PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball defeated No. 22 Kansas, 9-2, on Friday night to open up the three-game Big 12 series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State (15-7, 3-1 Big 12) put on a show in front of a season-best 5,834 fans in attendance, controlling the game from the start. It was a balanced effort on the mound and at the plate that allowed the Sun Devils to pick up their first Top-25 win of the 2025 campaign. The win also marked the first Big 12 home win for the Sun Devils.
Friday night starter left-hander Ben Jacobs navigated four solid innings before handing off to the bullpen, which continued to stymie a Kansas (17-5, 2-2 Big 12) offense that had displayed power coming into the contest.
Single runs in the first and second inning, followed by a two-run fourth, spotted Arizona State a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to the two home runs from catcher Josiah Cromwick. The offense was not satisfied, continuing to add on in the late innings to extend the lead. In a fitting ending, the final Jayhawk batter was retired via strikeout, the 15th on the night from the Sun Devil pitching staff.
The Sun Devils will look to collect another series victory tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. AZT.
TURNING POINT
The turning point in the contest again came right out of the gates as Ben Jacobs struggled with his command early, walking the bases full with no outs to lead off the game against one of the nation's most potent offenses. Jacobs was able to get a strikeout followed by an impressive charging play from Nu'u Contrades to get a force out at home before his second strikeout to strand the bases loaded and get out of the frame unscathed. ASU picked him up in the bottom half of the frame, scoring on an RBI fielder's choice from Contrades and never relinquishing its lead from there.
BIG MOMENT
The Sun Devils have played some of their best ball in the sixth inning of games this season and tonight was no exception. In a tight 4-1 game, mounting a huge two-out rally keyed by a Kyle Walker RBI single and a two-RBI single two batters later from Contrades to make it a three-run inning and give ASU the breathing room it needed at 7-1 to close out the game without any drama. ASU has now outscored teams 28-10 in the sixth inning.
FINAL STRAW
While Ben Jacobs didn't have his normal stuff, his bullpen picked him up after his early exit after just four innings. Jonah Giblin tossed three innings of one-run ball, pounding the strike zone and giving up just two hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Cole Carlon did his part to ensure there would be no late drama like the TCU finale, throwing a scoreless final two frames with five of his six outs coming via strikeout. In his last 17.2 innings of work (53 outs) he has recorded 31 via the strikeout.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Josiah Cromwick did the heavy lifting on offense as he crushed two home runs - an opposite field solo shot and a two-run tank to dead center, picking up 3 RBIs while doing so. It was Cromwick's second career multi-home run game between his time at Oregon and Arizona State.
NOTABLES
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
"I think we swung the bats much better today. Just overall approach was much better, top to bottom. Squared up a lot of balls, were able to get some key hits with two outs and runners in scoring position. RBI situations were able to come through and a much better overall mindset going to bat tonight off a kid who has been pretty damn good. So, pretty good overall."
On the atmosphere in front of 5,834 fans
"That was awesome. I envisioned this place being like this since I got this job. Tonight was really one of the few nights that I've come out of the tunnel to go out in the dugout and the fans are already there half an hour before the game. They just kept piling in, I saw standing room only kind of down the left field line.. Hopefully they keep coming because it adds a lot of energy. Not only the environment, but our guys just have an extra gear of motivation when there's that many fans in the ballpark and it's just a heck of a lot more fun atmosphere when we have a packed house. So thank you to the fans for coming out. Please keep coming because it helps."
On Ben Jacobs outing
"It was interesting. It wasn't what you used to see out of Ben Jacobs. He's come a long way mentally, For him to walk the bases loaded in the first, and had a couple calls maybe go against him on the check swings. Then for him to be able to settle in and really get out of that unscathed with putting up a zero, I mean it was a huge momentum shift. I think in the past, things get really ugly there, but he's grown maturity wise. I think for him to settle in and just trust his stuff and execute his pitches and work his way out of that, it was huge. Not only for him, but for us. And then the overall momentum part of the game to come back. Them having the bases loaded and don't score, and then we come back and score a run in the bottom half. It just shifted that whole momentum of the game that I felt like at least. He went out and battled tonight. I guess that's the best I can say. He didn't have his best stuff sharpness wise, but he battled, got us four innings and was still able to put up zero, so that's the name of the game."
On Josiah Cromwick's multi-homer effort
"He's done a good job on making some adjustments to off-speed pitches, which has given him more of a complete repertoire when he's going to bat. He's not just a one trick pony that can only hit a fastball. He's starting to make adjustments to off-speed pitches and the home run hit to center was off the slider today. When he's doing that, watch out. So he's able to hit that kid's slider and take him no doubter to center field. He's starting to get locked in and when he gets locked in, it's scary."
Pitcher Ben Jacobs
On his performance tonight
"Obviously didn't have my best stuff tonight, but I'm pretty proud of myself for how I was able to bounce back. And that's really all that matters at the end of the day, putting zeros up and helping us win. So the walks aren't pretty, but as long as you're not coming across the plate, then I'm happy and we're all happy. Honestly, my pitches were moving how I wanted them to move, but it was just the matter of getting ahead, and I was getting behind a lot early, so I had to work extra hard to get back and win. But I just found a way to win and compete, and that's all I can give my team, just give my all every pitch."
On Kyle Walker this season
"He just works so hard, and he gives his all in every single pitch to the game. And everyone can see that, in the stands, on the field, he plays like his hair is on fire, truly, and it's just like an aura that he gives off. He makes us all want to play even harder and work even harder, and he holds the guys accountable, and it's just a great example of how to play the game right."
Catcher Josiah Cromwick
On his plate approach
"Today, I felt like I started out pretty well for the most part. I felt like I saw [Kansas' starting pitcher] well, I kind of went up there my first at-bat, just telling myself I'm just gonna take and just see it, track it, and then after that, I feel like I saw him well the rest of the game."
On escaping the bases-loaded situation in the first inning
"Honestly, seeing Ben's energy off the mound, I feel like just got everyone fired up. After that, I felt like it was over."
Pitcher Jonah Giblin
On the stadium environment
"It was electric. It was really fun. I'm glad we're bringing them out now and they're showing up. Means a lot to us. Really helps us with the energy and intensity. It just shows me that ASU is heading in the right direction with the baseball program. The fans showing up means a lot to all of us."
On the pitching lab
"It's helped me tremendously. With offspeed stuff, even the fastball, it's just helped me learn pitch shape. And with [Jeremy] Accardo, he does a really good job. So it's helped a ton."
Second Baseman Kyle Walker
On the team's recent success
"We're just sticking to the approach. I think we're an aggressive team. We showed it all year, and today, we just stayed aggressive. And it fell for us."
On the team's consistency at bat
"I think [the coaches] preach staying locked in from inning to inning. We've shown that we can score a lot early and kind of just settle in, but the coaches have done a great job just making sure that we're sticking to our approach and continuing to add on throughout the duration of the game."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Ben Jacobs took the mound for the Sun Devils for his sixth start of the season. Jacobs ran into some trouble early, walking the bases loaded before recording an out. He then settled in, striking out two and getting an assist from his defense to close out the scoreless top of the first.
The Devils struck first, scratching across a run on back-to-back singles to open up the frame, followed by a fielder's choice groundout from Nu'u Contrades. ASU continued making traffic on the basepaths, but weren't able to bring any more runs across, ending the inning up 1-0.
Second Inning
Jacobs worked a rocky second inning that included a walk and a base knock, but was able to close the half keeping a zero on the board.
The bottom half started with a boom as Josiah Cromwick left the yard for his seventh homer of the season to put the Sun Devils ahead 2-0 early. Landon Hairston added a single of his own, but ASU couldn't get anything else going to end the side.
Third Inning
In the top of the third, Jacobs pitched a 1-2-3 inning, tacking on two strikeouts and posting another scoreless inning.
ASU struggled to get anything going, as a lineout, flyout, and strikeout sent the Devils down in order.
Fourth Inning
Jacobs suffered a leadoff walk, but was able to keep the runner right on first base. He retired the next three batters in order with a pair of strikeouts while doing so.
An Isaiah Jackson leadoff walk of his own set the table for another "Crom Bomb" as Josiah Cromwick belted out his second homer of the evening to push the lead to 4-0 ASU. The Sun Devils squared up a few more balls as Kyle Walker extended his hit streak to ten games, but couldn't add anything more.
Fifth Inning
Jacobs took the mound for fifth, walking back-to-back batters. He was then replaced by Jonah Giblin, who picked up a strikeout before inducing a fielder's choice out. Kansas scored a run on an error, but Giblin got the last batter to ground out, ending the threat and keeping the Devils ahead 4-1.
The Sun Devils couldn't string any hits together, as three straight groundouts ended the inning.
Sixth Inning
Giblin returned to the mound to begin the sixth and retired the side in just eight pitches.
The Sun Devils enjoyed a three spot in the inning with Kyle Walker picking up an RBI knock before Nu'u Contrades followed suit with a two-run single of his own. The frame came to an end with ASU sporting a 7-1 lead.
Seventh Inning
Giblin continued throwing for the Devils, added two strikeouts but gave up a run, cutting ASU's lead to five.
ASU worked a long bottom of the seventh, as Jax Ryan and Brandon Compton each drove in a run to extend the lead to 9-2.
Eighth Inning
Cole Carlon toed the rubber for the eighth, slicing through a 1-2-3 inning with a couple of strikeouts.
Jacob Tobias roped a leadoff single to open the inning but that would be all for the Sun Devils as the inning closed with no further action.
Ninth Inning
Carlon returned to the mound for the top of the ninth, striking out the first two batters, before giving up a 2-out single. A walk followed, prompting a quick mound visit. Carlon then struck out the final batter looking to close out Arizona State's 9-2 win, its first home Big 12 win in history.
Arizona State (15-7, 3-1 Big 12) put on a show in front of a season-best 5,834 fans in attendance, controlling the game from the start. It was a balanced effort on the mound and at the plate that allowed the Sun Devils to pick up their first Top-25 win of the 2025 campaign. The win also marked the first Big 12 home win for the Sun Devils.
Friday night starter left-hander Ben Jacobs navigated four solid innings before handing off to the bullpen, which continued to stymie a Kansas (17-5, 2-2 Big 12) offense that had displayed power coming into the contest.
Single runs in the first and second inning, followed by a two-run fourth, spotted Arizona State a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to the two home runs from catcher Josiah Cromwick. The offense was not satisfied, continuing to add on in the late innings to extend the lead. In a fitting ending, the final Jayhawk batter was retired via strikeout, the 15th on the night from the Sun Devil pitching staff.
The Sun Devils will look to collect another series victory tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. AZT.
TURNING POINT
The turning point in the contest again came right out of the gates as Ben Jacobs struggled with his command early, walking the bases full with no outs to lead off the game against one of the nation's most potent offenses. Jacobs was able to get a strikeout followed by an impressive charging play from Nu'u Contrades to get a force out at home before his second strikeout to strand the bases loaded and get out of the frame unscathed. ASU picked him up in the bottom half of the frame, scoring on an RBI fielder's choice from Contrades and never relinquishing its lead from there.
BIG MOMENT
The Sun Devils have played some of their best ball in the sixth inning of games this season and tonight was no exception. In a tight 4-1 game, mounting a huge two-out rally keyed by a Kyle Walker RBI single and a two-RBI single two batters later from Contrades to make it a three-run inning and give ASU the breathing room it needed at 7-1 to close out the game without any drama. ASU has now outscored teams 28-10 in the sixth inning.
FINAL STRAW
While Ben Jacobs didn't have his normal stuff, his bullpen picked him up after his early exit after just four innings. Jonah Giblin tossed three innings of one-run ball, pounding the strike zone and giving up just two hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Cole Carlon did his part to ensure there would be no late drama like the TCU finale, throwing a scoreless final two frames with five of his six outs coming via strikeout. In his last 17.2 innings of work (53 outs) he has recorded 31 via the strikeout.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Josiah Cromwick did the heavy lifting on offense as he crushed two home runs - an opposite field solo shot and a two-run tank to dead center, picking up 3 RBIs while doing so. It was Cromwick's second career multi-home run game between his time at Oregon and Arizona State.
NOTABLES
- The 5,834 fans in attendance was the highest the Sun Devils have had this season. The attendance ranks fifth highest at Phoenix Municipal Stadium since 2017.
- Nu'u Contrades has reached base safely in all 22 games this season and has reached in 30 consecutive games dating back to his freshman season after reaching in all five games in his injury shortened sophomore campaign and the last three of 2023.
- This was Contrades' 10th 3+ RBI game of his career (2nd this season).
- Kyle Walker extended his team-leading hitting streak to ten-games, which marks the longest for a Sun Devil this season. He has three straight multi-hit performances as well.
- Kyle Walker over his past four games: .476 (10-21) with a home run and 5 RBI
- Big innings have been the theme of ASU's season as the team has now scored in 76 halves of an inning on the year and have plated two or more runs in 47 of those.
- The Sun Devils have 27 innings this season scoring at least three runs, 10 with 4+ and seven with 5+.
- ASU has 10 or more hits in 11 games this season, picking up 12 tonight. -
- ASU has outscored teams 415-236 over its last 42 games dating back to last season, posting a 30-12 record in those and 30-10 in the regular season.
- Tonight marked the 10th time in 22 games ASU struck out 6 or fewer times (5). Last season at the 22-game mark, it had done so just five times. ASU has just two games where it has struck out double digit times, compared to seven a year ago. It is the fewest double digit games with strikeouts and games with 6 or fewer at the 22-game mark since the 2021 season (also two and 10)
- With a 1-0 advantage tonight, ASU has outscored teams 19-2 in the last 17 first innings and have held team's scoreless in the first in 16 of those. That comes after allowing teams to score in the first inning in each of the first five games and only outscoring squads 8-7 in those.
- Sun Devil pitchers struck out double digit batters for the 14th time in 22 games.
- The 15 strikeouts were the most by Kansas this season.
- Kansas came into the game hitting .313 and holding opponents to a .224 average. The Sun Devils held the Jayhawks to .125 clip from the plate while posting a .343 average of their own.
- Five different Sun Devils had two or more hits and five drove in at least one run.
- Josiah Cromwick hit multiple home runs in a game for the second time in his career. This was the first time he had done it in a Sun Devil uniform.
- Arizona State has now combined to score 47 runs over their past three conference games (15.7 rpg).
- On Friday nights at home, the Sun Devils are averaging 8.4 runs per game (42 runs in five games).
- This is only the second time Kansas has been held to two runs or less in a game this season. Their offense came in averaging over 9.8 runs per game and had 207 runs on the year, which were both figures that ranked Top-10 nationally coming into the game. They only managed to score two runs in Friday night's defeat.
- The Jayhawks came into the game averaging the sixth most home runs in the nation. They did not leave the park in the loss against Arizona State. Kansas also had the 16th-most hits in the country coming into the game and were held to only four hits in the loss.
- For the eighth time in his Sun Devil career, Ben Jacobs recorded eight or more strikeouts in an outing.
- Arizona State moves to 4-1 all-time in the series with the Jayhawks. All four previous games came between 2009 and 2011 and were played at Surprise Stadium.
- The six walks were a good sign for the Sun Devils. When ASU has three or more walks, they are 14-3 this season. Compare that to a 1-4 record when the Maroon and Gold draw less than three walks.
- In his last start against Baylor, Big 12 Preseason All-Conference and defending league Freshman of the Year right-handed pitcher Dominic Voegele gave up zero earned runs over seven innings in his last start against Baylor. Arizona State tagged him for seven runs over five innings of work.
- Freshman Landon Hairston has been on a tear over his past eight games. He is hitting .423 (11-26) with four RBI and four multi-hit efforts. His season average has risen from .222 to .333 during that span.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
"I think we swung the bats much better today. Just overall approach was much better, top to bottom. Squared up a lot of balls, were able to get some key hits with two outs and runners in scoring position. RBI situations were able to come through and a much better overall mindset going to bat tonight off a kid who has been pretty damn good. So, pretty good overall."
On the atmosphere in front of 5,834 fans
"That was awesome. I envisioned this place being like this since I got this job. Tonight was really one of the few nights that I've come out of the tunnel to go out in the dugout and the fans are already there half an hour before the game. They just kept piling in, I saw standing room only kind of down the left field line.. Hopefully they keep coming because it adds a lot of energy. Not only the environment, but our guys just have an extra gear of motivation when there's that many fans in the ballpark and it's just a heck of a lot more fun atmosphere when we have a packed house. So thank you to the fans for coming out. Please keep coming because it helps."
On Ben Jacobs outing
"It was interesting. It wasn't what you used to see out of Ben Jacobs. He's come a long way mentally, For him to walk the bases loaded in the first, and had a couple calls maybe go against him on the check swings. Then for him to be able to settle in and really get out of that unscathed with putting up a zero, I mean it was a huge momentum shift. I think in the past, things get really ugly there, but he's grown maturity wise. I think for him to settle in and just trust his stuff and execute his pitches and work his way out of that, it was huge. Not only for him, but for us. And then the overall momentum part of the game to come back. Them having the bases loaded and don't score, and then we come back and score a run in the bottom half. It just shifted that whole momentum of the game that I felt like at least. He went out and battled tonight. I guess that's the best I can say. He didn't have his best stuff sharpness wise, but he battled, got us four innings and was still able to put up zero, so that's the name of the game."
On Josiah Cromwick's multi-homer effort
"He's done a good job on making some adjustments to off-speed pitches, which has given him more of a complete repertoire when he's going to bat. He's not just a one trick pony that can only hit a fastball. He's starting to make adjustments to off-speed pitches and the home run hit to center was off the slider today. When he's doing that, watch out. So he's able to hit that kid's slider and take him no doubter to center field. He's starting to get locked in and when he gets locked in, it's scary."
Pitcher Ben Jacobs
On his performance tonight
"Obviously didn't have my best stuff tonight, but I'm pretty proud of myself for how I was able to bounce back. And that's really all that matters at the end of the day, putting zeros up and helping us win. So the walks aren't pretty, but as long as you're not coming across the plate, then I'm happy and we're all happy. Honestly, my pitches were moving how I wanted them to move, but it was just the matter of getting ahead, and I was getting behind a lot early, so I had to work extra hard to get back and win. But I just found a way to win and compete, and that's all I can give my team, just give my all every pitch."
On Kyle Walker this season
"He just works so hard, and he gives his all in every single pitch to the game. And everyone can see that, in the stands, on the field, he plays like his hair is on fire, truly, and it's just like an aura that he gives off. He makes us all want to play even harder and work even harder, and he holds the guys accountable, and it's just a great example of how to play the game right."
Catcher Josiah Cromwick
On his plate approach
"Today, I felt like I started out pretty well for the most part. I felt like I saw [Kansas' starting pitcher] well, I kind of went up there my first at-bat, just telling myself I'm just gonna take and just see it, track it, and then after that, I feel like I saw him well the rest of the game."
On escaping the bases-loaded situation in the first inning
"Honestly, seeing Ben's energy off the mound, I feel like just got everyone fired up. After that, I felt like it was over."
Pitcher Jonah Giblin
On the stadium environment
"It was electric. It was really fun. I'm glad we're bringing them out now and they're showing up. Means a lot to us. Really helps us with the energy and intensity. It just shows me that ASU is heading in the right direction with the baseball program. The fans showing up means a lot to all of us."
On the pitching lab
"It's helped me tremendously. With offspeed stuff, even the fastball, it's just helped me learn pitch shape. And with [Jeremy] Accardo, he does a really good job. So it's helped a ton."
Second Baseman Kyle Walker
On the team's recent success
"We're just sticking to the approach. I think we're an aggressive team. We showed it all year, and today, we just stayed aggressive. And it fell for us."
On the team's consistency at bat
"I think [the coaches] preach staying locked in from inning to inning. We've shown that we can score a lot early and kind of just settle in, but the coaches have done a great job just making sure that we're sticking to our approach and continuing to add on throughout the duration of the game."
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Ben Jacobs took the mound for the Sun Devils for his sixth start of the season. Jacobs ran into some trouble early, walking the bases loaded before recording an out. He then settled in, striking out two and getting an assist from his defense to close out the scoreless top of the first.
The Devils struck first, scratching across a run on back-to-back singles to open up the frame, followed by a fielder's choice groundout from Nu'u Contrades. ASU continued making traffic on the basepaths, but weren't able to bring any more runs across, ending the inning up 1-0.
Second Inning
Jacobs worked a rocky second inning that included a walk and a base knock, but was able to close the half keeping a zero on the board.
The bottom half started with a boom as Josiah Cromwick left the yard for his seventh homer of the season to put the Sun Devils ahead 2-0 early. Landon Hairston added a single of his own, but ASU couldn't get anything else going to end the side.
Third Inning
In the top of the third, Jacobs pitched a 1-2-3 inning, tacking on two strikeouts and posting another scoreless inning.
ASU struggled to get anything going, as a lineout, flyout, and strikeout sent the Devils down in order.
Fourth Inning
Jacobs suffered a leadoff walk, but was able to keep the runner right on first base. He retired the next three batters in order with a pair of strikeouts while doing so.
An Isaiah Jackson leadoff walk of his own set the table for another "Crom Bomb" as Josiah Cromwick belted out his second homer of the evening to push the lead to 4-0 ASU. The Sun Devils squared up a few more balls as Kyle Walker extended his hit streak to ten games, but couldn't add anything more.
Fifth Inning
Jacobs took the mound for fifth, walking back-to-back batters. He was then replaced by Jonah Giblin, who picked up a strikeout before inducing a fielder's choice out. Kansas scored a run on an error, but Giblin got the last batter to ground out, ending the threat and keeping the Devils ahead 4-1.
The Sun Devils couldn't string any hits together, as three straight groundouts ended the inning.
Sixth Inning
Giblin returned to the mound to begin the sixth and retired the side in just eight pitches.
The Sun Devils enjoyed a three spot in the inning with Kyle Walker picking up an RBI knock before Nu'u Contrades followed suit with a two-run single of his own. The frame came to an end with ASU sporting a 7-1 lead.
Seventh Inning
Giblin continued throwing for the Devils, added two strikeouts but gave up a run, cutting ASU's lead to five.
ASU worked a long bottom of the seventh, as Jax Ryan and Brandon Compton each drove in a run to extend the lead to 9-2.
Eighth Inning
Cole Carlon toed the rubber for the eighth, slicing through a 1-2-3 inning with a couple of strikeouts.
Jacob Tobias roped a leadoff single to open the inning but that would be all for the Sun Devils as the inning closed with no further action.
Ninth Inning
Carlon returned to the mound for the top of the ninth, striking out the first two batters, before giving up a 2-out single. A walk followed, prompting a quick mound visit. Carlon then struck out the final batter looking to close out Arizona State's 9-2 win, its first home Big 12 win in history.