ASU delivers needed response, takes rivalry series from Arizona

Arizona State baseball stood on the edge of something real, then nearly watched it slip away just as fast.

Last Friday, the Sun Devils didn’t just beat No. 17 West Virginia; they overwhelmed them. A mercy-rule win over the Big 12 favorites sent a jolt through the program and sparked belief that this could be the group to change everything. The conversation flipped overnight, from potential to expectation.

Two days later, it was gone.

West Virginia answered with force, outscoring ASU 22-12 across the final two games to take the series and pull the Sun Devils back into uncertainty. The same questions returned, centered on consistency and execution. ASU had shown its ceiling, now it had to prove it could hold it.

That made the trip to Tucson against rival Arizona more than just another weekend.

Arizona entered at 2-7 in Big 12 play and 9-19 overall, but rivalry series tend to level everything. For ASU, it became about response after a week that nearly unraveled.

They did enough.

The opener set the tone behind the top of the lineup, where the first four hitters combined for nine hits, pairing timely offense with controlled pitching in a 6-4 win. Game two nearly erased that progress, as a 4-0 lead disappeared in a seven-run Arizona seventh inning, wasting a dominant outing from the junior left-hander Cole Carlon, who threw six scoreless innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts in a 7-4 loss.

ASU answered in the finale. ASU (23-9, 7-5 Big 12) broke it open with 18 hits and 15 runs to secure a 15-6 series win over Arizona (10-21, 3-9 Big 12). Junior infielder Dominic Smaldino led the way with four hits and six RBIs, while graduate outfielder Matt Polk added four hits.

Game one arrived a day early on Thursday, forcing a rotation shift that handed the ball to sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn. Entering with a 2.14 ERA across 21 innings as ASU’s most reliable relief arm, Penn was tasked with setting the tone. 

He delivered a steady four innings, allowing four hits and two runs, both coming on a two-out, two-RBI double in the second. Traffic came throughout, but Penn limited the damage and kept ASU in control, exactly what the moment required.

That was all the offense needed to take over.

Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston, coming off a Golden Spikes Player of the Week performance, stayed locked in with three hits, including a leadoff triple and an RBI double. Graduate outfielder Dean Toigo added two hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh, while junior infielder Nu’u Contrades chipped in two doubles and two RBIs. Senior left-handed pitcher Sean Fitzpatrick and junior right-handed pitcher Derek Schaefer combined to shut the door over the final 2.2 innings, securing a 6-4 win and giving ASU the start it needed.

With momentum in hand, game two presented a chance to take full control.

The matchup leaned heavily toward ASU. Carlon drew an Arizona lineup that had struggled to generate power, entering with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate, a 10.6 percent walk rate, and limited damage on contact. The formula to beat Carlon is patience and power. Arizona showed neither.

Carlon dominated. He worked six scoreless innings, allowing six hits with just one walk while striking out a career-high 12. It was his longest outing without allowing an earned run, and he did it with tempo and confidence, consistently attacking the zone and piling up swings and misses.

Behind him, ASU built a 4-0 lead. It should have been enough.

It wasn’t.

The offense stalled, finishing 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-10 with runners on base, leaving the door open. In the seventh, it all unraveled. Fitzpatrick, graduate right-handed pitcher Colby Guy, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Finn Edwards combined in a seven-run inning fueled by four walks and timely Arizona hitting, flipping control into a 7-4 deficit. It was a sudden shift, one that the offense could not answer, as ASU dropped game two.

The frustration was immediate and familiar.

Head coach Willie Bloomquist pointed to a lack of a “killer instinct to finish a job” after the loss, a message that carried into the finale.

Sunday looked like a team intent on answering it.

ASU wasted no time, erupting for six runs in the first inning behind five straight hits, jumping on Arizona before it could settle in. Unlike the night before, there was no lull. The pressure continued with a four-run third inning, two more in the sixth, and three in the ninth, as ASU kept its foot on the gas.

This time, the depth of the lineup carried the surge.

Polk, making his first extended start since March 22nd after limited opportunities off the bench, delivered four hits and scored four times. Smaldino matched him with four hits of his own, including a double and a home run, driving in six runs throughout the afternoon. Every starter recorded a hit, and five finished with multiple hits in a complete offensive performance.

Hairston added to his surge with a solo home run, his 18th of the season, extending his extra-base hit streak to eight games and continuing a stretch that has anchored ASU’s lineup.

By the end, ASU closed out a 15-6 win to secure the series. It was not perfect, but it was necessary. ASU showed it could respond, even if consistency remains the next step.