matt King hit a seed right to the first baseman, who was practically standing on the bag to retire two and end the inning.
Seventh Inning
Carlon returned to the mound for the top of the seventh, hitting the first batter he saw before striking out the next. A fielder's choice with a lengthy review process followed, and Carlon was able to finish out the scoreless inning with a ground ball to shortstop.
The Devils struggled to get anything going on the basepaths in the bottom of the inning, going down in order.
Eighth Inning
The eighth inning was not a friendly one for the Sun Devils. A leadoff knock and a walk chased Carlon out, giving way to Eli Buxton. Buxton then gave up a walk of his own to load the bases, where Minnesota took advantage and hit a grand slam to make it 5-4. The Gophers then reached second on a double, but Buxton was able to escape the threat and leave the inning with no further damage.
The Sun Devils went down in order to end the eighth, now trailing by a run.
Ninth Inning
Will Koger came out of the bullpen for the Sun Devils holding on to a one-run lead. After getting two quick outs, Koger ran into some trouble, as a single and a double allowed Minnesota to add another run to their lead. A strikeout followed to end the top of the inning.
Landon Hairston led off for the Devils, pinch hitting for Cromwick. He went down swinging for the first out, and Jackson followed with a ground out to second. With ASU down to its final out, Matt King stepped up to the plate and delivered a double off the left field wall to extend the inning. Manny Garza then lined out to right field to end the game.