PHOENIX – At the start of the season, D1 Baseball had sophomore left fielder Landon Hairston as the 101st-ranked outfielder in the nation. He has already made that ranking look foolish, as he came into the day with the fifth-best batting average, tied for second most hits and fourth in both slugging percentage and total bases nationally this season.
If that was not enough to justify D1 Baseball’s current ranking as the No. 2 outfielder in the nation, Friday night’s performance was. He slugged a pair of homers, driving in eight, a career high, as No. 22 Arizona State (20-6, 5-2 Big 12 won 14-4 in eight innings over No. 17 West Virginia (17-5, 5-2 Big 12).
“For a 10-run rule, that certainly didn’t feel like it; that was a grueling game,” Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “It’s gonna be a grueling series.”
Hairston slugged his fourth grand slam of the season, tying a Sun Devil record set by Jeff Larish in 2003. To put his power numbers in perspective, he had four homers last season. Hairston has slugged 10 home runs in his last 13 games.
Hairston homered to start the bottom of the first as well. Additionally, he had a single, a stolen base and a pair of walks, with one being intentional. The Arizona native leads the team in average, OPS, runs, hits, doubles, homers, walks, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
“(With the bases loaded) you’re just trying to get a sac fly, and if you miss it, it might go out of the park,” Hairston said.
Redshirt junior second baseman Nu’u Contrades had a pair of home runs, bringing his season total to eight. The first was a 440-foot no-doubter to tie the game early. His second was a blast that landed in the Sun Devils' bullpen in right.
In the two games Contrades has started since returning from injury, he has powered three long balls. He has eight total, tying his single season record that he set in his freshman season.
“I’ve been trying to stick to my approach,” Contrades said. “Just trying to get my pitch up.”
All nine of the Sun Devil batters reached base.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Brody Briggs reached in all five of his plate appearances with two hits and three singles, allowing him to score twice. He swiped a bag as well.
“I think the at-bat that goes unnoticed is Brody Briggs there in the fourth inning,” Bloomquist said. “(He) worked a walk that just took the soul out of that kid.”
Redshirt sophomore third baseman Austen Roellig went 3-5, with a pair of runs scored.
Junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino had a pair of hits and was hit by a pitch. He scored all three times he reached base. The California native has a 12-game hitting streak.
Redshirt junior designated hitter Garrett Michel had a hit and got plunked by a pitch. He scored both times he reached base.
Junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis had a pair of walks and a pair of RBI, including the walk-off sacrifice fly.
At the bottom of the order, sophomore center fielder Ky McGary had a nice game. He had an RBI walk, was hit by a pitch and scored a run.
“Guys are having great at-bats at the bottom of the order, Briggs, McGary, all those guys down there are getting on base at a consistent rate,” Hairston said. “So it’s pretty rare to have that on a team, but when you have a complete team like this, it’s gonna happen more times than not.”
5th year right fielder Dean Toigo walked as well.
Both teams had 13 hits. The Sun Devils went 7-15 with runners on.
The Sun Devil pitching put up a bend but don’t break performance.
Junior lefty starter Cole Carlon was okay. He only pitched four and a third innings, allowing three runs off eight hits and a walk. Carlon had seven batters reach three balls on him.
That’s a pair of consecutive mediocre outings from him, where he allowed three earned runs in five or fewer innings, but those came against two of the top six offenses in the Big 12. His ERA rises to 3.31 this season.
“I don’t get overly caught up in what he’s doing on the negative side,” Bloomquist said. “He’s developing as a pitcher every time he goes out.”
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn pitched well, allowing one run in two and two thirds innings. He allowed five hits and struck out three.
His season ERA is 2.14. This is his fourth win of the season, already surpassing his last season’s total at Western Kentucky.
“I’m used to it by now, coming (in) with runners on,” Penn said. “So you just gotta calm the game down and just get your outs one at a time.”
Sophomore righty Finn Edwards pitched a solid eighth, allowing only a two-out walk and he struck out two. His ERA moves down to 4.05.
Defensively, Hairston made a nice diving grab. He broke into the lineup last year as a designated hitter, and he has grown in the field in addition to his success at the plate.
“Everything was clicking, and it’s pretty rare to have a game like that in this game,” Hairston said. “It’s the hardest game in the world, so having a night like that is fun and getting involved with the fans is fun.”