Sun Devils take two in weather-affected series at UCF
- Andrew Hayslett
- May 3
- 6 min read
The Sun Devils had not had back-to-back weekend series from Friday through Sunday since the end of March when they faced Kansas State and West Virginia in consecutive weekends. The Arizona and BYU series both were Thursday through Saturday to avoid Easter and BYU not playing sports on Sundays.
This weekend’s series at UCF was slated to change that but rains had other plans suspending Saturday’s game after two innings, throwing a wrinkle into what everyone expected. No. 19 Arizona State (33-15, 16-8 Big 12) handled the change well, winning the series 2-1 against UCF (27-17, 15-9 Big 12) for the fifth consecutive Big 12 series win.
Bottom of the order produces big in Friday's win - Hayslett
When discussing the Arizona State offense nationally, the names often brought up are Golden Spikes contender Landon Hairston, power threat Dean Toigo and team captain Nu’u Contrades.
However, the bottom of the lineup often produces as well, giving the Sun Devils a complete lineup. That was the case in Friday’s game as the final five batters in the lineup scored all the runs in a 9-4 victory. The group collected 10 of the 15 total hits.
The nine-hole hitter, junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis went 2-4 with three RBI and a run scored. The three runs he drove in tied a season high. The run scored put him at 43 this season, tying a career high.
Redshirt junior infielder Garrett Michel hit a 397-foot solo shot, his third of the season. Michel went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.
Junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino went 3-6 with a pair of runs scored. Smaldino surpassed his career high in hits which was 57 and has 59 now after the series.
Graduate outfielder Matt Polk went 2-6 with a pair of runs scored. Redshirt sophomore catcher Brody Briggs had a productive day with two runs, two walks, a hit and a run batted in on a sacrifice bunt.
Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston did not record a hit, snapping his 28-game hitting streak. He drove in a run on a hit by pitch.
Redshirt junior second baseman Nu’u Contrades played his first game at second since April 11th. He worked as the designated hitter in games since then while dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. Moving back into the field did not slow him down offensively as he went 4-6, with three runs batted in.
The pitching was solid, starting with junior lefty Cole Carlon. He gave up three runs in five innings with two on solo homers.
Out of the ‘pen, sophomore righty Taylor Penn allowed a run in two and two-thirds innings. Senior southpaw Sean Fitzpatrick got a groundout against the lone batter he faced. Junior right-hander Derek Schaefer threw a scoreless ninth inning.
Rain delay shakes up weekend schedule - Hardon
Saturday pitching for the Sun Devils has been very “piece it together” in the second half of the season, and never was that more apparent than for Game 2 of the weekend series.
Jaden Alba took the ball when the game started on Saturday, but the weather rolled in and the game entered a weather delay after the completion of the second inning. Just over three hours later the game was officially suspended, to be resumed on Sunday in a doubleheader with the regularly scheduled Game 3 to start an hour after completion of Game 2.
Before play was suspended, UCF got out to the early lead on Alba with some small ball in the home half of the 1st, but the Sun Devils countered in the top of the 2nd with Dominic Smaldino scoring on a throwing error by third baseman Javier Crespo.
When play resumed on Sunday, Kole Klecker took the ball to open the 3rd inning, tossing two innings of scoreless ball with 4 strikeouts. He was removed from the game due to shoulder soreness, further scrambling the Arizona State plans.
Alex Overbay followed with two innings of his own, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks, the biggest hit being a solo home run by Zak Skinner that put UCF ahead in the bottom of the 5th.
UCF flexed their offense against Finn Edwards, putting up 2 runs on 3 hits against the right-handed sophomore in the bottom of the 7th inning. Josh Butler was called on for the 8th and kept the Knights off the board, helped by Brody Briggs cutting down Andrew Williamson on a steal attempt to end the frame.
The usually potent Sun Devil offense found themselves stymied by the Knights bullpen.
After Kris Sosnowski left with an injury two batters into the top of the 3rd, Roman Kimball came on in relief and had his way with the lineup. Pitching on three days' rest, Kimball tossed 4.1 innings of 3 hit ball, striking out 3 and walking 1. The only run on his line came on an inherited runner in the 8th inning; Austen Roellig knocked in Landon Hairston after the Devils loaded the bases with nobody out against Kimball and reliever Evan Jones. The threat would end there however as Smaldino grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Devils would mount one last threat, loading the bases with one out and the top of the order coming to the plate, but would ultimately come up empty, dropping the middle game of the series by a 4-2 score.
Sun Devils split Sunday with late inning comeback - Hayslett
Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist often mentions the team needs flush games especially after tough losses. Normally, that comes with a new day, but that was not the case Sunday with about an hour between games.
That was amplified by only having regular Sunday starter Kole Klecker go two innings in the game before, shortening the amount of arms available from the bullpen in the second game. The pitching performed well considering the circumstances as the Sun Devils won 6-3.
Redshirt junior right hander Colin Linder started the game and gave much-needed length. His 79 pitches were the highest he threw over two months. That got him through four innings, allowing a run on four hits, two walks, a wild pitch and four strikeouts.
In his starts, Linder has a 3.74 ERA this season, with a total ERA of 4.01. The longest he went was four and two thirds innings on 83 pitches.
Graduate righty Colby Guy relieved Linder. Guy threw a perfect first five outs, but then it unraveled. He allowed a pair of two-out hits that scored a run, but kept the damage to just that. He went out to start to seventh but hit two batters and walked another while only recording an out.
In his last six appearances Guy has a 16.88 ERA with a season total of 6.50.
Bloomquist turned to Sean Fitzpatrick with the bases loaded and one out. He limited the damage to just a run off a sacrifice fly. He threw an inning in total, striking out one without allowing a baserunner. His ERA is 3.22, over eight points better than last season.
Derek Schaefer came in to get the final five outs in what was then a tied game. He allowed a pair of hits but kept UCF from scoring a run. His last 10 innings have been scoreless and his ERA is 4.39.
The Sun Devil offense was sporadic, but largely came from the top of the order.
Nu’u Contrades launched his 14th home run of the season in the first, a 390-foot blast scoring Landon Hairston. Contrades is now one homer short of matching the combined total from his first three seasons. He rides a 14-game hitting streak.
The Arizona State offense went scoreless for six innings and had seven baserunners in that stretch.
Redshirt sophomore third baseman Austen Roellig and Matt Polk both hit singles to open the eighth. Roellig scored on an errant throw by UCF pitcher Kevin Schoneboom. That was the sole run the Sun Devils mustered in the inning.
In the ninth, graduate right fielder Dean Toigo roped a two-out RBI double that scored Hairston, the go-ahead run. Roellig drove Contrades home on a sacrifice fly and Dominic Smaldino drove in Toigo with a single, giving the Sun Devils insurance runs.
Contrades went 2-3 with a pair of RBI, two runs scored and hit by a pitch twice. Hairston went 1-3 with two runs scored and a hit by pitch.
The 11 runs given up this series are the second-lowest given up in conference play this season, only behind last weekend’s eight against Baylor.
The UCF series was not the only games affected by rain for the Sun Devils as it was announced that their Tuesday game against Missouri was cancelled due to possible weather.
That leaves seven games left before the Big 12 tournament with the home finale versus Oklahoma State, a midweek at Grand Canyon and a Thursday-Saturday series at Houston. Arizona State sits tied- in the conference.
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