No. 24 Sun Devils mercy rule Fullerton 14-4 in Territorial Cup tune up

(Photo: Joshua Eaton/WCSN)

PHOENIX — It has been nearly two years since the Arizona State baseball team has seen a number next to its name. Well, following their road series sweep of Utah last weekend, the Sun Devils returned home as the No. 24 team in the country, according to D1Baseball.

The last time ASU was ranked in 2023, it reached a high of No. 12 in the country and appeared to be on its way to the postseason for the first time under head coach Willie Bloomquist. What unfolded was a massive collapse that saw the Sun Devils fall from No. 12 on April 30 to out of the postseason entirely just over a month later.

Now, back within the top 25 for the first time since then, the Sun Devils will look to avoid a repeat.

They couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as No.24 ASU (19-9, 7-2 Big 12) jumped out a 4-0 first-inning lead and never looked back, mercy ruling Cal State Fullerton (13-14, 6-6 Big West), 14-4, in seven innings.

“We came out and set the tone offensively, which was great,” Bloomquist said. “We continued to add on and scored enough runs to get it done early. That was a good win all the way around.”

One reason for the Sun Devils early success so far this season has been the ability to strike batters out. Entering Tuesday, the Sun Devils led the Big 12 in strikeouts with 293, nearly 30 more than second-place West Virginia (268).

With Wyatt Halvorson making his second start of the season, the sophomore righty quickly started adding to that tally, recording two strikeouts in the top of the first to get the Sun Devils quickly back into the dugout.

While ASU has been successful on the mound, they are still one of the most dangerous lineups in the country, and it all begins with senior second baseman Kyle Walker at the top of the lineup.

The Grambling State transfer carried a 16-game hitting streak into Tuesday and wasted no time making it 17 consecutive games with at least one hit, lining a single into right field. Since moving into the leadoff spot, Walker has been arguably ASU’s best hitter, hitting .500 with a 1.276 OPS in conference play. He has set the table for the rest of the lineup brilliantly.

“I see myself as an aggressive hitter, so I don’t think that’s something that’s going to change, and it hasn’t changed,” Walker said. “I’ll just continue to swing at pitches in the zone.”

Following Walker’s single, freshman outfielder Landon Hairston walked on four pitches, junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades beat out an infield single and senior first baseman Jacob Tobias knocked in Walker with a sacrifice fly to set the table for redshirt sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton.

Compton hasn’t quite been at his peak this season, hitting only five home runs and leading the team in strikeouts, but with runners on first and second in the top of the first, Compton had arguably his best swing of the season, launching a baseball 465 feet onto the practice fields behind the ASU bullpen.

The ball left his bat at 110 MPH, and just like that, ASU was up 4-0. After struggling in each of the last three midweek games, Compton put the Sun Devils up early, something Bloomquist sees as crucial.

“Don’t take this game lightly,” Bloomquist said about his message to the team prior to the game. “We’ve done that the past two weeks in our midweeks. Let’s put an end to that and go out and take care of business. How they responded was outstanding.”

From that point on, it was all about the ASU offense. The Sun Devils put up crooked numbers in each of the first four innings, and each of ASU’s first five batters in the lineup recorded multiple RBIs.

This midweek game provided a prime opportunity for a trap game. ASU has struggled in midweek so far this season, and the Territorial Cup series with massive conference implications awaits this weekend. However, instead of allowing the game to become an embarrassing loss, the Sun Devils jumped out early and never looked back.

It was the first game in nearly two years with a top 25 ranking next to their name, but Bloomquist and the Sun Devils learned their lesson from that season. There is no room for complacency when battling for one of the 64 spots on the road to Omaha.

“I told them, ‘If you think you’ve arrived because you’re ranked, you haven’t,’” Bloomquist said. “We’re not where we want to be. It’s nice that people are maybe starting to recognize what we’re capable of, but I told them, ‘We haven’t played our best baseball yet, not even close.

“Our aspirations are not to crack the top 25 and be content with it. It’s nice to be there, but we have higher aspirations of continuing to climb the ladder and get to where we want this program to be and where these guys think they can be. My job is to make sure, to keep staring and make sure they don’t get complacent because we’re ranked.”