Before the first pitch in Sunday’s rubber match between the Sun Devils and the University of California, sophomore center fielder Joe Lampe told his teammates that the game was “do or die” for ASU’s season.
By that standard, the 2022 Sun Devils found themselves on life support halfway through the game, down by seven runs after another rough start for Adam Tulloch—the pitcher who had started the season as head coach Willie Bloomquist's de facto ace.
After knocking out Cal starter Ian May in the sixth, however, ASU got off the mat, rallying for 14 unanswered runs in the late innings for an improbable series-clinching—and possibly season-saving—victory, beating Cal (12-15, 5-7 Pac-12) 16-9 to improve to 13-16 overall and 5-4 in Pac-12 play.