Arizona State baseball averted a complete disaster and salvaged an 8-4 win Sunday over the rival Arizona Wildcats (22-9, 8-4 Big 12) to avoid the sweep. After prognosticators began penciling in the Sun Devils as a regional host for the NCAA Tournament, ASU (21-10, 8-4 Big 12) faltered under the pressure in the series’ first two games.
“We took yesterday as kind of our low point. It stung,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “I didn’t sleep a lot the last couple of nights, but to bounce back the way we did today and hopefully we can use that momentum as something to build upon as we continue the rest of our season.”
The game appeared to be a pitching duel early on. The Sun Devils continued to look sluggish at the plate until the late innings.
After cruising through three innings, ASU right-handed starter Jaden Alba fell apart in the fourth. A single from junior designated hitter Maddox Mihalakis broke the scoreless tie. After senior first baseman Tommy Splaine doubled to move Mihalakis to third, sophomore left fielder Andrew Cain poked a three-run home run over the right field fence to put the Wildcats up 4-0.
Alba was relieved in the same inning with two outs. The sophomore finished with five strikeouts and allowed four earned runs.
Sophomore lefty reliever Cole Carlon stabilized things for the Devils as Bloomquist’s unit started to chip away at the deficit. Carlon racked up 10 strikeouts in just 4.1 innings of work, cutting down Wildcats right and left.
A two-run home run from senior shortstop Matt King helped ASU cut the Wildcat lead in half in the fifth before a sixth inning explosion propelled the maroon and gold in front.
KINGER. DINGER.
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 7, 2025
Devils on the board in the fifth.
📺ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/KyaZ8trXau
“It was huge, a change of momentum right there,” King said about his home run.
The shortstop finished with three hits, including the homer, which was his first of the season, and three RBI.
A walk issued to freshman right fielder Landon Hairston and a base hit by junior third baseman Nu’u Contrades put ASU in business with no one out. After first baseman Jacob Tobias struck out, sophomore left fielder Brandon Compton worked a walk to load the bases with just one out. King contributed to the cause once again and was hit by a pitch to bring across another run. With the bases still loaded, junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson finally helped the Devils break through with a base hit that plated a pair.
ASU added another run with a double from freshman catcher Brody Briggs that was lost in the Phoenix night sky by Cain in left field. After the dust settled, ASU led 6-4.
E6 | Hot shot double in the scorebook.
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 7, 2025
We will take it. Briggs brings in another.
6-4, Devils, through six.
📺ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/P524LY3jdV
Briggs finished the series with a nice day swinging the bat, totaling three hits.
The offensive awakening sparked some hope for Bloomquist, who was admittedly downtrodden following the back-to-back losses to open the series.
“To get down 4-0 today and not show a whole lot of signs of offense but to be able to come back and steal one there and fight the last half of that game and come back away with the win … hopefully we can use that momentum as a huge positive moving forward,” Bloomquist said.
Luckily for Bloomquist’s sleep schedule, the Sun Devils plated another pair of runs in the eighth before bringing in junior righty Lucas Kelly to shut down the Wildcats for good. Kelly came out firing fastballs almost exclusively and struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Kelly redeemed himself after a tough outing against Kansas in his last appearance at home.
“It’s always tough coming in after a guy like Cole (Carlon), who was absolutely electric,” Kelly said. “But it was good to just get back out there at home in front of the most underrated fans in the country.”
The fans were a large story throughout the series, as Phoenix Municipal Stadium set an attendance record during Friday’s loss and continued to host thousands of fans across the three games. While the on-field product wasn’t ideal, Bloomquist stated that the atmosphere of the weekend could be the standard for Arizona State.
“I think we’ve done a good job marketing that this is intense baseball,” Bloomquist said. “I think the product that we’re putting on the field is continuing to get better and better … I think fans gravitate to that … This is the atmosphere we want at (Phoenix Municipal) every weekend.”
The Sun Devils will cap off five games in seven days Tuesday as they’ll host Cal State Northridge. First pitch is scheduled for 1 P.M. MST.
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