This season, Arizona State has one of the most prolific offenses in the country, but its pitching is a few steps off. That story is nothing new.
In each season since 2024, the Sun Devils have logged a top-30 offense nationally, while their pitching staff has yet to crack the top-75.Â
Those statistics were reflected in the Thursday-Saturday series against BYU (20-18, 9-9 Big 12), with the No. 23 Arizona State (28-13, 11-7 Big 12) taking the series 2-1 in Provo. The series saw a pair of run-rule games with an average runs per game just north of 20.Â
The series win was much needed as Arizona State has underperformed as of late, going 5-4 against teams that are struggling this season, with Utah as the only team the Sun Devils played in that stretch in the top 150 in the RPI. That stretch has brought inrumblings that Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist could be fired if the Sun Devils miss the postseason.Â
Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini denied those rumors, but the fact that they circulated shows the fall the team has had lately. Taking two of three from BYU is a good result, as the Cougars are No. 46 in the RPI after Saturday.
Pitching struggles in run-rule loss on Thursday
Nine runs ought to win most games. In the series opener, the Sun Devils lost 19-9 in seven innings.Â
Head coach Willie Bloomquist opted to keep junior lefty Cole Carlon in his Friday role and opted for more of a bullpen game to start the series, as he did two weeks ago against Arizona in the Easter weekend series.
Last season, lefty Easton Barrett and righty Jaden Alba started the majority of Sunday games as the Sun Devils could not find stellar pitching behind lefty Ben Jacobs and Jack Martinez. A year later, they have had two consistent weekend starters and a revolving door in the third slot.
Barrett and Alba both have started in the slot, with one usually the first man out of the bullpen, especially when the other starts. The sophomore southpaw got his seventh start of the season as the Sun Devils have won in every game Barrett started this season, even though he has only a 1-0 record.Â
Barrett only threw two-thirds of an inning, the quickest he had been chased from a game. He allowed three runs on three walks, three hits and a wild pitch. His ERA moved up to 8.41.Â
He has struggled with walks this season, averaging over 11 per nine innings. He has walked two more batters than he struck out this season.
Alba then threw three and two-thirds innings, allowing nine runs on nine walks, three hits and a wild pitch. The junior had pitched well in his last three outings with an ERA of 0.96. His ERA rose to 7.81.
Junior righty Josh Butler entered the game, and he struggled, allowing three runs on four hits and a wild pitch in two-thirds of an inning. In his last three appearances, he has a 24 ERA in three innings. His ERA is up to 6.89.
Senior right-hander Nick Anello finished the game, allowing four unearned runs in an inning, allowing three hits and hitting a batter. His ERA fell to 8.10.
Offensively, graduate outfielder Matt Polk played well, going 4-4 and hitting his fourth home run of the season. In the series, he went 7-11, with eight runs scored and 6 RBI.
Pitching dominates in run-rule win on Friday
The loss made the final two games close to, if not, must-win games to avoid total freefall.Â
A week ago, Cole Carlon had his worst start of the season against Utah. He had an electric rebound outing, hitting triple digits for the first time in his career. He struck out 11 and allowed only three hits in six innings, and his ERA lowered to 3.63.
The 11 strikeouts tie Carlon’s career high of 86, and he threw two fewer innings in comparison to the first time he set 86. He threw 86 total pitches, the fewest since Feb. 27 against Mississippi State. The main drawback from his outings is the fact that he has not worked into the seventh inning at all this season.
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn came out of the bullpen and pitched a clean seventh on nine pitches. He moved back to the pen after a pair of weekend starts where he allowed an 8.10 ERA in six and two-thirds innings. His season ERA fell to 3.45, the best healthy arm on the staff (junior right-hander Wyatt Halvorson is out for the season).
Offensively, all nine batters reached base, with seven of them getting hits.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Brody Briggs had not had a hit in his last 16 at-bats coming into the series. Saturday’s game saw his second home run of the season. He had a good day at the plate with one walk as well as a pair of hits, runs and RBI.Â
On Sunday, he went 0-5 at the plate with a golden sombrero, so the platoon continued with him and sophomore Coen Niclai, who went 1-2 with a walk and a run on Thursday.
Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston had his first series without a homer since the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Globe Life Field at the end of February. He went 2-3, with a pair of RBI on the day. His series was productive, going 4-11, five runs, four RBI and three walks. His hit streak is up to 24 games.
5th-year outfielder Dean Toigo logged a good series. His bat went 4-12 with three runs scored and a walk. This was his first series without an RBI since the San Diego State series over a year ago, when he was at UNLV.
Back-end bullpen prevails in rubber match win on Saturday
Saturday’s game started similarly to Thursday’s game. Senior right-hander Kole Klecker struggled, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk in only two innings. He has had a mixed bag of outings this season, with Saturday’s being one of the rougher ones. His ERA rose to 6.34.
Junior righty Alex Overbay threw two innings of work, allowing two runs (only one was earned) on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. His season ERA is 6.37, but his ERA as a reliever is 2.37.Â
After the third inning, it looked like BYU was on its way to another run-rule victory as the score was 7-0. The rest of the bullpen locked in.
Redshirt junior right-hander Colin Linder went one and two-thirds innings. He walked a pair and allowed a hit, but did not allow a run to cross. His ERA fell to 4.41, and he could be one of the starters next week.
Senior southpaw Sean Fitzpatrick only walked a batter in the inning and a third he threw. He has been strong of late, with no earned runs in his last four and two-thirds innings.Â
Before that, Fitzpatrick had a rough three-week stretch with an 8.10 ERA across six and two-thirds innings. The Texas-native started the season with no earned runs across eight and a third innings. His season ERA is 3.38.
Junior righty Derek Schaefer closed the game with his sixth save of the season, in a two-inning save. He allowed a hit and struck out four.Â
Schaefer has put together a couple of scoreless two-inning appearances after a pair of outings where he struggled. In those combined outings, he went one and two-thirds with a 37.80 ERA. His bounce-back outings have lowered his ERA to 5.66.
Junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis knocked in the game-leading run in the seventh. His day at the plate was crucial with a hit by pitch as well as a pair of doubles, RBI and runs scored. His series was productive, going 2-8 with four RBI, four runs, three walks and a hit by pitch.Â
Sophomore infielder Beckett Zavorek had the best series of his career, which saw him score the game-leading run in the seventh. He went 3-4 with three runs, setting or tying single-game career highs in both hits and runs (he set his career high in runs on Friday with three). He went 5-7 in the series with seven runs, two walks and an RBI.
Redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades continues to stay in the designated hitter role as he works back from his leg injury. He had a bases-clearing two-out double that put the Sun Devils within a run. In the series, he went 4-14, with a pair of runs and a trio of RBI.
Redshirt sophomore infielder Austen Roellig went 3-5 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. He had a good series going 6-14, seven RBI, a run and a walk. That is the most RBI he has in a three-game series in his career.
Sophomore outfielder Ky McGary got a triple and scored the game-tying run in a pinch-hit appearance. That was his first career extra-base hit, and he is batting .333 in a limited role this season.
Redshirt junior first baseman Garrett Michel made his first start in the field this season. He has been hitting in the designated hitter slot. The North Carolina native went 1-3.
Moving forward
This team will live and die with its pitching, and this series showed that. It will be interesting to see who is the third starter next weekend against Baylor, as eight different pitchers have started games this season and seven in the weekend games. The next three series for the Sun Devils are against teams above them in the RPI, and they have yet to sweep a team in conference play this season.
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