PHOENIX - Sun Devil Baseball has returned to the national rankings in a loud way, earning national rankings for the first time in the WIllie Bloomquist era. The Sun Devils will look to continue their hot play starting Tuesday with a midweek tilt against crosstown rival Grand Canyon at 6 p.m. AZT at GCU's Brazell Field in Phoenix.
24 - The Sun Devils entered the majority of the rankings this week, including moving into the No. 24 spot by D1Baseball and at No. 22 by Baseball America - its first ranking by the outlet since 2020 . The team also finds itself at No. 23 by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the USA Today Coaches Poll and as high as No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball News. The Sun Devils are 10-2 in Pac-12 play with series victories in each of the four it has played thus far. The team has won 17 of its last 19 games entering the week.
12 - The Sun Devils have shown an ability to be successful in close games, going 12-2 this season in games decided by three runs or less. A year ago the team was 14-16 in those games. More notably, ASU is 5-2 in one run games this season after going 1-7 in those games last year. ASU has also been impressive in its single-game midweek tilts this year, going 6-0 in such games after Tuesday's victory over Seattle U. ASU was 4-6 in single-game midweek tilts last season. ASU has trailed in 11 of its last 13 victories. ASU has trailed by three or more runs in five of those victories.
4 - The Sun Devil bullpen has been pivotal to ASU's success this season and markedly better than last years with a combined 4.58 ERA this season. The group has a 14-3 record in decisions this year with nine saves and his holding opponents to a .232 average against. The squad has a 143 to 69 strikeout to walk ration for the season. These numbers pop when you consider last year's bullpen through 32 games was sitting with a 6.63 ERA and a 6-13 record in decisions. The team was allowing a .292 average against with 120 strikeouts to a whopping 93 walks.
1 - Ryan Campos was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week following this weekend's sweep of Washington State and enters the week with the league's highest batting average (.419) and longest reached-base streak (30 games). Camposl leads the Pac-12 with 39 runs, tied for 10th with 7 homers and fourth in the league with 25 walks. His .527 OBP also paces the conference while his .675 slugging percentage is good for sixth. Campos is the only Pac-12 Player in the Top-10 in average, OBP, slugging, runs, homers and walks.
IN THE RANKINGS/QUICK NOTES
ASU was ranked No. 22 in the nation by Baseball America, marking its first recognition by the outlet since the 2020 season. The Sun Devils also earned a spot as No. 24 by D1 Baseball, a team-high No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball News and No. 23 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Sun Devil Baseball has won its first four series in Pac-12 play for the first time since the 2009 season - including a 6-0 league play mark at home - after sweeping the Washington State Cougars April 6-8 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. ASU has won 17 of its last 19 games and is 23-9 (10-2 Pac 12).
Arizona State has conference series sweeps against the Cougars and Arizona Wildcats at home, while taking series wins at Cal and Utah. ASU also has wins against Grand Canyon, Mississippi State, twice over UNLV and a series sweep against San Diego State.
Ryan Campos is quietly putting together a nationally-elite season for the Sun Devils. He has reached base in 30 consecutive contests while batting .419 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, 25 walks and 39 runs. His average is second in the Pac-12 and 23rd in the nation. He leads the conference with those 39 runs scored and only three men have more walks than Campos' 25 free passes. With seven home runs, he is tied for 10th in the conference of champions. Campos' OBP of .527 is 19th in the nation and tops in the Pac-12.
For his effort, Campos was named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Midseason Watchlist and earned Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 10.
ASU's resurgent bullpen has been a key feature in its success. In 32 games, this season, the Sun Devil bullpen has a 4.58 ERA with 14-3 record in decisions along with nine saves, an opponents batting average of .232 and 143 strikeouts to 69 walks. In 2022, through the same opening 32 games, ASU relievers had a 6.63 ERA with a 6-13 record in decisions and 120 strikeouts to a loud 93 walks, along with nine saves. They were also allowing opponents to hit .292.
Owen Stevenson has developed nicely into the closers role, nailing down a team-high four saves, the third most in the Pac-12. Nolan Lebamoff has been scoreless in his last 14 outings and Matt Tieding has also been lethal for the Sun Devils, posting a 3.45 ERA while ASU has won eight of the last nine games he's appeared.
Sun Devil Baseball has received significant contributions from newcomers, notably in the form of Pac-12 Players of the Week Nu'u Contrades and Luke Keaschall.
Keaschall's honor came after Arizona State opened its league calendar by taking two of three games away from home against the Utes, where he went 9-13 (.625) with two home runs, two stolen bases, five extra base hits, six runs scored and eight RBI. Keaschall also went 1-3 with a walk, home run and two runs scored in an ASU win against Utah Tech during the week.
Contrades' early POTW came after a win against a then-ranked GCU team and sweep of Arizona. He was 7-14 (.500) with eight RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and two home runs in Sun Devil Baseball's sweep of the foes down south. He also plated the winning run in Saturday's series-securing victory and scored it in the series finale Sunday, making him responsible for three of the four winning runs in ASU's four games.
For the week, Contrades was 9-19 (.473) with 10 RBI - of ASU 31 total - four runs scored, two doubles, two runs, only one strikeout in 19 plate appearances and a laughable .947 slugging percentage. This capped an 11 game stretch where he batted 24-49 (.489) with 19 RBI, four home runs and five doubles.
Arizona State will look to improve its resume with a return game with the crosstown-rivals at Grand Canyon. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. ASU resumes its conference slate with a weekend set on the road against Washington.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. The Sun Devils have gone 7-1 on Friday night games this season, led by Ross Dunn who is 4-1 with a 3.09 ERA - fourth in the Pac-12.
2. The Sun Devils are 6-0 in single game midweeks this season, notable as the team was 4-6 in such games a season ago.
3. ASU is 5-2 in 1-run games this season, a notable tally as ASU went just 1-7 in 1-score games last year. The team is 12-2 in games decided by 3 runs or less.
4. Johnny Wholestaff midweek games have seen the Sun Devils excel with a team 3.00 ERA in single-game midweeks with 56 Ks to 16 BBs.
5. Ryan Campos leads the Pac-12 with an active 30-game reached base streak and is the league leader with a .419 average as well.
6. Jacob Tobias has posted a team-leading 33 RBIs this season that are fifth in the Pac-12 conference and notable as he had just 29 for the season last year.
7. The Sun Devils have trailed at some point in 11 of the team's last 13 victories and in 13 of the squa'ds victories overall.
8. Nolan Lebamoff enters the weekend having not allowed an earned run in any of his last 14 appearances after allowing three in the first two.
9. The Sun Devils have six players with 20 or more RBIs this season - tied for second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford.
10. The Sun Devils and Stanford are the only teams in the Pac-12 with eight players with three or more homers this season.
BY THE NUMBERS24 - The Sun Devils entered the majority of the rankings this week, including moving into the No. 24 spot by D1Baseball and at No. 22 by Baseball America - its first ranking by the outlet since 2020 . The team also finds itself at No. 23 by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the USA Today Coaches Poll and as high as No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball News. The Sun Devils are 10-2 in Pac-12 play with series victories in each of the four it has played thus far. The team has won 17 of its last 19 games entering the week.
12 - The Sun Devils have shown an ability to be successful in close games, going 12-2 this season in games decided by three runs or less. A year ago the team was 14-16 in those games. More notably, ASU is 5-2 in one run games this season after going 1-7 in those games last year. ASU has also been impressive in its single-game midweek tilts this year, going 6-0 in such games after Tuesday's victory over Seattle U. ASU was 4-6 in single-game midweek tilts last season. ASU has trailed in 11 of its last 13 victories. ASU has trailed by three or more runs in five of those victories.
4 - The Sun Devil bullpen has been pivotal to ASU's success this season and markedly better than last years with a combined 4.58 ERA this season. The group has a 14-3 record in decisions this year with nine saves and his holding opponents to a .232 average against. The squad has a 143 to 69 strikeout to walk ration for the season. These numbers pop when you consider last year's bullpen through 32 games was sitting with a 6.63 ERA and a 6-13 record in decisions. The team was allowing a .292 average against with 120 strikeouts to a whopping 93 walks.
1 - Ryan Campos was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week following this weekend's sweep of Washington State and enters the week with the league's highest batting average (.419) and longest reached-base streak (30 games). Camposl leads the Pac-12 with 39 runs, tied for 10th with 7 homers and fourth in the league with 25 walks. His .527 OBP also paces the conference while his .675 slugging percentage is good for sixth. Campos is the only Pac-12 Player in the Top-10 in average, OBP, slugging, runs, homers and walks.
IN THE RANKINGS/QUICK NOTES
ASU was ranked No. 22 in the nation by Baseball America, marking its first recognition by the outlet since the 2020 season. The Sun Devils also earned a spot as No. 24 by D1 Baseball, a team-high No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball News and No. 23 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Sun Devil Baseball has won its first four series in Pac-12 play for the first time since the 2009 season - including a 6-0 league play mark at home - after sweeping the Washington State Cougars April 6-8 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. ASU has won 17 of its last 19 games and is 23-9 (10-2 Pac 12).
Arizona State has conference series sweeps against the Cougars and Arizona Wildcats at home, while taking series wins at Cal and Utah. ASU also has wins against Grand Canyon, Mississippi State, twice over UNLV and a series sweep against San Diego State.
Ryan Campos is quietly putting together a nationally-elite season for the Sun Devils. He has reached base in 30 consecutive contests while batting .419 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, 25 walks and 39 runs. His average is second in the Pac-12 and 23rd in the nation. He leads the conference with those 39 runs scored and only three men have more walks than Campos' 25 free passes. With seven home runs, he is tied for 10th in the conference of champions. Campos' OBP of .527 is 19th in the nation and tops in the Pac-12.
For his effort, Campos was named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Midseason Watchlist and earned Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 10.
ASU's resurgent bullpen has been a key feature in its success. In 32 games, this season, the Sun Devil bullpen has a 4.58 ERA with 14-3 record in decisions along with nine saves, an opponents batting average of .232 and 143 strikeouts to 69 walks. In 2022, through the same opening 32 games, ASU relievers had a 6.63 ERA with a 6-13 record in decisions and 120 strikeouts to a loud 93 walks, along with nine saves. They were also allowing opponents to hit .292.
Owen Stevenson has developed nicely into the closers role, nailing down a team-high four saves, the third most in the Pac-12. Nolan Lebamoff has been scoreless in his last 14 outings and Matt Tieding has also been lethal for the Sun Devils, posting a 3.45 ERA while ASU has won eight of the last nine games he's appeared.
Sun Devil Baseball has received significant contributions from newcomers, notably in the form of Pac-12 Players of the Week Nu'u Contrades and Luke Keaschall.
Keaschall's honor came after Arizona State opened its league calendar by taking two of three games away from home against the Utes, where he went 9-13 (.625) with two home runs, two stolen bases, five extra base hits, six runs scored and eight RBI. Keaschall also went 1-3 with a walk, home run and two runs scored in an ASU win against Utah Tech during the week.
Contrades' early POTW came after a win against a then-ranked GCU team and sweep of Arizona. He was 7-14 (.500) with eight RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and two home runs in Sun Devil Baseball's sweep of the foes down south. He also plated the winning run in Saturday's series-securing victory and scored it in the series finale Sunday, making him responsible for three of the four winning runs in ASU's four games.
For the week, Contrades was 9-19 (.473) with 10 RBI - of ASU 31 total - four runs scored, two doubles, two runs, only one strikeout in 19 plate appearances and a laughable .947 slugging percentage. This capped an 11 game stretch where he batted 24-49 (.489) with 19 RBI, four home runs and five doubles.
Arizona State will look to improve its resume with a return game with the crosstown-rivals at Grand Canyon. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. ASU resumes its conference slate with a weekend set on the road against Washington.