ASU clinches series win over Utah off the back of a dominant Kole Klecker start

PHOENIX – When Arizona State senior right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker departed the mound at Phoenix Municipal Stadium after the final out in the top of the seventh inning, he did it to a chorus of cheers from the Sun Devil faithful, who got up on their feet to showcase their support.  

His teammates joined in on the celebrations, greeting him in the dugout with a line of high-fives – they all knew how important his role on Sunday was. 

It took 101 pitches under a partly cloudy afternoon sky, but Klecker had shut down the opposing Utah offense like no other Sun Devil this weekend, limiting the visitors to two runs – of which only one was earned – on four hits and a walk over the course of his outing. 

It was a pitching performance that No. 20 ASU (26-11, 9-6 Big 12) not only wanted, but needed after using six bullpen arms in Saturday night’s 14-13 victory, and one that propelled it to a 5-2, series-clinching victory in the rubber match against Utah (17-15, 6-9).

“(I) love having a veteran guy on Sunday who knows what he’s doing and is able to keep his composure and keep his cool and not let the moments get too big,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “He threw the ball outstanding.” 

After Saturday’s game, Bloomquist told the media that the team was going to have to “hopefully rely on Kleck.” Luckily, the senior righty understood the assignment. 

With four of the six bullpen arms that ASU used the day prior having thrown 20 pitches or more, and three of them contributing to a seven-run collapse in the ninth inning, all the pressure was on Klecker to go deep into the game while keeping the Utes off the board as much as possible. 

To get into the right mindset, Klecker didn’t focus on what was at stake, and stayed honed in on executing.

“When you know you’re trying to go deep in a game, just limit the free passes, limit the walks, hit by pitches,” Klecker said. “Just trying to get in and out of the dugout quickly, let the offense have long innings.” 

When Klecker found himself behind in counts, he wasn’t afraid to attack the zone and go after the hitter. Of his six at-bats that went to three-ball counts, only two resulted in a base runner, with the other four ending with a lineout, a flyout, a strikeout – one of four on the afternoon – and a groundout.

He also accomplished his goal of spending as little time on the mound as possible, only allowing three base runners after the second inning. 

In the first and second, however, he did run into some trouble. 

Utah junior right fielder Luke Jacobs led off the game by reaching on an error committed by redshirt junior second baseman Austen Roellig. Klecker couldn’t keep Jacobs from coming around to score, giving up an RBI double to junior left fielder Jake Long. In the second, he allowed back-to-back singles to start the frame, resulting in junior center fielder Jet Gilliam scoring on a groundout. 

After that, though, success against Klecker didn’t come easily.

“First couple of innings, just left a couple pitches down the middle, they put good swings on it,” Klecker said. “But after that, I feel like I did a good job staying out of the middle, and then obviously, let the defense work behind me.” 

With only four strikeouts through seven innings, the defense stayed busy behind Klecker, locking in after Roellig’s error, the only mistake of the day. 

Junior Dominic Longo, who’s spent most of his season in center field but is a natural infielder, got the nod at third base Sunday due to some infield reshuffling after redshirt junior Nu’u Contrades was moved to the designated hitter role after reaggravating a hamstring injury, and was the star of the show. 

The versatile athlete looked like he had played at the hot corner all season, making throws on the run and stops on slides and dives, in addition to going 1-for-4 with a double at the plate. 

“I think that third and center are honestly some of my favorite positions on the field,” Longo said. “I really don’t have a preference, but I enjoy the hell out of playing both.

“I think the biggest adjustment for me (moving between center field and third base) is honestly my arm slot … other than that, just going out there, being an athlete and giving it all I got.” 

All in all, behind the defense and with his masterful execution, Klecker turned in what was by far the best outing of the three Sun Devils who were called upon to start games this weekend. 

Junior left-handed ace Cole Carlon ran into a heap of trouble on Friday, giving up seven runs, the most he’s surrendered this season, in just 4.2 innings pitched. Sophomore RHP Taylor Penn followed that up on Saturday by allowing four earned runs in just 2.2 innings. Klecker, however, was able to avoid the same fate and earn the victory with the bats doing enough to support him. 

As on Saturday, the long ball powered the offense, with all but one run scoring off of home runs. Fifth-year right fielder Dean Toigo scored the Sun Devils’ first run of the game in the first with a blast to right, his 14th of the season, which Contrades immediately followed up by hitting his 10th to left-center field. 

Sophomore center fielder Landon Hairston was the one to break the game’s 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning, sneaking his 23rd home run of the season over the right field wall, driving in himself and junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis. 

Hairston’s 23rd puts him five away from surpassing the ASU single-season home run record, set by Mitch Jones, who had 27 in 2000, and equals the single-season high of Sun Devil legend Barry Bonds, which is apt considering the nickname that the sophomore has earned in the clubhouse.

“We call him Harry Bonds,” Klecker said. “Kid rakes, pretty fun to pitch behind him, knowing any AB he can just launch a homer.” 

The home run hitting, combined with Klecker’s dominance, which was followed by two strong innings from junior RHP Jaden Alba, won ASU the series-clinching game, but there isn’t any time to celebrate, as the Sun Devils will be back at Muni on Monday night to take on Arizona. 

The fifth and final meeting between the two rivals marks the sixth game ASU plays in seven days, and while it’s a grind for the players, Bloomquist believes it’s a necessary challenge for the team. 

“We knew we were going to get battle tested on the pitching front, just from a workload standpoint, and guys were going to have to step up and figure out who we are,” Bloomquist said. “Not many teams schedule this many games in this short of days … we think that that’s important for a number of reasons, A, to get our guys experience, B, gives us an opportunity to hopefully get more wins, which becomes helpful at the end of the year.”