Sun Devil baseball watched its season end as the UC Irvine Anteaters cranked out five home runs in nine frames in the teams’ second matchup in three days.
Unlike their game against UCLA, things started out relatively even as the Sun Devils trailed 2-1 heading into the fourth inning.
But what turned out to be a problem for ASU was four-run innings — which is exactly what UCI did in the fourth.
The inning kicked off with ASU’s sophomore right-hander, Derek Schaefer, hitting a batter, then pitching into a full count as the Anteater’s Alonso Reyes hit one flying out over right field to score two runs, making it 4-1.
ASU was almost out of it with two outs and only one runner on, but UCI’s Chase Call had other plans. He homered into center for the team’s second home run of the inning, bringing in another two runs.
“We’ve been playing a little bit passive and taking too many fastballs for strikes the past couple of games,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said in an interview during the broadcast. “It was a big emphasis on being ready (and) be aggressive in the zone today. We put a couple of runs across, but we've got to put something bigger together.”
The Sun Devils put up one run in the bottom of the fourth, but really punched back in the bottom of the sixth as redshirt sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton doubled and brought in two runs.
That called for an Anteater pitching change, and up to the plate was freshman infielder Beckett Zavorek. Zavorek connected on a ball to left, bringing Compton around third to score. The Sun Devils were clawing back, only down 7-5.
But, UCI would sink the dagger in the seventh, boasting another four-run frame with two Sun Devil errors and four hits, including a James Castagnola homer and a double from Will Bermudez, making it 11-5, Anteaters.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devil fandom, ASU would only put up one more tally and fall 11-6.
This was ASU’s first regional appearance since 2021, and its first appearance under Bloomquist ever. They’ll finish this season with a 36-24 record and head into the offseason with the momentum of an NCAA tournament appearance.
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Leah Mesquita and Ellis Preston.
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Henry is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked as a sports reporter.
