And after four and a half hours of back-and-forth mayhem, the Sun Devils (3-0 overall) stuck the landing and secured the sweep over Ohio State (0-3) in a 17-10 offensive charade.

Normally, a seven-run margin of victory is a commendable outcome, but coach Willie 

Bloomquist’s attention was set on the flaws in his bullpen that forced him to make decisions he didn’t want to make.

“I wasn’t overly pleased with our performance today, especially on the mound,” Bloomquist said.

Until the seventh inning, the Sun Devils had maintained a 10-3 lead over the Buckeyes, highlighted by continuously great performances from Compton and Josiah Cromwick, who each collected two hits and a homer while driving in three.

But when freshman right-hander Jake Neely entered the ballgame, things started to unravel.

A pair of walks and a Lee Ellis RBI single forced Neely out of his first collegiate appearance, and replacement-arm Bradyn Barnes failed to limit the inherited runners from scoring before ending the frame, allowing Ohio State to pull within three. 

ASU would take back three of the runs they surrendered, courtesy of defensive shortcomings from shortstop Marc Stephens and a wild pitch.

But when Barnes returned on the mound, the lead was once again diminished to three after Matthew Graveline and Tyler Pettorini smacked back-to-back home runs, ending Barnes’ night prematurely.

The short outings by Neely and Barnes forced Bloomquist to call upon right-handers Lucas Kelly and Derek Schaefer to close things out, arms he was hoping to save for Monday against Austin Peay.

“I didn’t want to have to do that,” Bloomquist said. “But we had to get that game.”

Arizona State’s ERA following the three-game series echoed last year’s pitfalls, already sitting second-lowest in the Big-12 Conference (7.46).

“Sometimes when the lights come on, it takes a few times to get comfortable,” Bloomquist said. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the minor leagues and we don’t have time to develop guys and let them get comfy.”

Ohio State faced struggles of their own on the mound, as they deployed 11 different pitchers to attempt to take down the Sun Devils’ juggernaut offense. 

Only starting pitcher Jake Michalak and his replacement Sahil Patel went more than an inning of work. 

For guys like Cromwick, the barrage of arms was a challenge to stay locked in. 

“It’s tough because a lot of the guys that threw, we didn’t have much of a report on them,” Cromwick said. “You just kind of have to watch them warm up as much as possible and see what they got and go from there.”

ASU took advantage of the Buckeyes’ lack of control, getting on base 14 times via the walk and five times on hit-by-pitches. 

Coupled with a .412 AVG with runners in scoring position, runs came easy for Arizona State, instilling the notion that the offense can bail out the pitching staff.

But as Bloomquist will tell you, just because they can do it, it shouldn’t mean they have to.

“We have things we’ve got to work on and clean up and get better,” Bloomquist said. “We’ll find out the guys that are able to button the chin strap and move with us going forward.”

Aside from the bullpen, Bloomquist was also frustrated he couldn’t alter his lineup to give new guys at-bats when the game got close.

“I wanted to get guys like Landon Hairston and Beckett Zavorek in the game,” Bloomquist said. “The perfect chance was squandered to get those guys in, so that was disappointing.”

Lineup construction has been a challenge for Bloomquist thus far, but he assures, just as any manager would, that it’s a good problem to have. 

“I use ‘problem’ loosely,” Bloomquist said. “We have guys that are eager to get in there behind the starting guys, so we’re in good shape when it comes to depth.”

Jonathon Hernandez and Jax Ryan made their respective season debuts, both of whom got on base three times and accounted for nearly a quarter of ASU’s runs. 

Getting on base is nothing new to Hernandez, who walked more than he struck out during his two years at Central Arizona College.

But with ASU’s premier starting outfield, Bloomquist will have to find creative ways to get Hernandez and others in the lineup.

Arizona State’s first weekend series, besides the early issues that need addressing, was a resounding success given the talent of Ohio State’s roster.

“We beat, in my mind, a very good team over there,” Bloomquist said. “We could be sitting here looking at a 1-2 record if a ball is hit five feet to the right or left on Friday night or a kid maybe doesn’t lose a ball in the sun.”

ASU will look to start sophomore righty Rohan Lettow against the Austin Peay Governors tomorrow at 1 p.m.