(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
PHOENIX — When the Sun Devils needed their biggest moment of the season to take down rival Arizona, freshman third baseman Nu’u Contrades delivered.
After escaping with a 6-5 victory on Friday, Arizona State baseball had the chance to do something it hasn’t done since 2019 – win a series over the Wildcats. With one out on the board and the score tied at three in the bottom of the sixth, the former No. 16 overall high school prospect in Hawaii helped the Sun Devils do just that, sending the go-ahead three-run blast sailing into the night, helping ASU (15-8, 4-1 Pac-12) defeat Arizona (13-8, 3-5 Pac-12) 7-4.
While Contrades has surely picked up many big hits throughout his baseball career, none were quite as memorable as his 398-foot shot that will forever stand in Territorial Cup history on the diamond.
“It meant a lot,” Contrades said. “I think that was the biggest hit of my life so far, so it really felt good.”
Contrades’ homer put the Sun Devils in the driver’s seat for good, but he wasn’t finished leaving his fingerprints on the game. After Arizona tacked on a run during its half of the eighth, fellow freshman Isaiah Jackson picked up his second hit of the night to keep ASU’s offense rolling. Two at-bats later, Contrades knocked a 1-2 pitch into center field for a clutch RBI double that gave the Sun Devils some insurance.
Through the last six games, the Ewa Beach, Hawaii native has been one of ASU’s hottest hitters, going 13-30 and driving in 11 runs. But for Contrades, the key has been keeping things simple at the plate.
“I’ve just been kind of doing me, you know,” Contrades said. “Didn’t really think about it too much, just go up there and see ball.”
While Saturday’s win could be considered the Sun Devils’ biggest so far this season, things didn’t always look optimistic. Junior starting pitcher righty Khristian Curtis struggled out of the gate, and Arizona took full advantage, posting three runs and five of its seven hits in the first two innings. However, Curtis recovered, holding the Wildcats without a run for his final three frames and finishing with five strikeouts, two walks and six hits.
Despite Curtis’ slow start, head coach Willie Bloomquist was quick to praise his Saturday starter’s ability to battle back and regain his composure on the mound.
“This was a step in the right direction for [Curtis] today,” Bloomquist said. “I think he believes, I believe, we all believe that there’s more in that tank and we can get more out of him … he didn’t let the beginning take him out of his game today, he bounced right back and gave us five strong. [He] kept us in the game, gave out offense a chance to get going there.”
The Sun Devils’ offense took that chance and ran with it. Contrades drove in redshirt junior catcher Trey Newman to put the home team on the board in the third. While ASU’s offense left the bases loaded in the fourth — a result that would kill most team’s momentum entirely — it posted five runs in the sixth to tie the game and eventually take the lead.
“I think [it was] a matter of time before we broke through there in the sixth,” Bloomquist said. “A lesser team probably would have folded up in the fourth when we didn’t score, and I think everyone was disappointed that we didn’t score there because we had a golden opportunity … but guys kept coming, the intensity stayed high and we were able to break through in the sixth.”
The ASU bullpen fed off the momentum, as graduate Nolan Lebamoff and redshirt senior right-handers Jesse Wainscott threw a combined two hitless innings before junior RHP Owen Stevenson shut the door on Arizona. After putting together a dominant bullpen game in an 11-1 thumping of No. 25 GCU earlier this week, the Sun Devils’ relievers have continued to be reliable, allowing just three runs in two games against Arizona.
“I think the most important thing is there’s no ego behind anything within our bullpen,” Stevenson said. “We’re all ready to pitch at any time. At the end of the day, we’re all out-getters and that’s what we’re going to go out there and do when you get a situation like this … We don’t always know who it’s going to be but whoever’s coming in, he’s been doing a great job.”
