Ben Jacobs came into Friday's “senior night” game on the heels of four straight starts where he allowed three runs or less, amassing a 3.63 ERA over 22 1⁄3 innings pitched. 

Something else he carried over, however, was his recent lack of command. Jacobs walked six batters in his five innings against Baylor his last time out, and walked another four in Friday’s contest. 

In addition to those walks were two hit-by-pitches, the latter of which, according to head coach Willie Bloomquist, “seemed to throw Jacobs off his game.”

Houston catcher Kenneth Jimenez stared down Jacobs after he was hit, prompting Jacobs to wave him to second, which riled up the crowd but left both benches unstirred.

“He got Benny out of his game plan, and Benny took the bait,” Bloomquist said. “Benny has got to be better than that.”

Jacobs proceeded to walk the next batter, allow a single to load the bases, and then walk another batter to score a run. 

Lucas Kelly relieved Jacobs of his duties, only to surrender a bases-loaded walk himself before a two-run single gave Houston the lead. In total, five Cougars came around to score in the frame. 

The team rallied in the bottom of the ninth, getting the winning run into scoring position, but a sharply hit Kyle Walker groundout ended the game.

Houston reliever Antoine Jean threw four innings in relief, keeping Arizona State off the board until the ninth inning. He allowed just four base runners while punching out six. 

“I’m proud of our guys for putting the winning run on second base against [Jean] there in the ninth,” ASU Head Coach Willie Bloomquist said. “We made some adjustments after seeing him one time through, and we were able to put some better swings against him there in the ninth.”

The top of the Sun Devil lineup, which featured three hitters hitting at a .360 clip or higher, went a combined 0-12 with a walk amongst them.

“Those guys have carried us pretty much the whole year, so I’m not gonna come down on them and put any blame on them. They’ve been great. I’ll bet my money, and they’ll bounce back and be good tomorrow,” Bloomquist said. 

The loss, however, didn’t take away what senior day means to the team.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little bit emotional,” Bloomquist said. “I love these guys, man, they’re great kids and, you know, clearly not perfect, but at the end of the day, the amount of effort that these guys give me every day. 

“They have my back, I got theirs, and it’s a pretty special feeling and a bond that you get with these guys, especially when you’re with them for three, four years. You see what they go through, the adversity that they go through, and the resilience to keep fighting and keep battling.”

Arizona State will look to rebound tomorrow in an uncommon Saturday afternoon game. Jack Martinez, who hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start in over a month, will get his usual Saturday start.