Arizona State baseball is in Salt Lake City this weekend to face off against one of its former Pac-12 rivals that made the leap to the Big 12 in 2024. The Sun Devils and Utah Utes both left the floundering conference, as well as Arizona and Colorado, when four other compatriots decided to depart for the Big Ten.
ASU will be looking to get back into the win column after blowing 6-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on Tuesday, eventually falling 11-6 to struggling UNLV on the road.
The Sun Devil bullpen lost control of the game after the Runnin' Rebels managed to load the bases and clear them across two separate relief pitchers head coach Willie Bloomquist sent out.
The team will be hoping that kind of sloppy play will be put far behind them for the important weekend series. Utah is 2-2 in its last four games allowing 20 runs but pitching one shut out across that erratic span. ASU lost the only series it played against the Utes in 2024, two games to one, allowing a whopping 24 runs.
Like last year, the bats haven't necessarily been the issue. The pitching isn't as consistent as Bloomquist needs it to be and that could harm the team's postseason prospects. ASU enters the Utah series third in the Big 12 standings, tied with Texas Tech at 4-2 and trailing just Arizona and Kansas State by a single game.
How to watch Arizona State at UNLV
The Sun Devils (16-9) and Utes (13-10) will throw out the first pitch at 5:00pm MDT at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The game will be aired on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Betting information
Arizona State comes into this game as a 1.5-run favorite, according to DraftKings sportsbook.
The Sun Devils are -180 on the moneyline, while the Utes are +140.
The over/under on total runs is 14.5.