Takeaways: Sun Devils secure first-ever Big 12 sweep at Utah

(Photo: Austin Hurst)

For Arizona State baseball, this weekend’s three-game series at Utah presented a major test. Despite sporting a 37-11 all-time record against the Utes, the hitter-friendly nature of Smith’s Ballpark combined with the Sun Devils’ struggles on the road spelled a recipe for the unpredictable. However, 34 runs across in three games ensured ASU would leave Salt Lake City with a major milestone in tow.

ASU (18-9, 7-2 Big 12) rode a dominant offensive performance to a road sweep of Utah (13-12, 2-7) for the program’s first in-conference sweep as a member of the Big 12.

FRIDAY

In a then-tied game, senior designated hitter Matt King came in clutch in the seventh inning with a double that grazed the edge of Utah senior center fielder Santino Panaro’s glove, scoring senior first baseman Jacob Tobias. ASU would not look back as the offense continued to heat up.

The offense was scorching as ASU scored in six of the nine innings, winning 9-5. All nine starters reached base safely for ASU in a game it never trailed.

The most productive bat of the day was junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades, who had a season-best four hits, scoring three times and recording an RBI, the first of the game. Contrades has now raised his average to over .300 for the first time since March 16.

King also had a productive day with three hits and two runs batted in. Those marks tie his bests of the year, and like Contrades, King has raised his average to over .300 on the year.

Freshman right fielder Landon Hairston had his best day as a Sun Devil, setting his career high in RBI with three. Hairston reached base three times, with a walk and two hits, tying his career high in that category. Hairston also scored the first run of the game.

Redshirt junior second baseman Kyle Walker continues to have a hot March with a batting average over .400. Walker had two doubles, one of which appeared to be a single off the bat, but Walker’s speed turned it into an easy double. Walker was also hit by a pitch and scored a run.

Tobias reached base three times with two hits and a walk. Tobias, who has hit fourth every game, scored a key go-ahead run in the seventh.

Redshirt sophomore left fielder Brandon Compton looked to show signs of busting out of his slump. Compton, who is 6-for-29 in his last seven games, had two RBIs, including one that gave ASU the lead in the fifth, as he went one-for-four at the dish.

ASU’s offense scored a season-tied high of four runs and a season-high of eight hits against Utah sophomore righty starter Colter McAnelly. McAnelly sits with a sub-three ERA on the year and was coming off a shutout eight-inning dominant performance against Oklahoma State.

After McAnelly, ASU added runs against all three of Utah’s relievers, who had been struggling on the year, showing their offensive prowess. ASU added two game-leading runs against junior righty Demitri Diamant, a run off of junior righty Ian Culver and two against freshman righty Easton Jones.

Friday’s performance shows that the ASU lineup is dangerous. Any batter can have a breakout game, which will keep pressure on opposing pitchers instead of just pitching around a few key guys. — Andrew Hayslett

SATURDAY

Due to inclement weather in Salt Lake City, ASU’s scheduled game against Utah was pushed back four hours. A delay like that can affect a team’s performance either positively or negatively. The Sun Devils were able to remain patient and poised, scoring often in the early innings. However, the scoring outburst was largely due to the Utes coming out flat and making mistakes.

Junior right-handed pitcher Merit Jones started the game on the mound for Utah and he struggled to get ASU batters out early. He allowed three walks and five base runners in the first inning, setting the stage for the Sun Devils to jump out to an early lead. From there, things compounded for the Utes.

Arizona State took advantage of Utah’s free passes and four errors, walking out of Smith’s Ballpark Saturday night with a 7-3 win to secure the series and set itself up with a chance to sweep its conference opponent.

Jones started the game off by getting Walker to ground out to shortstop. From there, he allowed the next two Sun Devils to reach base on walks. Those free bases came back to bite Jones. Both runners would score on separate singles from Tobias and King.

Tobias himself would score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly from junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson, bringing the first inning run total up to three before Jones could record three outs. The Sun Devils controlled the lead for the rest of the game, adding to it over the next two innings.

The Sun Devils would continue to capitalize on gifts, scoring two insurance runs after Hairston was hit by a pitch on the foot in the second inning and King walked to lead off the third. However, it wasn’t just free passes from Jones that scored those runs, the Utes made major mistakes in the field that brought Sun Devil baserunners in to score.

In the second inning, Utah second baseman Matt Flaharty couldn’t field a slowly-hit ground ball that he was charging. As the ball went under his glove, Hairston and sophomore catcher Brody Briggs came around to score.

In the third inning, with a runner on first base, Utah first baseman Cameron Gurney struggled to get the ball out of his glove, eliminating a chance at a double play, and when he tossed the ball to Jones, who was attempting to cover first, Jones missed the bag with his foot. Both runners eventually came around to score in the inning.

From the fourth inning on, the Utah bullpen and improved defense held the Sun Devils scoreless. If it wasn’t for Utah’s early gifts, the game would’ve been much closer going into the middle innings and it might’ve had an entirely different result. The Sun Devils took advantage of the situations that they found themselves in, but they won’t be able to rely on their opponent’s mistakes to create offensive opportunities often. — Ethan Ignatovsky

SUNDAY

When Contrades stepped up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and two runners on, ASU possessed a 6-4 lead against Utah in a back-and-forth series finale. His RBI base hit that ricocheted off the back of freshman right-handed pitcher Dillon Fine started an avalanche of seven straight two-out RBI singles.

The bats imposing their will in the final two frames helped ASU cruise to a 18-6 win over Utah and achieve its first-ever sweep in Big 12 play.

Innings one through six saw the Sun Devils and Utes trading blows in an offensive slugfest that favored contact over power with 33 combined base hits. Contrades’ RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the first was immediately answered by a fielder’s choice and two-out single by redshirt freshman second baseman Austen Roellig that put ASU down 2-1 after two.

The Sun Devils attempted to pull away for good in the third and fourth innings. A double from Tobias followed up by Compton knocking a base hit into right field brought three across in third with two outs. Hairston tacked on another the next frame on a two-out bloop single that kicked Utah redshirt freshman righty starter Cameron Nielson off the mound.

However, the Utes responded with a sacrifice bunt and another RBI single from Roelling to make it a one-run ballgame. Even after a roller into shallow right field from King in the seventh brought the lead back up to two, it was still anyone’s game before the Sun Devils’ offense decided to leave no doubt in the top of the eighth.

After Contrades’ hit up the middle that bounced off a Utah defender, Tobias made it a two-for-one deal when he smoked a line drive that bounced off Roelling and scored two runs. The Sun Devils’ first baseman recorded his second four-hit game of the season on top of a team-leading four RBIs.

King and Jackson followed suit and both pushed a pitch into shallow right center field to bring home a runner. The two veterans collected three hits each and recorded five RBI combined.

Sophomore shortstop Jax Ryan and Briggs were the last ones in the conga line, smacking base hits past the infield that rounded out a seven-run top of the eighth for ASU. Briggs in particular made the most of his time at the catcher spot in Salt Lake City, recording five hits and four RBI over the weekend.

If you include King’s base hit from the seventh, ASU put together a streak of eight consecutive two-out singles. The Sun Devils’ knack for coming through in the clutch on Sunday helped them score 18 runs without a single home run while providing much-needed additions to the conference win total. — Keenan Vaughan