PHOENIX – Arizona State has thrown four pitchers in the middle game of a three-game series this season, with none of them getting more than four starts in that role. That steadiness is seen on the bookends of the series this season with junior lefty Cole Carlon and senior right-hander Kole Klecker.
The pitching staff dominated and allowed only three hits in the game. That performance allowed No. 25 Arizona State baseball (30-14, 13-7 Big 12) to beat Baylor (22-20, 9-11) 4-2.
“If you don’t have pitching, you ain’t gonna win,” Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “It’s nice to have an offense that picked up the pitching at times, tonight our pitching picked up our offense.”
It started with sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn, who threw his best start as a Sun Devil. In three innings, he allowed one run off a home run, the only hit he allowed. He walked a batter and hit one while recording five strikeouts.
Penn’s ERA in his four starts is 6.75, and his season ERA is 3.62. Last season at Western Kentucky, his ERA as a starter was 5.11, compared to his season ERA of 3.48.
“(Penn) threw the ball great, wanted to get him out of there with a good taste in his mouth,” Bloomquist said.
Redshirt junior righty Colin Linder came in after Penn and immediately gave up a solo home run. After that, he settled in and threw four shutout innings, not allowing a hit. He walked a pair of batters and hit one while recording five strikeouts.
That home run frustrated Linder.
“I found that pitching angry gets me a little more locked in,” Linder said. “Sometimes you need just a little bit of ‘screw you’ in you, it lights a fire under your ass.”
After missing the 2025 season with Tommy John surgery, Linder has thrown well with a 4.19 ERA. In his two years at Northwest Florida State College, he threw a 4.59 ERA and a best season of 3.79 in his sophomore season.
Junior right-hander Alex Overbay threw the ball well in the two-thirds of an inning he threw. He could have completed the inning, but he bobbled a comebacker that probably was a double play. He allowed a pair of walks and struck out two.
“That ball was coming out hot tonight from him (Overbay),” Bloomquist said. “The tailor-made double-play, he just panicked and got sped up after he actually made a really good play to knock it down.”
His ERA is 6.32 this season, but as a reliever, he is effective with a 2.61 ERA. In his two years before coming to Arizona State, Overbay worked exclusively as a reliever at UNLV.
Junior righty closer Derek Schaefer collected the four-out save. He did not allow any of Overbay’s three inherited runners to score. He allowed a hit and struck out a pair.
In his last four appearances, he held opponents scoreless. His ERA lowers to 4.88.
“I love coming into situations (with the) bases loaded, no matter how many outs there are,” Schaefer said. “It helps me lock in.”
Redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades rocketed a solo 405-foot home run. His 13th of the season, career high with five coming in the last six home games. On the night, he went 2-4 with a pair of RBI and runs.
Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston walked, scored a run and singled, extending his hitting streak to 27 games.
Junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino put together a nice game with a walk, run scored and a single.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Brody Briggs caught a pair of Baylor baserunners stealing second. At the dish, he went 1-2 with a walk.
“Those are two huge plays,” Bloomquist said. “The way he (Penn) was holding them over there was really textbook on keeping him close on varying his times and tempos, and that’s something we’ve stressed this week in practice.”
Fifth-year right fielder Dean Toigo made a flipping grab over the right field wall, ending the top of the third. He was one of two Sun Devils not to record a hit, the other being junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis.
The Sun Devil arms struck out 14 batters on the night, the 28th time they have crossed the double-digit mark in K’s this season.
“We look a lot at in-zone whiff percentage, literally seeing throwing it right down the middle and see how many times they can swing and miss,” Schaefer said. “He’s (pitching coach Jeremy Accardo) put that into our heads for probably 10 months now.”
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