The high-flying Sun Devil offense has been sputtering as of late. The offense, which averages over eight runs per game, had averaged only 3.2 runs per game in the last five games, as it needed a return to its form.
The high-flying Arizona State baseball (36-23, 18-12 BIG 12) offense that needed to return did not show up in Saturday’s loss to UCLA (44-16, B1G), losing 11-5. The ASU pitching staff had its seventh game where it allowed double-digit runs on the season.
Sun Devils. Bruins. Just like old times 😈 pic.twitter.com/bnign2gAhX
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) May 31, 2025
This is the highest margin of defeat that the Sun Devils have recorded since April 17th, 2024, when they were on the losing end of a run rule, 14-4 to Cal State Fullerton in seven innings.
Freshman left fielder Landon Hairston has had a disappointing postseason, going 0-4 in the Big 12 Championship and 0-9 in the Los Angeles regional. This is Hairston’s worst stretch of the season, as the only other time he did not get a hit in consecutive games was from February 22nd to 25th, going 0-9 with a walk and run scored in a three-game stretch against Oral Roberts and UCLA.
Redshirt junior second baseman Kyle Walker went 0-5. Walker was coming off a 1-5 game against UC Irvine. This is his worst stretch since February, when he struggled at the dish.
The Sun Devil offense hit three momentum-killing double plays early in the game. Freshman third baseman Beckett Zavorek hit the first in the second inning with two on and one out, killing any chance ASU had to cut into UCLA’s lead, which was 7-1 at the time. In the third inning, Hairston hit a flyout to center, and Walker unsuccessfully tried to tag up from first base on the play.
Junior right fielder Kien Vu hit the final one in the fourth inning with no out, but senior shortstop Matt King scored on the play. King and Vu each had a hit, walked and scored a run in the ballgame.
The only ASU batter to have multiple hits was senior first baseman Jacob Tobias, who reached in all but one of his plate appearances. In the regional, Tobias is 5-7, with a walk, four runs scored and an RBI.
Sophomore catcher Brody Briggs had a decent day at the plate with a ninth-inning single that drove in two, being his only hit. Briggs has a quiet May, going 3-17 in the month.
Junior centerfielder Isaiah Jackson reached and scored twice in the game on a walk and a hit by pitch. He was the only ASU batter to score multiple runs.
The ASU pitching staff had a night to forget, allowing 11 runs, the second most of the season, and their worst since the 12-8 loss on April 19th to Texas Tech. Senior right-hander Jack Martinez had a poor outing, but the pitching slowly got better with each pitcher.
Martinez went one and two-thirds innings, the fewest he had gone as a starter since his freshman year at Trinity University. Martinez had an effective first inning, striking out two, but it all went awry in the second inning. Martinez allowed four hits, two walks and a pair of hit batters, and allowed seven runs.
Martinez has had two consecutive rough outings. He last pitched at Oklahoma State on May 16th, where he gave up five runs in four and two-thirds innings. His ERA has risen from 1.71 to 6.15 in the last two games.
Sophomore righty Josh Butler was tasked with stopping the bleeding as a potential “band-aid.” Butler went only one and a third innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits. The tall pitcher had worked four consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run, the best in his short career. His ERA rises to 5.29.
Freshman southpaw Max Arlich had another solid outing, going three and a third. This is his second straight outing of three innings or more, which are the first two times in his career to do so. In both games, he allowed a run. Arlich’s ERA sits at 2.04, the highest it has been on the season.
Senior right-hander Will Koger allowed an unearned run across in his one and two-thirds innings of work. Koger has not allowed an earned run in his last two appearances as his ERA sits at 5.85.
Freshman righty Eli Buxton had his third consecutive scoreless outing, the longest stretch in his young career. Buxton has been perfect in that stretch as his ERA falls to 8.00 on the season.
The Sun Devils will take on UC Irvine, whom they beat 4-2 to start the regional in a win-or-go-home game on Sunday at 3 PM Arizona Time (MST). Lefty Easton Barrett is most likely to get the start on the mound for ASU.