Late rally, resilient Sun Devils secure series win at UCF

Ups and downs have defined the Sun Devils all season. So have streaks, lapses, and swings in momentum. Through all of it, one constant remains. Count them out at your own risk. The Sun Devils respond.

That edge traveled to Orlando, where a series with UCF carried weight. April tightened the margin with midweek losses and uneven weekends. A sweep of Baylor helped, but the standard stayed the same. For a club chasing Omaha, these are the series that define you.

This was one. Both teams entered with identical Big 12 records, just behind first place. UCF brought the league’s best ERA at 4.10 and a road series win over West Virginia, the same team that handed ASU its lone series loss. The assignment was simple. Prove it.

ASU did.

The weekend demanded flexibility before execution. Weather split game two across two days and forced a quick turnaround into the finale. The response held. On Friday, the Sun Devils set the tone. Junior infielder Nu’u Contrades collected four hits, five players had multi-hit games, and ASU rolled 9-4.

Game two tightened. Stretched across Saturday and Sunday, ASU produced nine hits but only two runs. UCF did enough, taking a 4-2 win and pushing the series to the edge.

There was no time to reset. Less than an hour later, the finale began. Early signs pointed the wrong way. Down 3-2 in the eighth, ASU flipped it again. Four runs over the final two innings changed everything. Graduate outfielder Dean Toigo delivered the go-ahead RBI, and late insurance sealed a 6-3 win and the series.

Against UCF’s staff, offense was nonnegotiable. The Knights limit damage and wait for chances. ASU refused that script and attacked early.

After back-to-back UCF home runs in the first off junior left-hander Cole Carlon, the answer came fast. In the second, junior infielder Garrett Michel launched his third homer to dead center. Three doubles followed, traffic built, and two more runs crossed as ASU took control.

It never gave it back. A bases-loaded walk from junior infielder PJ Moutzouridis and a bases-loaded hit by pitch drawn by sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston added two more in the third. Contrades capped the inning with a run-scoring single, part of his four-hit, three-RBI day.

On the mound, Carlon matched the moment. The UCF Knights entered with the fewest strikeouts in the Big 12 and forced deep counts throughout. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings, but steadied after the first and allowed one run over his final four frames. He finished with three runs on five hits.

Sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn bridged the middle, covering 2.2 innings with two hits and one earned run. Moutzouridis added a late RBI single, his third of the day, and ASU secured the opener.

Game two shifted quickly. Junior right-hander Jaden Alba drew the start opposite junior right-hander Camden Wicker, the reigning Big 12 pitcher of the week. Rain halted play in the third after sophomore infielder Beckett Zavorek’s infield single and throwing error tied the game. It resumed Sunday, with Wicker done after 40 pitches.

ASU adjusted. Senior right-hander Kole Klecker took over but exited after two innings with shoulder tightness, forcing an early move to the bullpen. UCF took advantage. Senior catcher Zak Skinner delivered the go-ahead home run, and a seventh-inning stretch of three singles and a sacrifice fly pushed the lead.

The difference was the bats. ASU managed three hits over the final five innings and applied little pressure until late. That is how UCF wins.

ASU still threatened. In the eighth, three straight singles set the table, and sophomore infielder Austin Roellig’s sacrifice fly cut it to two before junior infielder Dominic Smaldino grounded into a double play to end the rally. The ninth brought another chance with the bases loaded and one out, but Hairston and Contrades could not convert. UCF held on, 4-2.

Fifty minutes later, the reset came again.

For two batters, it looked decisive. Hairston walked, then Contrades launched a two-run shot to give ASU an early lead. The offense stalled from there. No other hit came until the eighth as the lineup went quiet for six innings.

On the mound, junior right-hander Colin Linder kept it afloat. He worked through traffic, needing 79 pitches for four innings, allowing one run and striking out four.

The game turned in the middle innings. Graduate right-hander Colby Guy followed with a clean frame, then ran into trouble in the sixth. After two quick outs, three straight reached. Senior outfielder DeAmez Ross doubled home the tying run. Guy limited further damage but returned for the seventh, where control slipped. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly gave UCF a 3-2 lead.

The answer came late. In the eighth, Roellig singled to spark it. Graduate outfielder Matt Polk followed, and a misplay on a comebacker allowed the tying run to score.

In the ninth, ASU finished it. Hairston reached and moved to third on a steal and errant throw. Contrades was hit by a pitch. Toigo worked ahead in the count and lined a double down the right-field line to give ASU the lead. The inning kept building. Roellig added a sacrifice fly, Smaldino drove in another, and junior right-hander Derek Schaefer closed the door in a 6-3 win to take the series.

Another response. Another series win.