Hairston’s eight RBIs lead ASU to mercy-rule win over West Virginia

The euphoria. The apex of it all. Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston rounds first base, arms lifted to the sky, the crowd erupting behind him, almost daring you to believe it, almost asking: are you not entertained?

And then he does it again. A Superman dive in the outfield, rising with hands raised once more, as if to say: can you believe this? Can you?

No, Landon. We cannot. Not a solo shot on the second pitch of the game. Not a grand slam that shatters the scoreboard against the No.17 team in the country. Not a catch that stretches the outfield beyond imagination to save two runs. Most would be stunned, yet it still amazes.

ASU’s superstar outfielder keeps delivering when his team needs it most. All-Big 12 first team seemed obvious. The Big 12 Player of the Year was within reach. Now whispers swirl among fans and media alike: could Hairston be on the verge of turning his spikes golden?

The night was pure Hairston magic. Two home runs. Eight RBIs. Three hits. One intentional walk, plus a bases-loaded four pitch pass that screamed, “we’re not even going to challenge you.” It all fueled ASU past what had been the Big 12’s top pitching staff in West Virginia. Junior infielder Nu’u Contrades matched the fireworks with two home runs of his own, five Sun Devils (20-6, 5-2 Big 12) recorded multi-hit games, and a relentless 12-run surge across three innings turned a tight contest into a 14-4 mercy-rule statement over West Virginia (17-5, 5-2 Big 12) to open the series.

Hairston wasted no time signaling what kind of night it would be. 

On just the second offering he saw, he laced a line-drive home run into the left-center gap, and the tone was set in an instant. The ballpark tilted, ASU fed off the early jolt, and as loud contact piled up, West Virginia’s small-ball approach quickly lost its footing and couldn’t keep pace.

“That was one of the better approaches we’ve had all year long,” Bloomquist said. “I thought from top to bottom, guys just grinding out at-bats, getting base runners, putting pressure on them to make pitching decisions and moves, and then, of course, the big hits, you know, Landon. We can talk about him all night if you want, but he just continues to swing the bat.”

The contrast was clear from the start. ASU entered leading the conference with 48 home runs. West Virginia had just 17, but countered with patience and precision, ranking near the top of the league in on-base percentage and owning the conference’s best ERA at 3.28. 

Early on, that formula worked. Against sophomore left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon, the Mountaineers consistently applied pressure. Carlon threw 95 pitches in 4.1 innings, allowed a career-high eight hits, and faced traffic in every frame. As head coach Willie Bloomquist put it, it was “high-pressure pitching” all night.

“They have a very disciplined approach where they’re very good,” Bloomquist said. “That’s probably the best two-strike hitting team that we’ve faced all year long…Carlon wasn’t as sharp as he normally is. But again, tip your hat to those guys. They made him work for every single pitch.”

Then came the swing that changed everything.

In the fourth inning, West Virginia had runners on second and third with no outs and nothing to show for it. A strikeout and a baserunning mistake flipped the inning on its head, and just like that, the door slammed shut. Moments later, Contrades erased the deficit emphatically. In just his second start back, already swinging a hot bat at home, he crushed a hanging curveball 440 feet into left to tie the game at two.

The dugout erupted. The crowd followed. Momentum shifted in an instant.

It didn’t stop there. Hits stacked, walks followed. Sophomore outfielder Ky McGary walked in a run, then Hairston stepped in with the bases loaded, the last hitter any pitcher wants in that moment. The tension built. The crowd rose.

A left-handed reliever was summoned just for him, but it didn’t matter. Hairston got the pitch he wanted with two strikes and crushed an offspeed offering into right for his fourth grand slam of the season, tying an ASU record set in 2003. The swing headlined an eight-RBI night, the first of its kind since Jacob Tobias reached that mark in 2024.

“It was a fun night,” Hairston said. “Everything was clicking. It’s pretty rare to have a game like this in this game. It’s the hardest game in the world. So having a night like that’s pretty fun.”

The snowball effect was on full display. Later in the game, Hairston came up twice more with the bases loaded, drawing a four-pitch walk that showed just how little West Virginia wanted to challenge him, then ripping a two-RBI single up the middle to add on.

He also went full extension in the sixth to rob graduate infielder Brodie Kresser of extra bases, a play that saved two runs and, somehow, still felt like just another entry in an already absurd night. At that point, eight RBIs apparently wasn’t quite enough.

Riding that surge, ASU broke the game open with 12 runs across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The grand slam capped a six-run fourth, followed by back-to-back three-run frames that buried any chance of a response. In total, ASU drew nine walks, absorbed three hit-by-pitches, and collected 13 hits, seven for extra bases, in a relentless offensive display.

Junior infielder Dominic Smaldino and sophomore infielder Auston Roellig each delivered multiple hits, while sophomore catcher Brody Briggs reached base consistently with three walks and two hits. Even with standout performances throughout the lineup, the production remained a collective effort.

“Energy is contagious,” Contrades said. “When someone’s on, it just forces everyone to bring up their competitiveness”. 

On the mound, Taylor Penn provided the bridge ASU needed. Entering in the fifth with West Virginia still hanging around, he steadied the game with 2.2 innings of one-run ball and three strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.14 and reinforcing his role as one of the team’s most reliable bullpen arms.

By the end, there was no doubt. ASU enforced the mercy rule in eight innings, seizing control of the series and leaving West Virginia on the ropes, now chasing a complete turnaround.

At the center of it all was Hairston, whose blend of patience and power drove the tone of the win. His evolution at the plate was on full display, and it’s exactly what West Virginia must now figure out how to contain.

“I think this year, searching for a little bit more damage,” Hairston said. “I think I could say that, but in a controlled way, in a mature way, where last year, when I tried to do damage, I can get out of my zone, start rolling things over, but doing damage the right way. I think that was important for me and learning how to do that.”