Sun Devils clinch second-straight series with complete win over BYU

(Photo: Nickolas Montei/WCSN)

PHOENIX — There was little panic within Arizona State’s dugout when BYU sophomore outfielder Crew McChesney sent the third pitch of Friday’s game over the right-field wall, instantly putting the Cougars ahead. Although a moment like that can set an ominous tone, the Sun Devils know that with their high-powered offense, they can erase most negatives with a few swings of that bat.

That held true on Friday night. Several times.

With six long balls and lights-out pitching, ASU (27-16, 13-7 Big 12) slugged its way to a 12-4 victory over BYU, clinching its second-straight conference series win. Two Sun Devils — junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades and junior outfielder Kien Vu — recorded multiple homers on the night.

“(I’m) pleased with how we swung the bats tonight,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “That was a good approach. We were able to get some pitches up in the zone and hit some screaming line drives that got out of the ballpark… We were able to live by the long ball tonight, which is something we haven’t done in quite a while, and we were able to put up some runs.”

As soon as they got the chance to swing the bat, the Sun Devils took full advantage. After freshman outfielder Landon Hairston and senior shortstop Matt King reached, senior first baseman Jacob Tobias put a charge into a 0-1 offering, clobbering a 420-foot three-run blast into right-center field.

But ASU wasn’t finished. Contrades immediately followed up Tobias’ homer with a long ball of his own, and with two outs, Vu hit one out of the yard for the first time since March 8 — a stretch of over a month-and-a-half. The Sun Devils went on to hit four more homers, including a 440-foot moonshot from junior Kyle Walker, quickly turning the game into a complete blowout.

Contrades and Vu each picked up their second homers of the night in the seventh inning, cementing ASU’s dominant performance at the dish.

“I would say hitting is very contagious,” Vu said. “So having that five-run first inning kind of helped us use that as momentum for the rest of the game, and the inning after that, where we scored two more… I think we haven’t been able to string it together like that early on in the season, so to come out there and kind of string it together and put together good at-bats after good at-bats, it’s definitely what kind of clicked today.”

For as strong as the Sun Devils’ bats looked on Friday, they were just fine on the mound. But with BYU’s first-inning homer fresh on his mind, senior righty Jack Martinez ran into some more trouble the next time he trotted from the dugout to the hill.

A leadoff double from junior right fielder Bryker Hurdsman was followed up by Martinez holding onto a comebacker too long before making a late throw to second, meaning both runners were safe. The senior then issued two straight walks, bringing in a run and prompting pitching coach Jeremy Accardo to pay his starter a visit on the mound.

“‘Just stay composed, do what you do,’” Martinez said of Accardo’s message. “It was pretty much as simple as that.”

That talk proved simple but effective. Martinez proceeded to induce three straight outs to end the inning, put up four more zeros and finish with 10 K’s — the fifth time this season he’s recorded double-digit strikeouts.

The arms after Martinez were solid, too. Senior righty Will Koger worked a scoreless seventh, and while junior southpaw Sean Fitzpatrick conceded a two-run shot to senior first baseman Cooper Vest in the eighth, the Sun Devils’ lead provided him plenty of cushion. Sophomore right-hander Derek Schaefer then closed the door in the ninth, working around a throwing error by Contrades to get the final three outs.

Complete performances like Friday or Thursday, where the Sun Devils won 8-3, haven’t been as common as the team would’ve liked so far this season. While BYU has a pedestrian 20-20 overall record and 6-14 mark in conference play, these types of wins are important for ASU, especially as it has a high chance of jockeying for a position among the top of the Big 12 down the stretch.

“It’s huge, but that’s what we can do,” Vu said. “We just need to string games like this together and stack wins. (Tobias) said it, we’re headed in a good direction, and once we put offense and defense together like I know we can, it’s going to be a really fun home stretch.”