PHOENIX - With the non-conference slate of series out of the way, Sun Devil Baseball sets its sights on the next part of its season, beginning Big 12 play this weekend as it welcomes preseason league favorite No. 17 TCU to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday. Before that, however, the Sun Devils will square off with rival Arizona on Tuesday, March 10 in a non-conference midweek tilt at Muni beginning at 6:35 p.m. AZT.
The Sun Devils performed exceptionally well offensively and defensively against the LMU Lions over the weekend, outscoring them by a combined count of 50-9. On Friday, Cole Carlon set the tone by pitching 5.1 innings and tying a career high with ten strikeouts. Colin Linder then took over for Carlon and retired all eight batters that he went up against during his time on the mound. Nu’u Contrades continued his strong season for the Sun Devils, slamming a two-run shot for ASU to record his fifth home run of the season.
On Saturday, Dean Toigo and Dominic Longo contributed to the scoreboard early, with Toigo recording a home run in the second and Longo getting his home run in the third. ASU pushed their lead further in the sixth inning by accounting for five hits, which then added four more runs to the lead. The Sun Devils topped things off with a Landon Hairston going deep in the seventh and Toigo with a RBI-groundout in the eighth.
In the series finale on Sunday, the Sun Devils had a historic offensive showing. They compiled 23 hits and six home runs, with 15 players recording at least one hit each, and scored the sixth-most runs in a game in Sun Devil history with a 29-4 win over the Lions. In the fourth inning, ASU was already up 9-3, but they weren’t done scoring. 13 batters made an appearance at the plate and had eight hits throughout the inning. With the bases loaded, Landon Hairston crushed a grand slam to left field, his second grand slam of the season, to help the Sun Devils in their astounding performance, completing the series sweep.
The Sun Devils will stick around in Phoenix Municipal Stadium for their showdown against the Arizona Wildcats, as well as a three-game outing with the No. 17 TCU Horned Frogs.
The Wildcats are coming off a series sweep over the Fresno State Bulldogs, as they only gave up nine runs in three games against them. ASU and Arizona will enter their showdown with both of them going undefeated in each of their last three-game outings.
The Horned Frogs also had a good weekend themselves, going 2-1 in their series against Tulane. TCU will stay in Fort Worth for a game against Kansas on Tuesday before coming to Phoenix Municipal Stadium to take on the Sun Devils.
All games this week can be viewed on ESPN+. All games will also be available to listen to on KDUS AM 1060.
ASU (11-4, 0-0 Big 12) | Arizona (6-9, 0-0 Big 12) | TCU (9-6, 0-0 Big 12)
This week
Tuesday, March 10, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Arizona (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: ESPN+ | Listen on KDUS AM 1060
Friday, March 13, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. TCU (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: ESPN+ | Listen on KDUS AM 1060
Saturday, March 14, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. TCU (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: ESPN+ | Listen on KDUS AM 1060
Sunday, March 15, 1:05 p.m. | Arizona State vs. TCU (Phoenix) | WATCH LIVE: ESPN+ | Listen on KDUS AM 1060
Next week
Tuesday, March 17, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. Grand Canyon (Phoenix)
Friday, March 20, 4:00 p.m. | Arizona State at. Kansas State (Manhattan)
Friday, March 21, 2:00 p.m. | Arizona State at. Kansas State (Manhattan)
Saturday, March 22, 11:00 a.m. | Arizona State at. Kansas State (Manhattan)
Last week
Friday, March 6, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. LMU (Phoenix) | W, 12-4
Saturday, March 7, 6:35 p.m. | Arizona State vs. LMU (Phoenix) | W, 9-1
Sunday, March 8, 1:05 p.m. | Arizona State vs. LMU (Phoenix) | W 29-4
All times MST.
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