The final home stretch of the regular season is upon us, and with the Sun Devils once again exceeding expectations in the debut season in a new conference, they will close out the home side of the conference schedule with a weekend series against the Houston Cougars.
Everyone knows football's story; predicted to finish dead last in the Big XII, only to win the conference championship game and participate in the College Football Playoff. Hockey had their surprise over in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, rising from an 8th place (of 9 teams) predicted finish to the #2 seed in the conference tournament.
Baseball is enjoying a similar surprise season in their first season in the Big XII. Conference media ranked the Devils 6th of the 14 programs in the Big XII in their preseason media poll. A respectable prediction, but once again, an underestimation of the Devils potential.
With a 16-8 record in conference play, the Devils enter this weekend's series alone in second place, three games back of conference leaders West Virginia. While there is still a chance to overtake the Mountaineers, this series is critical to stay ahead of the logjam behind the Devils in the standings.
Arizona State leads a group of six teams all vying for a top-4 spot in the conference tournament, with Kansas, Arizona and TCU all a game back at 15-9, Kansas State two games back at 14-10, and Cincinnati three games back at 13-11.
The Devils will be looking to continue their current two game winning streak against a Houston team that enters on a five game winning streak of their own. After sweeping Utah at home last weekend at Schroeder Park, the Cougars sit in 10th place with a 10-13 record in conference play. Their RPI of 90 doesn't bode well for an at-large bid to the tournament, but could deal a devastating blow to the Devils chances, who have just cracked into the top-40 at #39.
As of May 6th, D1 Baseball's projections placed the Sun Devils as the #3 seed in the Los Angeles Regional, setting up the possibility of all California opponents in UCLA, UC Irvine, and San Diego.
With 7 games left on the schedule against lower RPI teams in Houston, Grand Canyon (82), and Oklahoma State on the road (59), the assignment is easy for Willie Bloomquist's squad. Control what can be controlled, win the games that should be won (hopefully all 7), and secure that first round bye in the conference tournament.
How to Watch Houston at Arizona State
First pitch from Phoenix Municipal Stadium between the Sun Devils (32-17, 16-8 Big XII) and Cougars (27-20, 10-13 Big XII) is set for 6:30pm MST.
The game will air on ESPN+ (subscription required), while Tim Healey and Max Rossiter will have the radio call on KDUS 1060 AM.
Betting Information
Arizona State enters the game as a 2.5-run favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Sun Devils are -330 on the moneyline, while the Cougars are +240.
The over/under on total runs is 13.