Sun Devil baseball took on desert rival then-No. 22 UA in a three-game series on home dirt the first weekend of April. Unfortunately, a lack of offensive execution and the strength of the Wildcats' lineup led to a frustrating 2-1 series loss for the Sun Devils.
Game one on Friday started off promising for ASU, with scoring starting as early as the first inning thanks to a double by junior infielder Nu'u Contrades, who brought in freshman infielder Landon Hairston.
Singles off of Hairston and junior outfielders Isaiah Jackson and Kien Vu split between the bottom halves of the third and fourth innings gave them a 4-1 lead reaching the game's midpoint.
Four runs in the top of the fifth put UA up, but a double to right by clean-up hitter and senior infielder Jacob Tobias tied it again.
However, the Wildcats rallied across three runs in the seventh inning to give them an 8-5 lead over the Sun Devils, from which they couldn't bounce back.
Game two was a rough ride for the Sun Devils, as they went scoreless through six innings while their competitor scored five runs. ASU didn't break through until the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a fielder's choice.
After a quiet eighth inning, the Sun Devils began to put something together in the ninth with RBI singles from redshirt sophomore outfielder Brandon Compton and Jackson.
With fans on their toes and UA's team now threatened with the winning run at the plate, the comeback dreams died with a strikeout. The Sun Devils couldn't tally enough to stay alive, losing 5-3 and dropping to 0-2 in the series.
The team struggled greatly in the box, hitting 23 ground balls within the first two games, averaging .265 overall in game two, and hitting into seven rally-killing double plays throughout the weekend.
"It's part of the game," assistant coach Jason Ellison said. "With this lineup, you've seen what we're capable of, I don't think we ever get down; we kept falling (for) the same trap over and over, and it bit us."
In the 5-3 loss, the team came out swinging but not in the way one might like. Their aggressive tendencies to hit outside the zone at pitches down and inside left a bitter taste in their coaches' mouths.
"Swing at the right pitches," Ellison said on how to better improve the offense's aggression. "We expanded on zones we couldn't handle as well and tried to do too much with it. If we settled down a bit and get back to hitting, we'll be fine."
Meanwhile, in the circle, junior starting pitchers Ben Jacobs and senior Jack Martinez had high-strikeout performances of their own — Jacobs with 10 in game one and Martinez with a career-high of 12 in game two. Martinez also pitched through seven innings, his new season-high.
Despite their dominant performances in the K portion of the stat line, UA still managed to break out in a four-run fifth inning against Jacobs on Friday and a three-run sixth inning over Martinez on Saturday.
"As a pitching staff, our motto is to 'Give ourselves a chance to win,'" pitching coach Jeremy Accardo said. "The last two days have been tough. One crooked one in the inning sealed the deal. It wasn't always self-inflicted. Sometimes, they're making good swings; sometimes, you tip your cap."
A similar story began to write itself in the series finale on Sunday, as UA jumped ahead 4-0 in the fourth inning. However, a momentum-changing two-run homer off the bat of senior infielder Matt King awakened the Sun Devils.
They'd have a breakout four-run inning of their own in the bottom of the sixth and sealed the deal in the eighth, scoring two.
King and sophomore catcher Brody Briggs were the batting stars of the game. King went 3-for-3 and was responsible for three runs. Briggs hit 3-for-4 with an RBI of his own.
"Those guys can swing it," sophomore left-handed pitcher and first baseman Cole Carlon said. "I knew as soon as we got back in the dugout they were going to start swinging the bats. We started to get the energy up a little bit in the dugout, and we just took off from there."
It was thanks to Carlon's outing, striking out 10 of the 13 batters he faced, that this game was in reach. In his 4.1 innings on the rubber, he struck out seven batters in a row, tying the fourth most consecutive punchouts by a pitcher in a maroon-and-gold uniform.
"Everything (was working), kid was electric tonight," head coach Willie Bloomquist said. "That's the best I've ever seen him. He faced 13 hitters (and) punched out 10. That was impressive by him."
Although the weekend didn't turn out as hoped, facing not only a fellow Big 12 team but the University's rival, ASU looks ahead to better their game.
"I didn't sleep a whole lot the last couple of nights," Bloomquist said. "But to bounce back the way we did today, hopefully, we can use that momentum as something to build upon as we continue the rest of our season."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at linunez@asu.edu and follow @laurentahuka on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Lauren is a junior studying sports journalism with a minor in digital audiences. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio Sports, WCSN and Sun Devil Athletics.
