Arizona State baseball successfully got back into the win column on Friday night after topping Big 12 rivals Utah 9-5. The final score doesn't reflect how close of a contest things were, tied multiple times throughout until ASU opened things up in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
Junior infielder Nu'u Contrades led the team with four hits but it was freshman right fielder Landon Hairston who brought the most Sun Devils to home plate with three RBIs on the night. Starting ace Ben Jacobs earned his second win of the season with a six inning effort, allowing all five runs on four hits but striking out five Utes and walking just three.
Saturday afternoon the teams will hit the diamond again for Game 2 of the three-game weekend series. Utah will be looking to avoid losing three straight games since a five-game slide it suffered from March 9-16. The Sun Devils have an opportunity to win consecutive contests for the first time since March 15-16 against TCU.
ASU (5-2) remains in third place in the Big 12 standings after Friday's result but the Utes (2-5) have quickly tumbled to the conference basement. Saturday will be a crucial matchup for both teams in establishing the tone for the rest of their respective seasons. Setting up (and executing) a Sunday sweep would go a long way for the Sun Devils in boosting their resume for being ranked in the nation's Top 25.
How to watch Arizona State at UNLV
The Sun Devils (17-9) and Utes (13-11) will throw out the first pitch at 1:00pm 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 -175 on the moneyline, while the Utes are +135.
The over/under on total runs is 14.