PHOENIX – Arizona State baseball is back in action 257 days after it lost to UC Irvine in the NCAA regionals. To kick off the new season, the Sun Devils faced a team from the place they want to end it - Omaha.
Arizona State (1-0) kicked off its road to Omaha with a 7-2 win on Friday night against Nebraska-Omaha (0-1) at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Junior lefty Cole Carlon cruised through the Maverick batters, as he has to be a key piece for the Sun Devils if they head to Omaha.
“Cole did a great job getting through five, which was more than I expected, honestly,” Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
Carlon threw five innings on 67 pitches, tying a career high, which was around the number Bloomquist had in mind for the southpaw. He only allowed a pair of hits, with one being a home run. That was the only run he allowed.
Carlon had started only two games in his collegiate career, both being midweek games in his freshman year. The lefty has huge expectations as a Friday night starter with powerful velocity reaching 98 miles per hour.
“I felt like I could have gone more,” Carlon said. “I felt like I was able to hold my stuff pretty good.”
Junior righty Alex Overbay picked up where Carlon left off, throwing three innings, allowing a run. He faced two bases-loaded jams, as he allowed four hits and two walks. Overbay threw his career-high in total pitches in 53.
Junior right-hander Derek Schaefer pitched a shutout ninth, taking care of all three Omaha batters he faced. Bloomquist said that Schaefer and sophomore right-hander Eli Buxton will start as back-end pitchers.
Offensively, six of the nine batters were not Sun Devils last season, but they produced at a level that was close to last year’s team, which scored 8.2 runs a game. Redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades led the offense, reaching base in all four plate appearances.
Contrades is a master at reaching base as he logged a 54-game on-base streak that was snapped in the final game he played in 2025 when he suffered an injury. He collected a pair of hits, as well as a walk and was hit by a pitch.
“Nu’u (Contrades is) a special talent,” Bloomquist said. “When he’s right, he’s our best player.”
Contrades got the scoring started on a play that saw him steal third, forcing UNO senior catcher Brody Sexton to throw to third, and it was offline, allowing Contrades to score, which was the first of three times he scored.
Contrades played second for the first time in his collegiate career, but he had played the position in high school. He played well up the middle with junior infielder PJ Moutzouridis.
Situational hitting was key for Arizona State, going 5-11 with two outs and 5-12 with runners in scoring position.
“Especially on a night like this, when wind’s not really blowing out, and homers aren’t really carrying, it’s more staying low line drive, causing chaos on the base paths,” Moutzouridis said. “As long as we kept doing that, putting pressure on them, it’s a good spot for us.”
Moutzouridis excelled in both those categories with a two-out single in the eighth that drove home a run. The Cal transfer had a three-hit performance with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base.
Four different players stole bases for the Sun Devils, including a pair from Contrades.
“That was kind of our game plan going in, we’re gonna try and cause havoc in any way possible,” Contrades said.
Redshirt sophomore Brody Briggs was one of those, and with his stolen base, matched his NCAA career total from his first three years. Briggs knocked in a pair of runs.
Sophomore utility Landon Hairston did some damage at the top of the lineup with a pair of hits and an RBI.
Redshirt junior Garrett Michel had a solid first game as a Sun Devil. He logged two hits, including an RBI single, where he fist pumped the air on his way to first. The Virginia Tech transfer had good reason to be happy, as his last two seasons have been injury-riddled.
Junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino recorded a hit and a run. The 6-foot-6-inch Smaldino stole home on a delayed double steal with fellow former Golden Bear Moutzouridis.
Redshirt sophomore infielder Austen Roelling lost his ten-game hitting streak. The Utah transfer walked in his first game as a Sun Devil.
Fifth-year outfielder Dean Toigo was the only batter who played the whole game that failed to reach base, ending his 21-game on-base streak, dating back to last season.
Junior outfielder Sam Myers started the game in center before being replaced by junior infielder Dominic Longo at the same position. The transfers both failed to get a hit in two at-bats each.
Bloomquist mentioned freshman infielder Brendan Lewis will be out for a while with a broken hand.
The fans had an impact with 3,690 showing up, one of the highest opening night totals for the Sun Devils, as well as the highest student attendance on a season-opening game.
“It’s great to have fans out here,” Bloomquist said. “We’re trying to build this environment to make it a heck of a lot of fun for our home players to play.”