On Deck: Ranked Opponents Await Baseball Both Home and Away
PHOENIX -- Sun Devil Baseball faces its biggest test of the season with a pair of ranked opponents on the docket with Baseball America's No. 10 and No. 14 squads, starting with rival Arizona at home this Tuesday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a non-conference midweek tilt at 6 p.m. AZT. ASU then goes back on the road, heading to the Sunken Diamond to square off against the No. 14 Stanford Cardinal this weekend with the series beginning Friday, April 8.
FAN PARKING: 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.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
- Tuesday's midweek contest against rival Arizona will be available through the Arizona State Live Stream while all three games against Stanford this weekend will be carried by the Stanford Live Stream.
- Additionally, all four games this week 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 25 double plays so far this season, a total good for 13th in the nation.
2. Sun Devil pitchers have inherited 103 base runners, stranding 36 (34.9 percent). Christian Bodlovich leads the way with just 2 scored out of 17.
3. The Sun Devils are 14th in the nation with 66 doubles this season and have at least one double in 26 of 29 games.
4. ASU's 7-run comeback vs. Cal was its largest since 2000 (also 7 vs. ARIZ). ASU has erased 5-run deficits three times this year, first time since 2000.
5. Joe Lampe already has 21 extra-base hits this season, passing his grand total of 20 last year.
6. Sun Devil pitchers have accounted for 10 quality starts this season, already surpassing the final total of 9 from last year.
7. ASU has scored five or more runs in an inning 9 different times this season.
8. Kyle Luckham is 4th among Pac-12 starters with just 8 walks allowed this season and his BB/9 of 1.69 is third in league.
9. Conor Davis has quietly slashed .375/.474/.594 in the Pac-12 games this season, easily leading the team in all those categories.
10. Nate Baez and Conor Davis lead the team with active seven-game hitting streaks.
BY THE NUMBERS
21 - Joe Lampe has 21 extra-base hits (12 doubles, 1 triple, 8 homers in 29 games this season, already surpassing his total for the entirety of 20). Lampe's .631 slugging percentage is .102 points higher than any of his teammates and he leads the team with 28 RBIs. Lampe has been Mr. Everything for the Sun Devils this season, easily leading the team with eight stolen bases (4 more than any other player) while playing errorless centerfield with 71 putouts, 2 assists and not a single error.
10 - ASU has gotten 10 quality starts out of its pitchers in 29 games this season. For perspective, ASU had just nine TOTAL quality starts last season and didn't get its 9th until May 15. Adam Tulloch, Kyle Luckham, Tyler Meyer and Jacob Walker have handled the lion's share of duties, recording all but 3.2 of ASU's 131.1 innings out of starters this year (97.2 percent). Last season, ASU's "top four" starters accounted for just 74.4 percent of the team's starter innings. Already, Meyer (30.2) and Walker (19.0) have more innings than the third and fourth-highest starter numbers on ASU last year.
7 - The seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils against Cal on Sunday were the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona. The Wildcats jumped to a 7-0 lead before ASU rallied to win 9-7. It was the third time this season that ASU has rallied from a deficit of five or more runs to tie or win the game. It came back from five runs down to defeat San Francisco earlier this year and rallied to tie UNLV earlier last week after going down five runs, only to lose in walk-off fashion. This is the first time since 2010 that ASU has erased three 5-run deficits in a season.
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 25 double plays on the year - good for 13th among all Division 1 programs. Additionally, ASU has 66 doubles on offense so far this year - good for 14th in Division 1 baseball. ASU has doubled as least once in all but three games this season and has multiple doubles in 18 of 29 games. Joe Lampe and Nate Baez each have 11, good for third in the Pac-12.
On the Wildcats
- In the modern era of NCAA Baseball (since it became an NCAA sport in 1959), ASU owns a dominant 205-136 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.
- Arizona has scored at least one run in 200 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history. They are 32 games away from tying the longest streak in school history.
- The Cats remain ranked in every major national poll, including a high mark of No. 9 from Collegiate Baseball, USA Today, and the NCBWA.
- As of games played on Sunday, sophomore catcher Daniel Susac ranks second among all Division I players with 52 hits. He leads the Pac-12 with a .416 AVG and ranks among the circuit's top three players in doubles, RBI, SLG, total bases, and extra-base hits.
- Right-handed relievers Trevor Long and Quinn Flanagan have made a total of 22 appearances for the Wildcats this year with a combined 1.22 ERA and 11.7 K/9 rate.
- Outfielder Mac Bingham has reached base safely in 16 straight games and hit safely in nine consecutive games. His 16-game on-base streak is the longest of his career. During that stretch he is hitting .364 with a .403 OBP and has raised his batting average from .196 to .295.
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 4 through APRIL 10
Tuesday, April 5, 6 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Arizona (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Friday, April 8, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at Stanford (Palo Alto) | WATCH LIVE: Stanford Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Saturday, April 9, 2 p.m. | Arizona State at Stanford (Palo Alto) | WATCH LIVE: Stanford Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Sunday, April 10, 1 p.m. | Arizona State at Stanford (Palo Alto) | WATCH LIVE: Stanford Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
NEXT WEEK - APRIL 11 through APRIL 16
Monday, April 11, 6 p.m. | Arizona State at. Santa Clara (Santa Clara) | WATCH LIVE: WCC Network | LISTEN: KAZG 1440 AM
Thursday, April 14, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Friday, April 15, 6 p.m. | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
Dustin Pedroia Weekend - Sun Devil Baseball will celebrate the career of Dustin Pedroia. Dustin will be on hand to throw out the first pitch and the first 1000 fans in attendance will receive a Dustin Pedroia bobblehead!
Saturday, April 16, 12:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. USC (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Live Stream | LISTEN: KDUS 1060 AM
LAST WEEK - MARCH 28 through APRIL 3
Tuesday, March 29, 5 p.m. | Arizona State at UNLV (Las Vegas) | L, 10-11
Friday, April 1, 6:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Washington (Phoenix) | W, 8-3
Saturday, April 2, 6 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Washington (Phoenix) | L, 7-14
Sunday, April 3, 12:30 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Washington (Phoenix) | W, 16-9
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