Sun Devils spoiled at home by Buckeyes offensive firepower
TEMPE, Ariz. — Thursday night, an immovable object met an unstoppable force.
Coming into the first game of the four-game series, Arizona State’s offense seemed inevitable, having belted 11 home runs and boasting a .671 slugging percentage through four games. Ohio State’s offense seemed porous, having allowed 52 Ks to opposing pitchers while batting .206 as a team.
Arizona State entered the night coming off an 9-6 upset win over the No.24 Kansas State Wildcats, who possess a top-ranked MLB prospect and second-team All-Big 12 starter. Still, the Sun Devils’ bats reign.
Buckeyes’ pitcher Landon Beidelschies had the answer.
Both pitchers traded near-flawless innings, but as Arizona State’s Ben Jacobs began to fade, the Buckeyes took advantage. Beidelschies, making only his third start, out-dueled the Jacobs, and Ohio State opened the floodgates on Arizona State, 11-4.
Arizona State held a run over Ohio State early when the sophomore southpaw pegged outfielder Harris Williams, who ultimately stole second and was brought home by a groundout. That was all the Sun Devils were able to squeeze out from his grasp.
He tossed 96 pitches — 70 of which were strikes — through seven near flawless innings, and surrendered only three hits.
Early on, Jacobs rolled through the Buckeyes lineup like a hot knife through butter. He logged eight strikeouts through the 19 batters faced, but surrendered three two-out runs — a lead-off double, an RBI triple, then a two-run jack before his night ended in the fifth.
From there, it took five more Arizona State pitchers to close out the game, but not before Ohio State tagged eight more runs.
While the Buckeyes were dicing up the diamond, Arizona State faced its first hiccup offensively. Campos was the sole offense for Arizona State, accounting for all four runs with a home run and four RBI.
Coach Willie Bloomquist took ownership of the stagnant offense and lack of readiness.
“If we would’ve stuck to the plan that we had implemented going into it and we had paid attention to what we had preached and the game plan going in against him, I think we had the pitches to hit that we were expecting,” he said. “We just weren’t ready…when you’re not ready and when you’ve got a guy throwing 94, 95 mph, you’re going to get owned.”
The only offensive life the Sun Devils bats saw came in the form of a three-run home run by Ryan Campos, but by then the damage had been done.
While the offense can only be consistent for so long, one thing can be consistent. And that’s pitching, but Arizona State is still searching for that.
“Where we got hurt is we have to be able to throw the off-speed pitches for strikes more often,” Bloomquist said, calling his team “one-pitch guys.”
The Sun Devils dropped to 3-2, the Buckeyes jumped to 3-2. Game two of the four-game series continues Friday, Feb. 22, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.