On Deck: Pivotal Territorial Cup Series Awaits Baseball in Tucson

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TUCSON — Sun Devil Baseball heads down south to take on rival Arizona this weekend in Tucson, with the stakes even higher with one month left in the regular season and much to be determined in the Pac-12 rankings based on how this series goes for both teams. The series is scheduled to begin Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m. AZT, followed by a 5 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and concluding Sunday at 12 p.m. The Pac-12 Network will carry the entire weekend series on at least one of its affiliates.

FAN INFO

  • Due to ongoing construction in and around the neighborhood surrounding Phoenix Municipal Stadium, traffic lanes and parking lot entries are expected to be affected throughout the 2022 campaign. Fans are encouraged to arrive to the stadium early in order to account for or avoid delays that might arise getting into the parking lot.
  • Fans are encouraged to utilize this link and the attached PDFs to print out any roster sheets or stats they wish to bring with them to the games. As part of ASU’s sustainability initiatives, roster sheets are no longer provided to the fans. 
  • Tuesday evening, Sun Devil Baseball will host its annual Green Game, celebrating ASU’s zero waste and sustainability practices with a green themed day and concession items. 

FOLLOW THE ACTION

  • Friday’s opener will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Arizona while Saturday and Sunday’s game will get the bump and be featured on the Pac-12 National broadcast. Daron Sutton will be on the call all weekend, joined by Andy Lopez on Sunday.
  • Additionally, the series will be broadcast over the airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM all weekend with the Voice of the Sun Devils Tim Healey alongside analyst Max Rossiter. 
  • Fans are encouraged to follow along pre-game and in-game content and updates throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account: @ASU_Baseball, especially for key weather updates and time changes.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1. The Sun Devil defense has turned 35 double plays so far this season, a total good for 7th in the nation. 

2.  Ryan Campos is now batting .385 in Pac-12 games this season, nearly 30 points more than any of his teammates and 4th in the league

3. The Sun Devils are 7th in the nation with 92 doubles this season and have multiple doubles in six straight and 24 of 37 games.

4. ASU has double-digit hits in each of the last 7 games, 13 of its last 14 games and 22 times in 38 total games. 

5. Joe Lampe already has 28 extra-base hits this season, which surpasses his grand total of 20 last year and second in the Pac-12.

6. ASU has had at least one runner on base on 14 of last 18 homers. It had a runner(s) on just 8 of the team’s first 27 homers this year.

7. On March 20 (21 games in), ASU was 186th in the nation in scoring (5.5 runs per game). One month and 17 games later, ASU is 89th (7.0 rpg)

8. In the last 10 games, ASU true freshmen have bat 45-for-124 (.363) with 38 of the teams 89 RBIs.

9. Despite missing two games, Sean McLain has recorded a Pac-12 leading 118 defensive assists this season.

10. ASU has gotten 11 quality starts out of its pitchers this season, notable as it had only 9 in the entirety of last season.

BY THE NUMBERS

38 – In Arizona State’s last six games, true freshmen have bat 45-for-124 (.363) with 38 of the teams 89 RBIs. Ryan Campos is the team’s best hitter in Pac-12 games, coming in at .385 in league games, nearly 30 points higher than any of his teammates and tied for fourth in the league. Campos has the second best average on the team with runners in scoring position at 13-for-35 (.371) and a perfect 6-for-6 bringing a runner home from third with less than two outs. Jacob Tobias is the team leader in RBIs in Pac-12 games with 13 this season. 

28 – Joe Lampe has 28 extra-base hits (16 doubles, 3 triples, 9 homers) in 38 games this season, already passing his total for the entirety of 2022 (20). Those 28 extra-base hits are three more than any player in the Pac-12. Lampe is 2nd in the league in doubles (16), 3rd in stolen bases (12), 4th in hits (53), 5th in triples (4), 5th in homers (9), 5th in runs (42), 7th in slugging (.626). He and Oregon State’s Jacob Melton are the only Pac-12 players to rank in the Top-10 in each of those seven categories. No other player has more than four.

13 – The Sun Devils have recorded double-digit hits in 13 of the last 14 games and in seven straight games overall. The squad is currently 20th in the country with 392 hits as of April 20. On March 20, the team was 72nd in the nation in total hits. More impressively, ASU was 129th in the nation on March 20 in runs scored and 186th in scoring (5.5). A month later, ASU is 48th in the country in total runs (266) and 89th in scoring (7.0). Since being shut out by Stanford on April 8, ASU is averaging 10.6 runs per game over its last seven games.

2 – Deuces have wild for the Sun Devils this season with ASU excelling in two categories on the year: doubles by the offense and double plays turned by the defense. ASU has turned 35 double plays on the year – good for 7th among all Division 1 programs. Additionally, ASU has 92 doubles on offense so far this year – also good for 7th in Division 1 baseball. ASU has doubled as least once in all but five games this season and has multiple doubles in 24 of 38 games. 

On the Wildcats

  • In the modern era of Sun Devil Baseball (since it became an NCAA sport in 1959), ASU owns a dominant 206-136 record against the Wildcats. ASU went 23-116 against the Wildcats prior to that dating back to 1907, skewing the overall series record all-time. 
  • ASU rallied from a three-run deficit a couple weeks ago to knock of then-No. 11 Arizona in a non-conference midweek tilt at Muni, 10-6.
  • Arizona has scored at least one run in 210 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history. They are 22 games away from tying the longest known streak in school history.
  • Outfielder Mac Bingham has reached base safely in 25 consecutive games, the longest active streak on the team and the longest streak of his career. Infielder Nik McClaughry (18 games) and O’Tremba (14 games) also sport extended on-base streaks.
  • Catcher Daniel Susac currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks second nationally with 65 hits. Susac also leads the Pac-12 batting title race with a .382 AVG. Outfielder Tanner O’Tremba is tied for second in the conference with 54 hits.

Big Sean

  • Sean McLain is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week after batting .688 and leading the team in runs and RBIs as the Sun Devils went 4-0 last week with a series sweep over USC.
  • McLain became a staple in the Sun Devil infield and batting order last season en route to being named a freshman All-American, Pac-12 All-Conference selection and ABCA All-West Region pick. McLain enters the season as the No. 33 overall collegiate prospect in the 2022 class, according to Baseball America. 
  • McLain has the longest reached-base streak of the Sun Devils this season at 22.
  • His big week against Santa Clara and USC has him batting .326 on the season now, second on the roster.
  • He is tied for the team lead with 42 runs scored this season – fifth in the Pac 12 – and also tied for the team lead in RBIs with 29. 
  • McLain has drawn 19 walks and a team-high 13 HBP – second-most in the Pac-12 and 26th nationally – giving him a .443 OBP (11th in Pac-12) over his .304 average and tops on the team.
  • The sophomore has been one of ASU’s best hitters with two outs with a .372 average on 16-of-43 hitting and is second on the squad with 14 two-out RBIs – nearly half of his team-leading 29. 
  • He has also been really ASU’s only reliable option with a runner on third with less than two outs, recording an RBI 12-out-of-13 times – three more than any other player with at least 8 opportunities to record an RBI on all but one of his chances. 
  • McLain has been a part of 25 of ASU’s 35 double plays this season – sixth in the Pac-12.
  • He leads the Pac-12 with 118 defensive assists despite missing two games this season.
  • McLain recorded a 23-game hitting streak as a freshman last season – tied for the third-longest at ASU since 1998 with Andre Ethier’s 2003 23-game hitting streak
  • McLain was a Collegiate Baseball News freshman All-American, an ABCA All-West Region first team selection at second base and an honorable All-Pac-12 pick.
  • He was second on the team with a .322 average on the year, just outside ASU’s all-time freshman top-10 in the category. McLain led the team in multi-hit games last year with 23. His 10 multi-RBI games were second on the team. McLain had 17 doubles in the regular season, good for sixth in the Pac-12 and finished with 18 on the year – tied for third in ASU freshman history.
  • He turned 48 double plays last season, two more than any other player in the league even including those with runs to the College World Series and 13 more than any other second baseman.

I Love Lamp

  • Joe Lampe has been a spark plug for the Sun Devils since he stepped foot on campus last year and that has continued this season.
  • Lampe is batting .325 this season and leads the way with 42 runs – tied for 5th in the Pac-12
  • Lampe also leads the team with 29 RBIs on the year
  • He is slugging .626 on the year – just under 100 points higher than any of his teammates and 6th in the Pac-12. His 16 doubles are tied for second in the Pac-12 and 13th in the nation.
  • His power numbers are especially notable as he has 28 extra-base hits this season (16 doubles, 3 triples, 9 homers) – three more than any other player in the Pac-12. It’s especially notable as he had 20 for the entirety of the 2021 campaign and he has already more than doubled his home run output from last year (13 doubles, 4 triples, 3 homers).
  • His 12 stolen bases have already surpassed his tally from last year and are tied for third in the Pac-12. 
  • To recap, Lampe is 2nd in the league in doubles (16), 3rd in stolen bases (12), 4th in hits (53), 5th in triples (4), 5th in homers (9), 5th in runs (42), 7th in slugging (.626). He and Oregon State’s Jacob Melton are the only Pac-12 players to rank in the Top-10 in each of those categories. No other player has more than four.
  • He has just one error on 97 defensive chances, recording 93 putouts and three assists. He is one of just 11 players in the Pac-12 with over 90 chances with one or fewer errors.
  • His 97 putouts/assists are third among Pac-12 center fielders (Arizona’s Mac Bingham 108,  USC’s Rhylan Thomas 97). He was the last of the Pac-12 centerfielders to not commit an error, with his first coming in the 37th game of the season, and that remains tied for the fewest among centerfielders in the league. 
  • The redshirt sophomore showed off his toughness against #4 Oklahoma State, dislocating his shoulder in the first inning while attempting to steal a base. He popped it back in in the clubhouse, returned to the game and later recorded a single, stolen base and run scored. 
  • Last season, Lampe was one of three Sun Devils selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team last after not posting an error in center field in conference games all year. He finished the season with just one error and a .993 fielding percentage and was also named a ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Finalist as an outfielder. In the opener against USC, Lampe recorded nine putouts – the most by an ASU center fielder since at least 1998. Hunter Bishop had eight in 2019 and no other player had more than seven.

We Want EZ

  • Ethan Long is tabbed as the No. 37 overall collegiate prospect in the 2022 MLB Draft class by Baseball America.
  • The big bat was a little slow getting going this year, but Long has settled into a nice pace and he is now second on the team with seven homers on the year and one shy of the team lead with 28 RBIs.
  • He has used 17 walks and 3 HBPs to post a .377 OBP over his .294 average.
  • He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career following his efforts in the Washington series. 
  • Long homered twice in the USC series, one on a three-run shot breaking a 7-7 tie in the sixth inning en route to a 14-12 victory and again in a tight 4-2 game in Game Two with a two-rub blast in the seventh that effectively shut the door on the Trojans. 
  • Four of his seven home runs have come in the sixth inning or later.
  • Long became the 129th Sun Devil to be named an All-American last seson, becoming a consensus selection after being named to teams by Collegiate Baseball News, NCBWA, and Baseball America
  • Also earned two freshman All-America nods (CBN/NCBWA) and was a First Team All-Pac-12 pick as well as an ACBA All-West Region second team selection and Pac-12 All-Conference first team pick
  • Long finished the 2021 regular season 22nd nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 16 home runs while finishing 13th nationally and leading the league with a .725 slugging percentage on .340 hitting. He was sixth in the league with 53 RBI. His .340 average was the ninth-highest freshman average in Sun Devil history.
  • Finished with a team-best 54 RBI, tied with Barry Bonds for fourth in ASU freshman history while his 16 homers on the year surpassed Bonds for second in ASU freshman history behind only Spencer Torkelson (25) and good for Top-Five in the league.
  • Behind Long’s bat, ASU won five straight weekend series in the last half of the year. In a 19-game stretch, Long bat .444 with 40 RBI, 15 home runs, eight doubles, a 1.181 slugging percentage, a .500 OBP and an absurd 1.681 OPS. Of his 32 hits in that span, 23 were for extra bases.

Murphy’s Law

  • One of the hottest batters in the Sun Devil lineup over the three weeks has been Kai Murphy.
  • In the last 12 games, he has batted .435 with a team-best 17 RBIs to go with four homers (also a team best), three doubles and a .761 slugging percentage.
  • He has multiple hits in seven of those eight games, including four games with three hits to give him five on the season – tied for second on the team with games with 3+ hits.
  • He has boosted his average from .210 following the UNLV game to .291 in the process.
  • His team-best 17 RBIs in the last 12 games are notable as he had just four in the first 26 games of the season. 
  • Perhaps the biggest difference? He has struck out just six times in 46 at-bats in those eight games (13.0 percent) games after posting 19 in 81 (23.4 percent) to start the year and 43 of 135 (31.9) last season. 
  • Murphy has been king of the productive outs this year as well, recording a team-best 14 runners advanced with an out.
  • He has become ASU’s best hitter with two outs by average, now batting .410 on the year with two outs on 16-of-39 hitting. His 13 two-out RBI are third on the team.

The Long Con-or

  • Sun Devil super senior Conor Davis might be among the oldest players in college baseball, but there is not denying his impact on the Sun Devil program early on. 
  • After his senior season at Auburn was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis came to ASU as a graduate transfer expecting to fill some of the void left at first base with the departure of 2020 MLB No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson. In ASU’s very last fall scrimmage prior to the 2021 campaign, Davis blew out his knee and was forced to sit out the season with ACL surgery.
  • Davis’ appearance in the lineup on Opening Night was special regardless of the outcome but the “grandpa” – as his teammates call him – made it a night to remember as he launched a 1-2 offering to left field in his very first plate appearance in nearly two seasons – a solo shot that set the pace for ASU in a 3-1 victory.
  • Davis is batting a team-best .340 on the season to go with a .440 OBP and a .511 slugging percentage – sitting just outside the Pac-12 Top-10 in average and OBP. 
  • He has also drawn a team-best 22 walks this year. This includes a four-walk game against BYU that was tied for fifth in ASU single game history.
  • Davis has also quietly been one of ASU’s best hitters in Pac-12 games, slashing .357/.438/.536.
  • While ASU as a whole has struggled advancing runners at times this season, Davis has exceeded and done so a team-best 49 times on 82 chances (.598) – 5 more than any other player on the team.

Nate the Great

  • Nate Baez has been a force in the middle-bottom of the lineup for the Devils, batting .313 on the season with a team-best 16 doubles – which are second in the Pac-12 and 13th nationally.
  • Five of his last eight hits have been doubles and 8 of his last 14.
  • 15 of his 26 total RBIs on the year have come with two outs – a tally that also leads the team.
  • He has been among ASU’s hottest bats in the last month-plus and us third on the team with a .333 average since Pac-12 play started on March 18. 
  • Baez has the best average on the squad with runners in scoring position at .372 (16-of-43).
  • Baez has shown plenty of poise as a catcher as well with 13 assists (as a catcher) and throwing out seven runners attempting to steal a base – a tally that leads the Pac-12.
  • Baez leads the team with an active 16-game reached base streak. 
  • He also has the versatility to play a number of positions and has seen action at second base, left field and designated hitter this season. 
  • Baez has two grand slams this season – making up 2 of his 3 homers – marking him the first Sun Devil to have two in a season since Ike Davis in 2006. His third home run of the season still had two men on base, giving him 11 RBIs on three homers this year. 
  • Baez bat a team-best .362 over the final 14 games of the 2021 season with team highs in homers (8) and RBI (20) in that stretch while slugging a gaudy .915. All eight of his home runs came in those 14 games.
  • He earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades as a catcher in 2021, despite only playing behind the dish for the last month and a half of the season after being a career infielder prior to coming to ASU and including his first year and a half on the roster..
  • Finished the year with a .276 average with 26 starts and 41 games played.

Welcome to the Jam

  • The Sun Devils have made a recent habit of having its relief pitchers inherit baserunners and getting out of games with minimal damage done. Last season, ASU inherited 205 baserunners for the year and allowed just 58 to score (28.3 percent). That total was the second-lowest of any season since 1998 (28.1 percent in 2010).
  • ASU’s staff has inherited 131 baserunners this season and only 44 have scored (33.5 percent).
  • Christian Bodlovich has inherited 46 runners in his career at ASU, with only nine scoring (19.6 percent), including an 4-for-24 count this season.
  • Will Levine has been impressive in the category through his career as well with only 10-of-38 scoring and just 4 on 18 chances this year. 
  • ASU has stranded 317 opponent baserunners this season – an average of 8.3 per game.

Playing the Field

  • The Sun Devils feature a moderately new look infield this year as the majority of the season has featured new or mostly new faces at every position.
  • Despite this, the Sun Devils are fielding .977 on the year – good for 35th nationally and third in Pac-12 
  • ASU has turned 35 double plays on the year – a tally good for 7th in Division I and second in the Pac-12. 
  • ASU has had one or fewer errors in 28 of 38 games this year.
  • Sean McLain has the most defensive of assists of any player in the Pac-12 (118) despite missing two games. He has turned 25 double plays as well – 6th in the league.
  • Nate Baez leads the Pac-12 in throwing out seven baserunners attempting to steal this year. 
  • Joe Lampe was the last centerfielder to record an error this year (doing so in his 37th game). He is one of just 11 Pac-12 player with over 90 defensive chances to have one or fewer errors. 
  • It’s the same tale for ASU as last year, the Sun Devils were likely one of the few teams in the country that did not returning a single position player to their 2020 positions in 2021. ASU’s only veteran starter was Drew Swift – who shifted over to shortstop after spending the majority of his career at second base. All other positions on the diamond were replaced by newcomers.
  • Despite that, ASU had one or fewer errors in 40 games last year during the regular season, going 29-11 in those. 
  • In 2021, ASU fielded at a very respectable .976 fielding percentage in the regular season – good for 47th nationally. ASU was first in the nation with 60 double plays turned last season, which is especially impressive since the team had just six in the first 14 games of the season.
  • Sean McLain (48), Drew Swift (32) and Hunter Haas (12) all led their respective positions in the Pac-12 in double plays turned in the regular season.  McLain and Swift were first and third in the league in the category, regardless of position – incredibly notable as first basemen tend to lead the way in the area.

Adam’s Family

  • Junior Adam Tulloch was exceptional through the first month of the season and earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after his 7.0 inning, 13 strikeout, 3 ER, no walk victory over San Francisco.
  • The victory was Tulloch’s third-straight quality start for the Sun Devils. It was the first time a Sun Devil pitch had 13 strikeouts in a game since Jake Borup in 2010 and he was the first Sun Devil to be named a Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week since Ryan Hingst following his no-hitter in 2016. The 13 strikeouts were the most by any Pac-12 pitcher in a game this season.
  • In his first four STARTS this year, Tulloch had a 2.16 ERA with a 2-0 record over 25.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 36 batters to just seven walks while holding opponents to a meager .141 batting average.
  • Tulloch has cooled in six starts since then however, struggling against #3 Oregon State, Grand Canyon and Washington but has posted promising improvements against Stanford and USC and looks to continue building back to the early season form. 
  • Despite his recent struggles, Tulloch is still 10th in the Pac-12 with 48 strikeouts. 
  • Tulloch has given ASU 6.2, 7.0, and 7.0 innings of work in three starts this season, notable as he never eclipsed 5.2 innings in any game at West Virginia last year. 
  • At West Virginia last year, the 17th Round pick of the Dodgers struck out 52 in 37.1 innings pitched, including a 10-strikeout effort against Coastal Carolina.

A Little Luck-ham On Our Side

  • While Adam Tulloch has struggled of late, Kyle Luckham has stepped up in his place and easily assumed the mantle on Friday nights. 
  • Luckham has ASU’s two longest outings of the season, going a career-high 7.2 innings on the road against San Diego State before besting that with an 8.0 inning effort against San Francisco a week later.
  • It’s notable as Luckham had never gone 7.0+ innings in his career in back-to-back starts, including his time at Cal State Fullerton.
  • Luckham now has four starts this season in which he has gone over 7.0 innings, recording quality starts in all of those – a team high. That notable has he had made it to the 7.0 inning mark just five times in 24 career starts entering the season before doing so four times in nine starts this year
  • Luckham has induced a team-best eight double play balls. 
  • His 51.1 innings pitched this season are 6th in the Pac-12.
  • He has allowed just 10 walks this year, third-fewest in the league, while his 4.4 strikeout to walk ratio is seventh.

Tyler The Negator

  • Transfer pitcher Tyler Meyer has been among the most pleasant surprises of the early 2022 campaign, posting a 3.78 ERA with six starts and 33.1 innings pitched on the year.
  • In his three midweek starts – against 2021 NCAA competitor Nevada, then fourth-ranked Oklahoma State and Preseason Top-25 UC Irvine – Meyer had a 2.45 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts. 
  • His efforts in midweek games have earned him the nod in the weekend rotation in which he delivered a Herculean effort against #3 Oregon State as he held OSU to just four hits in his career-high 7.0 innings of work. He struck out nine Beavers to just two walks, allowing just one run in the second inning – where two of those four hits occurred.
  • He followed that effort with another 7.0 inning quality start to earn the win and series victory over Washington to tie him with the team lead with three quality starts this year.
  • Meyer has allowed just six doubles this year, sixth-fewest in the Pac-12. His 35 total hits allowed are second-fewest among eligible pitchers in the league. 
  • It has been an especially notable effort as Meyer didn’t pitch last season after his previous school, Stanislaus State, cancelled its season.

Boom Goes the Dynamite

  • The team has added 92 doubles on the year as well, good for 7th in the nation and tops in the Pac-12. Nate Baez and Joe Lampe each have 16, good for second in the Pac-12 and 13th nationally
  • ASU has at least one double in all but five games so far this season and multiple doubles in 25 of 38 games – including 28 in the last seven games alone.
  • ASU has double-digit hits in seven straight games and 13 of the last 14 games overall. The team has reached double digits in the H category 22 times in 38 games and is 20th in the country with 392 hits as of April 20. On March 20, the team was 72nd in the nation in total hits. 
  • More impressively, ASU was 129th in the nation on March 20 in runs scored and 186th in scoring (5.5). A month later, ASU is 48th in the country in total runs (266) and 89th in scoring (7.0).
  • Through the Oregon State series (first 21 games through March 20), ASU was batting just .231 with runners in scoring position. In the last 17 games, ASU is batting .332 with runners in scoring position.
  • The Sun Devils are currently second in the Pac-12 with 45 home runs this season. Joe Lampe leads the way with nine while Ethan Long has seven. 
  • Of the nine position players with at least 23 starts this season, all nine have multiple home runs. 
  • The timing of the home runs has improved lately as well. On 14 of the last 18 of team’s homers, ASU has had at least one runner on base. That is notable as ASU had runners on base just eight times on the teams first 27 homers. 
  • The Sun Devils already have four grand slams this year, the most it has had in a season since 2004 (also four). ASU has some work to do for the next milestone as the 2003 Sun Devils had 14 grand slams – an NCAA record.
  • Nate Baez is the first Sun Devil to have two grand slams in a season since Ike Davis in 2006.
  • ASU hit two grand slams (Will Rogers and Nate Baez) in consecutive innings (6th and 7th) in its 17-8 series clinching win against Dixie State on opening weekend. That was notable as prior to that, the Sun Devils had recorded just one single grand slam at Phoenix Municipal Stadium since moving there in 2015.
  • It was the first time ASU had two grand slams in a single game since 2003 when the Sun Devils did so against San Diego State on Jan. 26 (also in consecutive innings in the 3rd and 4th).

Hold on to Your Seats

  • ASU has played no shortage of tight games this season – for better or worse – with 19 of the teams 38 games being decided by one or two runs. For perspective, ASU played in 20 1-2-run games in the entirety of last season.
  • Unfortunately, ASU is 1-6 in one-run losses, having picked up its first of the season this past weekend in the 9-8 series finale over USC. 11 of the teams 19 losses have come by way of 1-2 runs. 
  • That said, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in the last month in erasing multi-run deficits.
  • ASU has wiped out multi-run opponent leads in 8 of the team’s last 19 games. It has erased deficits of 3, 7, 5, 3, and 3 runs at some point after 5 opponent innings in the last month alone
  • ASU has won seven games already this season when trailing after four innings, matching its total for all of 2021.
  • The seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal were the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona. The Wildcats jumped to a 7-0 lead before ASU rallied to win 9-7.
  • Three times this season that ASU has rallied from a deficit of five or more runs to tie or win the game – the first time that has happened since 2010 (also 3).

The Kids Will Be Alright

  • ASU has gotten significant contributions from its true freshmen in the last month.
  • Ryan Campos is the team’s best hitter in Pac-12 games, coming in at .385 in league games, nearly 30 points higher than any of his teammates and tied for fourth in the league. 
  • Campos has the second best average on the team with runners in scoring position at 13-for-35 (.371) and a perfect 6-for-6 bringing a runner home from third with less than two outs.
  • Campos is tied with Joe Lampe for the longest active hitting streak on the team at 7 games. He has multiple hits in six of those games and at least one RBI in six of them as well.
  • Jacob Tobias is tied for the team lead in Pac-12 games with 13. He has a five-game hitting streak with at least one RBI in four of those. 
  • In the last 10 games, ASU true freshmen have bat 45-for-124 (.363) with 38 of the teams 89 RBIs (42.7 percent).

Big Willie Style

  • One of the best players in the program’s record books will start a new era of Sun Devil Baseball as Willie Bloomquist looks forward to his first season at the helm of the Devils. 
  • A 14-year Major League Baseball veteran and with over 20 years of experience in professional baseball, Bloomquist returns to the Sun Devils as one of the most accomplished alumni in program history and has remained deeply entrenched in all levels of baseball.
  • Bloomquist spent five years as a Special Assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks President & CEO Derrick Hall after joining the front office in May 2016. In this role, Bloomquist assisted Hall and other departments throughout the baseball and business side of the organization, including working on-field with players at all levels of the organization, attending community events, meeting with corporate partners, interacting with season ticket holders and visiting D-backs Minor League affiliates.
  • The Port Orchard, Wash., native joined USA Baseball’s Board of Directors in 2016, a post he has retained since then. Bloomquist is a two-time alum of Team USA, having played for the Collegiate National Team in 1998 and for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
  • Bloomquist became the first Arizona State Sun Devil to play for the Diamondbacks and spent three seasons with the franchise from 2011-13, serving a key role on the 2011 National League West Championship team. In 225 games for the D-backs, he hit .289 with 36 doubles, 8 triples, 4 homers, 63 RBI, 43 walks and 27 stolen bases. In the 2011 NL Division Series vs. Brewers, he hit .318 (7-for-22) with an RBI and three stolen bases in five games. In 2012, he set career highs with a .302 average and 21 doubles.
  • During his 14-year Major League career, which included time with the Mariners (2002-08, ’14-15), Royals (2009-10) and Reds (2010), Bloomquist hit .269 with 778 hits, 110 doubles, 23 triples, 18 home runs, 225 RBI and 133 stolen bases in 1,055 career games. He compiled a .977 fielding percentage playing outfield (339 games), shortstop (305 games), third base (142), second base (141) and first base (47). Of the 111 Sun Devils to play in MLB, only seven earned more service time than Bloomquist.
  • Bloomquist played three seasons at ASU (1997-99) and earned 1999 Pac-10 Player of the Year honors as a junior. In 1998, he tied a College World Series single-game record with 5 hits in a game while leading a team that competed for the National Championship. Bloomquist was an All-American in both the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. He finished his college career with a .394 average before being drafted by the Mariners in the third round of the 1999 draft. 
  • To this day, Bloomquist still holds the fourth-highest career batting average in school history (.394) while he remains fifth in ASU history in runs (216), fourth in triples (22) and fourth in stolen bases (72) and was named to the All-Packard Team in 2014.

ON DECK – APRIL 18 through APRIL 14

Tuesday, April 19, 6 p.m. | Arizona State vs. CSUN (Phoenix) | Recap

Friday, April 22, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at Arizona (Tucson) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Arizona | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM

Saturday, April 23, 5 p.m.  | Arizona State at Arizona (Tucson) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Network | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM

Sunday, April 24, 12 p.m.  | Arizona State at Arizona (Tucson) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Network | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
 

IN THE HOLE – APRIL 25 through MAY 1

Tuesday, April 26, 6 p.m. | Arizona State vs. UNLV (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: ASU Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Fan Appreciation Day – As a thank you for your support, all fans will receive a FREE pretzel for National Pretzel Day.

Friday, April 29, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at UCLA (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: UCLA Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM

Saturday, April 30, 2 p.m.  | Arizona State at UCLA (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: UCLA Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM

Sunday, May 1, 1 p.m.  | Arizona State at UCLA (Los Angeles) | WATCH LIVE: UCLA Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM

LAST TIME OUT – APRIL 11 through APRIL 17

Monday, April 11, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at. Santa Clara (Santa Clara) | W, 21-1

Thursday, April 14, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | W, 14-12

Friday, April 15, 6 p.m.  | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | W, 8-2

Saturday, April 16, 12:30 p.m.  | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | W, 9-8

Sun Devil Baseball Game Note Archive
Week 1 – Dixie State/Nevada | Postweek Season Stats
Week 2 – BYU | Postweek Season Stats
Week 3 – Oklahoma State/San Diego State | Postweek Season Stats
Week 4 – UC Irvine/San Francisco/Missouri | Postweek Season Stats
Week 5 – #3 Oregon State | Postweek Season Stats
Week 6 – Grand Canyon/Washington | Postweek Season Stats
Week 7 – UNLV/Cal | Postweek Season Stats
Week 8 – Arizona/Stanford | Postweek Season Stats
Week 9 – Santa Clara/USC | Postweek Season Stats
 

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