BERKELEY, Calif. - Maybe it was the inspiration of playing just minutes away from his hometown backyard, but designated hitter Nick Walsh found the California base paths a familiar place during Sunday's doubleheader.
The Sun Devil junior reached base in his first eight-consecutive plate appearances while playing in Berkeley, Calif., a 30-minute drive north from his stomping grounds of Alamo.
"That's my job, to get on base," said Walsh after a 6-for-8 day that included a walk, a hit by pitch and two runs scored. "Whenever I play I have to get on base for the big guys."
Entering the first game of a double dip, Walsh was batting just .238 in limited action. He'd played in 32 of ASU's first 43 games, but had just five starts and only 10 hits in 42 at-bats. All that changed Sunday with his two starts in the leadoff spot for the Sun Devils.
With six hits, Walsh raised his batting average 82 points, shoving him over the .300 mark for the first time all season.
"You try not to think about numbers, but it's always there," said Walsh, who's now hitting .320. "It's nice to get some balls to fall and help the team win. That's what's most important."
Walsh was batting a miniscule .063 (1-for-16) in his five starts, but the ability he showed to set the table may put him in the leadoff spot for good, giving ASU head coach Pat Murphy the option of moving sophomore shortstop Dustin Pedroia down to the three hole where he could drive in more runs.
"He's a big time performer," Murphy said of Walsh. "He's performed well in starts. His numbers might not indicate that, but he's been giving us good at bats for the whole year."
Walsh began to show the perseverance of his good at-bats in the first game Sunday when he drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the ball game. In the second inning, Walsh turned into a ball that caught him in the back, loading the bases in a crucial inning that saw five runs cross the plate in a 6-0 victory. In his next three plate appearances, the hits started falling into place, three of them to be exact including two line drives up the middle, one for an RBI, and a bunt single.
"I feel like I've been hitting the ball real well all season, it's just been going right at people," Walsh said. "I knew if I kept my same attitude they'd start falling, and luckily they did today."
The success continued into the nightcap, where Walsh singled in each of his first two at-bats including a line-drive RBI smash to right field in the second. He displayed some power with a double into the left-center field gap in the fourth inning. California pitchers finally retired Walsh in his final two at-bats, but a groundout in the seventh knocked in his second run of the game and third of the day on a splendid afternoon.
"The kid's been on it," Murphy said. "We were just looking for an opportunity to get him in full time and this was the right opportunity."
After the completion of the sweep, Walsh talked about the impact of playing close to home.
"The game's the same, you still have to hit the ball, but it's nice to do it in front of my family," Walsh said. "They don't get to see me that often so it's nice to have a good day."
With two three-hit games, it marked the first time Walsh had a multi-hit contest since May 14, 2001 against Washington. The hitting statistics don't tell the entire story though. Walsh had a career .461 on-base percentage entering this season and is currently at .469 this year.
In 2001 he hit .421 (8-for-19) as a pinch hitter to lead the team, and Murphy said he understands his importance in that role, going to Walsh over and over again during clutch situations because he finds a way to get on base and has been referred to as the team "spark plug."
"You got to love it," Walsh said of the pinch-hitting role. "I really don't feel much pressure in those situations. Any time I can help the team win is all I really care about."
There's one thing Walsh does care more about, and isn't afraid to admit it.
"I came to ASU to win the World Series, and that's my main goal."
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Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
