Nu'u Contrades comes up clutch to help Arizona State earn walk-off win in pivotal Game 3 vs Kansas

Arizona State's first ever home Big 12 series will go down in the record books as a monumental one.

They faced Kansas, who has quickly emerged as one of the top teams in the conference, most recently coming in at second in our Big 12 power rankings. The Jayhawks represented a tough challenge for the Sun Devils right after beating TCU on the road the prior weekend.

Arizona State pulled off a convincing 9-2 win on Friday night, but had the roles reversed with a 7-3 loss to even the series. That set the stage for Sunday's afternoon rubber match, which proved to be appointment television from start to finish.

The Sun Devils felt optimistic coming into Sunday, as they welcomed back starter Jaden Alba for his first appearance in nearly a month after dealing with a nagging injury. Not only did Alba return to the field, but Arizona State welcomed football star Cam Skattebo into the stands as well.

Things did not, however, start off strong. The Jayhawks offense, which has been one of the best in the nation so far, put some baserunners on early before Dariel Osoria popped a single to drive in a run. The next batter up hit a sacrifice fly to plate one more Jayhawk, and Kansas took a 2-0 lead in the first.

Arizona State got on the board late in the second inning thanks to a bases-loaded walk of Isaiah Jackson that brought Brandon Compton home with two outs. Still, the Sun Devils trailed 2-1.

Alba, for his credit, settled into a groove after the tough first inning. He only lasted three innings, as head coach Willie Bloomquist sought to ease him back into action after the extended absence, but Alba held the Jayhawks to zero hits and one walk in the second and third inning.

Alba was replaced by Wyatt Halvorson, who pitched a scoreless fourth inning. Soon after, Compton reached base on a lead-off single and a home run from Jackson put the Sun Devils up 3-2, giving them their first lead of the day.

That kicked off a long scoring drought for both sides, as the Sun Devils and Jayhawks combined for two hits and no runs in the fifth. Kansas woke up a bit in the sixth, loading the bases and forcing Halvorson to walk in the game-tying run.

At that point, Bloomquist pulled Halvorson for lefty reliever Sean Fitzpatrick, who came in with the bases loaded and needing two outs. His very first at-bat nearly ended things, as the batter grounded out into what looked like a double play. However, the first base umpire ruled the batter safe - and a replay review upheld the call - which in turn brought the go-ahead run home.

Fitzpatrick finished out the inning, but Arizona State trailed 4-3. A quiet sixth inning for the Sun Devils was followed up by a shutout frame from Derek Schaefer, which set up the first big moment for Arizona State.

Jax Ryan led things off with a pop up for the first out, but Kyle Walker dragged out the next at-bat, ultimately getting walked on his eighth pitch. Landon Hairston stepped up and immediately singled up the middle of the diamond. That was followed up by a sacrifice fly from Nu'u Contrades that moved Walker to third base and set things up for Jacob Tobias:

Tobias ate up the center fielder, as the ball dropped onto the warning track and helped plate both Walker and Hairston. Just like that, Arizona State had retaken the lead, going up 5-4.

Another shutout frame from Schaefer set up a save opportunity for Lucas Kelly, the newly-minted closer for the Sun Devils. Kelly, one of many offseason transfers this year, started things out with a three-pitch strikeout. He gave up a single to the next batter, and Walker just missed a chance at a game-winning double play after that.

The miss from Walker came back to bite the Sun Devils immediately. Kelly's next pitch was launched over the right field wall for a two-run homer, putting Kansas back up 6-5. Kelly struck out the next Jayhawk to finish the inning, but the Sun Devils would need a big comeback in the bottom of the ninth.

They did exactly that.

Hairston started the inning off with a single on his second pitch, immediately getting on base. Contrades came up next and dragged things out. Two fouls were followed up by two balls and then two more fouls. Finally, though, Contrades made solid contact and launched the ball right out of there:

Contrades came up clutch for the Sun Devils, walking it off against the Jayhawks and giving Arizona State the series win - their first ever Big 12 series win at home - in the process. The Sun Devils have now won both of their Big 12 series so far this season, both coming against some of the best in the conference.

This kind of win has to offer Arizona State a huge boost of confidence going forward. Kansas has been one of the hottest teams thus far, and they just gutted out a clutch series win against them. Certainly this will be a moment that Bloomquist hopes to build on going forward.