Baseball

Sun Devils wrap up important sweep of Baylor

PHOENIX – Following Arizona State baseball’s 11-10 loss to mid-major New Mexico in extra innings Wednesday night, the Sun Devils found themselves in an uncomfortable, yet also familiar position heading into the weekend series against the Baylor Bears.

“We’ve turned the page on the midweek,” head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “Can’t go back and redo it.”

Off the backs of a disappointing loss, the Sun Devils needed to find momentum on the weekend. They’d done it before, after losing to UNLV and Utah earlier this season, but needed it again with the season starting to wind down.

“We challenged ourselves,” senior right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker said.

ASU (31-14, 14-7 Big 12) conquered its internal hurdle with a sweep of Baylor (22-21, 9-12), wrapping up with an 11-4 win Sunday afternoon.

“We were expecting the sweep this weekend, and we executed on it,” Klecker said. “That’s big for momentum.”

The Sun Devils’ excellent weekend execution ran through strong pitching, with Klecker’s strong start serving as the latest instance of ASU’s arms stifling the Bears. Klecker’s uptick in tempo allowed him to keep Baylor hitting chasing, providing the senior with friendly counts as he mowed through innings.

“The season has been a little frustrating with some inconsistencies between starts,” Klecker said. “I feel like I’m getting back on the right track.”

Through 27 frames, ASU only allowed eight earned runs, tied for the least allowed in a weekend series this year, while striking out 44 batters.

Klecker opened the season as a midweek starter, but moved to the Sunday starter role at the start of conference play. However, with the series against Arizona and BYU not having a Sunday game, Klecker was bumped up to pitching on Saturday.

This led to one of Klecker’s roughest outings of the year, as he allowed six earned runs in only two innings against BYU. Then, against Baylor, Klecker responded to his team’s and his own challenges with eight strikeouts and only two runs allowed in six innings of work.

“A lesser guy folds in those moments,” Bloomquist said. “He’s a veteran guy that understands it.”

Responding to past moments of adversity was a central theme of the weekend, as Klecker was replaced by junior righty Jaden Alba, who also struggled against BYU.

In last weekend’s series-opening game, Alba allowed nine earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. Against Baylor, Alba retired the first six batters he faced. His lone blemish came in the ninth inning, when he surrendered a two-run home run, following an error, but got out of the inning unscathed.

“I think we’re the best staff in the country,” Klecker said. “I’m confident in every guy we got in the bullpen, every starter we got.”

Offensively, the Sun Devils generated a similar output to game one of the series. Both games featured ASU’s team-oriented approach, scoring 11 runs.

While in Friday’s game the Sun Devils hit five home runs, in Sunday’s game, they hit two out of the park. Instead of relying on the long ball, ASU was smart in the batter’s box and savvy on the basepath to cross home plate.

“A lot of guys up and down the lineup were contributing,” Bloomquist said. “That’s what we need to compete, a complete lineup, one through nine.

All ten players to feature reached base, while nine picked up a base hit.

“It’s all coming together, and I think it’s coming together at the right time,” Roelig said. “It’s a good thing that we’re rolling.”

As the Sun Devils pick up steam, Bloomquist and his staff are still anticipating the complete return of redshirt junior Nu’u Contrades. Contrades reached base five times Sunday, but has been limited to being ASU’s designated hitter, following a hamstring injury earlier this year.

However, Bloomquist said he expects Contrades to be back in the field for the series against UCF.

“He was itching to play in the field this weekend,” Bloomquist said. “We don’t have a midweek, so he has got the whole week to rehab and hopefully get over the hump.”

Contrades and his teammates will need every second of preparation before next weekend’s series against UCF, as it is pivotal for Big 12 standings. ASU currently sits second in the Big 12, with a 14-7 conference record.

UCF is third with the same record, with both West Virginia and TCU only a game behind. Winning this series could be the difference between finishing second or fifth in the conference.

“We have a pretty good mentality in there, we got some talent,” Bloomquist said. “It’s just a matter of coming together and playing together at the right time.”