Klecker leads the way as ASU offense rolls in Baylor sweep

When a pitcher finds a rhythm, it shows up everywhere. In the stare between pitches. In the tempo around the mound. Most of all, in the swings he forces, late hacks, defensive flinches, guesses with no chance.

That version has flickered in and out for senior right-hander Kole Klecker this season. The TCU transfer left Fort Worth searching for a reset after two uneven years, chasing a freshman season that produced a 3.72 ERA over 96.2 innings. Back home in Arizona, the flashes returned, but rarely stayed.

At his best, he has looked untouchable. Seven scoreless against his former team, seven more with one earned run against Utah. Just as quickly, it has unraveled. Nine runs against Kansas State. Six more against BYU. A grand slam against West Virginia that spoiled an otherwise sharp night. The question has not been the stuff. It has been whether it returns seven days later. For ASU that answer mattered with a sweep of Baylor on the line.

Sunday finally felt steady.

Klecker took the ball and never let the game speed up. He worked with pace, got ahead, and turned Baylor’s lineup into a string of uncomfortable swings. Six innings, eight strikeouts, one shy of his career high. Four hits, two runs, no chaos. It was the version ASU has been waiting for, the one that controls the afternoon instead of surviving it. Behind him, the offense made sure it held. Fifteen hits kept pressure constant. Two home runs broke it open. The line moved all day, traffic never cleared, and the result never felt in doubt, an 11-4 ASU (31-14, 14-7 Big 12) win and a clean sweep over Baylor (22-21, 9-12 Big 12) powered by a start that finally matched the flashes.

That completeness started on the mound. It has not always looked clean for the staff, whether in the rotation or out of the bullpen, but this weekend pointed to progress. ASU allowed just eight earned runs across three games, good for a 2.67 ERA, and struck out 44 for a 14.67 K per nine. Klecker’s outing capped it, a steady finish that underscored the group’s upside.

“Hopefully (the pitching staff is) getting stronger as the year goes on,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “We’re going to need them to be their best here late in the year. We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the year, but they threw it great this weekend. Again, I can’t stress the importance of our defense behind them, having to be sharp, as well as our offense having timely hitting.”

His only damage came in pieces, a solo home run in the second and a two-out RBI double later on. Otherwise, he worked efficiently, landing 67 percent of his 92 pitches for strikes and limiting Baylor to scattered chances. Only two innings featured more than one baserunner. 

The sixth threatened to change that, with two singles opening the frame, but sophomore catcher Brody Briggs erased a runner with a back pick at first, adding to a weekend in which he threw out three runners. Klecker followed by burying a curveball for his eighth strikeout, ending the inning and the rally in the same breath.

“Came out, threw the heck out of it,” Bloomquist said. “Today gave us a good chance to win, and again, another day where the wind’s screaming out, and he keeps the ball in the ballpark for the most part, except for, I think, one blemish there. Just can’t say enough about his performance.”

While the pitching carried the weekend, including a 4-2 win on Saturday, the lineup matched it Sunday with a different look. The usual extra-base barrage gave way to steady, contagious contact. ASU’s first seven hits were singles, and 12 of its 15 stayed on the ground or through gaps, building a 3-2 lead by the fifth.

The separation came moments later. Sophomore infielder Austin Roellig entered with one home run all season, last leaving the yard on Feb. 17. With a runner on, he lifted a drive to right that carried into the bullpen for a two-run shot. The inning kept rolling. Graduate outfielder Matt Polk singled, then sophomore infielder Beckett Zavorek lined a double to right center to score him. 

Zavorek’s surge continued, now 11 for 20 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBIs over his recent stretch, capitalizing on added opportunity with junior infielder Nu’u Contrades easing back from injury. Another RBI single from Briggs pushed the lead to 7-2 and flipped a tight game into control.

“Beck’s done a great job filling in for (Contrades) and starting to come into his own, getting confident with his swing and back to where he’s been,” said Willie Bloomquist. “For him to come out and do that this year, early on it wasn’t clicking for him. But the more we run him out there, he’s getting more comfortable and more confident, and it’s been a huge, huge asset for us the last couple weekends.”

The middle of the order did the rest. ASU’s two through five hitters combined for ten of the team’s 15 hits, delivering the protection behind sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston that Bloomquist emphasized on Wednesday. Junior infielder Dominic Smaldino added three hits and a home run, his third in four games. Contrades extended his own run with another multi-hit day, an RBI and two walks, capping a series in which he homered in each of the first two games.

ASU added three more runs in the sixth to reach double digits, and junior right-hander Jaden Alba handled the final three innings. He struck out five more to bring the total to 13 on the day, closing out an 11-4 win that looked, from start to finish, like a team finally in sync.

Now the attention turns to UCF, which shares the same 14-7 conference record as ASU. The Sun Devils head to Orlando for a matchup against a Knights team riding a four-game win streak and a group they have already beaten this season, including a series win over West Virginia earlier in the year. Bloomquist knows the challenge that awaits at UCF and beyond.

“We understand, looking at the rest of our schedule, it’s not going to be easy,” Bloomquist said. “We’ve got a very tough weekend ahead of us at UCF. Oklahoma State’s playing really, really well lately. They’re always a thorn in our side and tough, and Houston’s very capable of upsetting teams. So throw a couple midweeks in there that aren’t going to be easy either. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but this is the right time for us to come together and hopefully show that mentality and let our talent level shine through.”