PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball fell victim to the long ball and its own untimely hitting in a 6-3 midweek loss to longtime rival USC on Tuesday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
In front of the third-largest midweek crowd in Muni history (4,562), ASU (14-7) recorded nine hits but had just three runs to show for it while stranding seven batters. On the flip side, USC (12-8) recorded three home runs to ASU's zero, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Six of ASU's nine hits came from the bottom four batters in the lineup, with Jax Ryan and Brody Briggs each recording two out of the eight and nine holes. Kyle Walker also had a two-hit day while hitting the ball hard all night and just running into some tough luck.
Cole Carlon and Lucas Kelly tossed 2.2 scoreless innings on the backend of the staff night to keep ASU within striking distance in the late innings. Five of USC's six runs came off the long ball with the sixth coming off a triple off the top of the wall in left center.
The Sun Devils will host their first home series as a member of the Big 12 Conference this weekend, welcoming the Kansas Jayhawks for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. AZT at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
TURNING POINT
The fifth inning saw Brody Briggs and Kyle Walker team up for a pair of back-to-back singles to set the table for a potential come from behind effort after going down 4-2. The Sun Devils couldn't capitalize on the massive opportunity as Brandon Compton flew out and Nu'u Contrades rolled into a momentum killing double play to end the threat.
BIG MOMENT
With USC clinging to a 4-2 lead in the seventh, Dean Carpentier sent one out to straight away center for a home run. The two-run shot increased the Trojan advantage to 6-2, a deficit the Sun Devils were not able to overcome.
FINAL STRAW
Jax Ryan and Brody Briggs gave it their best to spark a rally in the ninth as they both reached with two-outs to give the Sun Devils a pulse. Kyle Walker then smoked a grounder right to third for a 5-3 putout to end the contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jax Ryan provided a bottom of the order spark, tallying a 2-3 performance at the dish while reaching base three times out of the eight-hole.
NOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
"Disappointing, I thought we did enough to stay in the game on the pitching front, just the offensive performance was very lackluster and not not intense the way we want it to be. Some guys swinging the bats okay, but there was way too much inconsistency to put any type of rallies together. I was expecting a lot better."
On the bottom of the lineup's production
"They're doing everything they're supposed to do. They're setting the table for the top. We just got to cash in. You know, we're getting guys on base and big boys coming up, and we're just not cashing in when we have to, and that's discouraging. We're not coming up with that big hit when we need to as frequently as we'd like. But guys down at the bottom of the order have been doing a great job. And really, this lineup is interchangeable. You can really hit anybody, really anywhere. So I say the bottom of the lineup loosely, because there's a reason why they're down there to continue passing the torch to the top of the lineup. When those guys get rolling, this thing should click. But we're not getting it done with those guys on base."
On the overall team performance
"I thought it could have been better tonight. We had a great crowd. We had 4500 tonight on a midweek Tuesday game. These guys know what playing USC is supposed to mean. I was expecting a little bit better tonight from our guys, to be perfectly honest. And it falls upon my shoulders. I wear this one, but nobody wants to beat USC as bad as I do, and I was hoping to see a little bit more of that passion tonight. So I let him know I was a little disappointed on it, but now we gotta turn the page and get ready for a tough Kansas team this weekend."
Shortstop Jax Ryan
On team's defensive performance
"I feel like it's a big confidence booster for our pitchers to know that they don't have to go out there and strike everybody out. They got dudes behind us that can play and we're deep in terms of depth. We got guys that can come off the bench and play great defense. I think it's a big confidence booster for our pitchers."
On Coach Bloomquist's message to the team
"We have to be better than that. We have to have more intensity. We can't let teams come in here and play better than us, this is our backyard. We got to show a little bit of fire and show that we want to win every game we play."
Second Baseman Kyle Walker
On how the team can respond
"I think we have to take this loss on the chin. We were a little flat today, but I think that's going to change. We're going to come out this weekend with guns blazing, ready to get after it. Kansas is a really good team, so we're going to come out and give them our best every day."
On staying confident despite the loss
"I think baseball is a game of failure, and you just have to keep your head up. It's a new day every day and that's the cool thing about baseball. You get to play the next day with a chance to be better and it's an opportunity to get back on our feet and we're going to be alright.
Catcher Brody Briggs
On throwing out multiple runners
"That's what I bring to the table, and I don't think I've done that as well as I can. But I'm glad I got to showcase that today. That's how I can help the team, I can be a rock back there and make big-time plays behind the plate when we need it."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Wyatt Halvorson got the nod for the Sun Devils, making his first start of the season, and fourth appearance overall. After walking the first two batters he faced, Halvorson induced a 5-4-3 double play followed by a strikeout to end the scoreless first.
The Sun Devils went down in order in the bottom of the first, with Kyle Walker lining out on a hard-driven ball to first, Brandon Compton striking out, and Nu'u Contrades grounding out to end the inning.
Second Inning
USC struck first, as a two-out triple gave the Trojans an early 1-0 lead. Halvorson responded with a strikeout to close the top half.
Jacob Tobias led off with a double and was later driven home on another double from Isaiah Jackson. Landon Hairston kept things rolling with an RBI single to give ASU the 2-1 lead. Jax Ryan notched the fourth straight hit for the Devils but the inning concluded shortly after.
Third Inning
Halvorson's start came to an end after two innings of work. Josh Butler took over pitching duties and struggled to start. The Trojans tied the game with a solo home run to make the score 2-2. Butler was able to bounce back by retiring the next two batters.
Despite Contrades reaching base on a hit-by-pitch, ASU could not respond to USC's solo home run in the top of the inning. Jacob Tobias and Matt King flew out to end the inning.
Fourth Inning
Butler remained on the mound for his second inning of work, facing the minimum. He struck out the first batter he faced, before giving up a one-out single. The runner was caught stealing for the second out, and a fly-out closed out the scoreless frame.
ASU couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the fourth, as three consecutive flyouts ended the inning and kept the score tied at 2.
Fifth Inning
In his third inning of work, Butler started the inning with a groundout that was then followed by a single up the middle. USC took advantage with a runner at first with a two-run shot to right field, giving the Trojans a 4-2 lead. Butler was then replaced by Will Koger who finished the top of the inning with a fly-out followed by a strikeout.
Brody Briggs led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and Walker followed up with a single of his own. However, ASU was unable to capitalize on a chance to score. Compton flew out, and Contrades grounded into a double play, keeping the score at 4-2 USC.
Sixth Inning
Koger continued pitching for the Devils, retiring the side on 10 pitches and bookending the inning with strikeouts.
ASU again struggled to get any momentum going, posting another scoreless inning. With two quick outs, Jackson reached on a throwing error but was caught stealing to end the frame.
Seventh Inning
USC tacked on a pair of runs by way of the longball to extend its lead to 6-2. Koger would retire his next batter and that would be it for his evening as Cole Carlon was called upon in relief. Carlon struck out the final two batters in just seven pitches to wrap up the top half.
Ryan provided a much-needed spark after a one-out double to get something going. He would come around to score on a Kyle Walker RBI single to make it 6-3. That's all the Devils could put together as the inning came to an end shortly after.
Eighth Inning
Carlon was able to work a 1-2-3 inning, retiring three straight batters to give ASU a chance to close the gap on USC's 6-3 lead.
ASU couldn't get any offensive momentum going, with Contrades popping up to left field, Tobias striking out, and King lining out to end the inning with USC holding on to a 6-3 lead going into the ninth inning.
Ninth Inning
Lucas Kelly was called on to pitch the ninth for the Devils, pitching a 3-up, 3-down inning to keep the deficit at three.
After two quick outs from Jackson and Hairston, Ryan got aboard on a hit-by-pitch. Down to their final out, Briggs singled up the middle, moving Ryan over to third. Walker then lined out to third to end the game.
In front of the third-largest midweek crowd in Muni history (4,562), ASU (14-7) recorded nine hits but had just three runs to show for it while stranding seven batters. On the flip side, USC (12-8) recorded three home runs to ASU's zero, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Six of ASU's nine hits came from the bottom four batters in the lineup, with Jax Ryan and Brody Briggs each recording two out of the eight and nine holes. Kyle Walker also had a two-hit day while hitting the ball hard all night and just running into some tough luck.
Cole Carlon and Lucas Kelly tossed 2.2 scoreless innings on the backend of the staff night to keep ASU within striking distance in the late innings. Five of USC's six runs came off the long ball with the sixth coming off a triple off the top of the wall in left center.
The Sun Devils will host their first home series as a member of the Big 12 Conference this weekend, welcoming the Kansas Jayhawks for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. AZT at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
TURNING POINT
The fifth inning saw Brody Briggs and Kyle Walker team up for a pair of back-to-back singles to set the table for a potential come from behind effort after going down 4-2. The Sun Devils couldn't capitalize on the massive opportunity as Brandon Compton flew out and Nu'u Contrades rolled into a momentum killing double play to end the threat.
BIG MOMENT
With USC clinging to a 4-2 lead in the seventh, Dean Carpentier sent one out to straight away center for a home run. The two-run shot increased the Trojan advantage to 6-2, a deficit the Sun Devils were not able to overcome.
FINAL STRAW
Jax Ryan and Brody Briggs gave it their best to spark a rally in the ninth as they both reached with two-outs to give the Sun Devils a pulse. Kyle Walker then smoked a grounder right to third for a 5-3 putout to end the contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jax Ryan provided a bottom of the order spark, tallying a 2-3 performance at the dish while reaching base three times out of the eight-hole.
NOTABLES
- The crowd of 4,562 was the third highest for a Sun Devil midweek game since 2015, ASU's first year at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
- Nu'u Contrades has reached base safely in all 21 games this season and has reached in 29 consecutive games dating back to his freshman season after reaching in all five games in his injury shortened sophomore campaign and the last three of 2023.
- Kyle Walker extended his team-leading hitting streak to nine-games, which marks the longest for a Sun Devil this season. He has added three straight multi-hit performances as well.
- The Sun Devils posted their 15th game this season without an error and have quietly put up a .987 fielding percentage on the year - a number that will tie for first in the country when the updated stats are released on Wednesday. ASU ranked outside the Top-100 in each of the last three seasons in the category.
- The Sun Devils had three doubles in the contest, the 15th game of 21 with multiple doubles in a game.
- Big innings have been the theme of ASU's season as the team has now scored in 71 halves of an inning on the year and have plated two or more runs in 44 of those.
- Lucas Kelly (10.0 IP) has still yet to allow a run this season. It is the first time an ASU pitcher has reached double digit innings with no runs allowed at the 21-game mark since Ryan Burr did so in 16.2 innings to start the 2015 season.
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
"Disappointing, I thought we did enough to stay in the game on the pitching front, just the offensive performance was very lackluster and not not intense the way we want it to be. Some guys swinging the bats okay, but there was way too much inconsistency to put any type of rallies together. I was expecting a lot better."
On the bottom of the lineup's production
"They're doing everything they're supposed to do. They're setting the table for the top. We just got to cash in. You know, we're getting guys on base and big boys coming up, and we're just not cashing in when we have to, and that's discouraging. We're not coming up with that big hit when we need to as frequently as we'd like. But guys down at the bottom of the order have been doing a great job. And really, this lineup is interchangeable. You can really hit anybody, really anywhere. So I say the bottom of the lineup loosely, because there's a reason why they're down there to continue passing the torch to the top of the lineup. When those guys get rolling, this thing should click. But we're not getting it done with those guys on base."
On the overall team performance
"I thought it could have been better tonight. We had a great crowd. We had 4500 tonight on a midweek Tuesday game. These guys know what playing USC is supposed to mean. I was expecting a little bit better tonight from our guys, to be perfectly honest. And it falls upon my shoulders. I wear this one, but nobody wants to beat USC as bad as I do, and I was hoping to see a little bit more of that passion tonight. So I let him know I was a little disappointed on it, but now we gotta turn the page and get ready for a tough Kansas team this weekend."
Shortstop Jax Ryan
On team's defensive performance
"I feel like it's a big confidence booster for our pitchers to know that they don't have to go out there and strike everybody out. They got dudes behind us that can play and we're deep in terms of depth. We got guys that can come off the bench and play great defense. I think it's a big confidence booster for our pitchers."
On Coach Bloomquist's message to the team
"We have to be better than that. We have to have more intensity. We can't let teams come in here and play better than us, this is our backyard. We got to show a little bit of fire and show that we want to win every game we play."
Second Baseman Kyle Walker
On how the team can respond
"I think we have to take this loss on the chin. We were a little flat today, but I think that's going to change. We're going to come out this weekend with guns blazing, ready to get after it. Kansas is a really good team, so we're going to come out and give them our best every day."
On staying confident despite the loss
"I think baseball is a game of failure, and you just have to keep your head up. It's a new day every day and that's the cool thing about baseball. You get to play the next day with a chance to be better and it's an opportunity to get back on our feet and we're going to be alright.
Catcher Brody Briggs
On throwing out multiple runners
"That's what I bring to the table, and I don't think I've done that as well as I can. But I'm glad I got to showcase that today. That's how I can help the team, I can be a rock back there and make big-time plays behind the plate when we need it."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Wyatt Halvorson got the nod for the Sun Devils, making his first start of the season, and fourth appearance overall. After walking the first two batters he faced, Halvorson induced a 5-4-3 double play followed by a strikeout to end the scoreless first.
The Sun Devils went down in order in the bottom of the first, with Kyle Walker lining out on a hard-driven ball to first, Brandon Compton striking out, and Nu'u Contrades grounding out to end the inning.
Second Inning
USC struck first, as a two-out triple gave the Trojans an early 1-0 lead. Halvorson responded with a strikeout to close the top half.
Jacob Tobias led off with a double and was later driven home on another double from Isaiah Jackson. Landon Hairston kept things rolling with an RBI single to give ASU the 2-1 lead. Jax Ryan notched the fourth straight hit for the Devils but the inning concluded shortly after.
Third Inning
Halvorson's start came to an end after two innings of work. Josh Butler took over pitching duties and struggled to start. The Trojans tied the game with a solo home run to make the score 2-2. Butler was able to bounce back by retiring the next two batters.
Despite Contrades reaching base on a hit-by-pitch, ASU could not respond to USC's solo home run in the top of the inning. Jacob Tobias and Matt King flew out to end the inning.
Fourth Inning
Butler remained on the mound for his second inning of work, facing the minimum. He struck out the first batter he faced, before giving up a one-out single. The runner was caught stealing for the second out, and a fly-out closed out the scoreless frame.
ASU couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the fourth, as three consecutive flyouts ended the inning and kept the score tied at 2.
Fifth Inning
In his third inning of work, Butler started the inning with a groundout that was then followed by a single up the middle. USC took advantage with a runner at first with a two-run shot to right field, giving the Trojans a 4-2 lead. Butler was then replaced by Will Koger who finished the top of the inning with a fly-out followed by a strikeout.
Brody Briggs led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and Walker followed up with a single of his own. However, ASU was unable to capitalize on a chance to score. Compton flew out, and Contrades grounded into a double play, keeping the score at 4-2 USC.
Sixth Inning
Koger continued pitching for the Devils, retiring the side on 10 pitches and bookending the inning with strikeouts.
ASU again struggled to get any momentum going, posting another scoreless inning. With two quick outs, Jackson reached on a throwing error but was caught stealing to end the frame.
Seventh Inning
USC tacked on a pair of runs by way of the longball to extend its lead to 6-2. Koger would retire his next batter and that would be it for his evening as Cole Carlon was called upon in relief. Carlon struck out the final two batters in just seven pitches to wrap up the top half.
Ryan provided a much-needed spark after a one-out double to get something going. He would come around to score on a Kyle Walker RBI single to make it 6-3. That's all the Devils could put together as the inning came to an end shortly after.
Eighth Inning
Carlon was able to work a 1-2-3 inning, retiring three straight batters to give ASU a chance to close the gap on USC's 6-3 lead.
ASU couldn't get any offensive momentum going, with Contrades popping up to left field, Tobias striking out, and King lining out to end the inning with USC holding on to a 6-3 lead going into the ninth inning.
Ninth Inning
Lucas Kelly was called on to pitch the ninth for the Devils, pitching a 3-up, 3-down inning to keep the deficit at three.
After two quick outs from Jackson and Hairston, Ryan got aboard on a hit-by-pitch. Down to their final out, Briggs singled up the middle, moving Ryan over to third. Walker then lined out to third to end the game.