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Baseball starts fall ball off strong with a win at Mexican Baseball Fiesta

Sun Devil Baseball put up 10 runs against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, taking home the win.

Baseball starts fall ball off strong with a win at Mexican Baseball FiestaBaseball starts fall ball off strong with a win at Mexican Baseball Fiesta

The Sun Devils combined for 10 runs on 14 hits in the victory

PHOENIX. – Sun Devil Baseball got its first taste of fall ball action on Sunday, taking on the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at American Family Fields in Phoenix. 

Arizona State was cruising from the start, taking an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-RBI double from Dominic Smaldino. 

A huge fifth inning extended the lead for the Sun Devils. 11 batters were sent to the plate in the frame, with the first eight reaching and scoring five runs on five hits. Brenden Lewis delivered the big hit, a two-RBI single that extended the lead to 7-0. 

The Sun Devils tacked on a run in the sixth on a sac fly from Finn Leach, and added two more in the seventh on an RBI-double from Jet Berry and an RBI-groundout from Preston Newberry to make it a ten-run ballgame.

On the pitching side, Arizona State’s arms kept things under control all afternoon. Taylor Penn got things started on the mound, tossing a scoreless frame and only allowing one baserunner. 

From there, the pitching staff kept the line moving, as nine more Sun Devils made their way to the mound. Eight pitchers collected at least one strikeout as the ten pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts, allowing only three hits and two walks.

The Sun Devils will return to action on October 13, squaring off against Chandler-Gilbert Community College at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Turning point
Leading off the game, Perkins was hit by a pitch to give the Sun Devils a baserunner. Hairston moved him over to third with a double to the gap in left center. Smaldino then delivered an RBI-single through the left side that scored Perkins and Hairston, giving Arizona State a 2-0 lead in the first inning. 

Big moment
The fifth inning proved to have the biggest impact for the Sun Devils, as 11 batters came to the plate and five runs scored. Back-to-back singles from Perkins and Hairston, followed by a walk from Jackson Hotchkiss loaded the bases for Smaldino, who singled through the left side for his third RBI of the game, making it 3-0. Adolfo Pacheco worked an RBI-walk and Leach ripped an RBI-single to make it 5-0. Lewis then singled in two more to make it 7-0, all without recording an out.

Final straw
The Sun Devil pitching staff was lights out all afternoon, as ten pitchers combined to keep the Naranjeros off the board. The three hits allowed by Arizona State tied for the second-least allowed in a game last season. The two free passes on walks tied for third-least. Eight pitchers recorded at least one strikeout, with three recording two.

The big number
14- The Sun Devils 14 hits tied for the sixth-most logged in a game last season, as Arizona State showed off how strong its lineup could be. The lineup continued to string hits together all afternoon, consistently putting pressure on the Naranjeros pitchers.

Notables

  • The Sun Devils put up 10 runs on 14 hits, with only two of the hits going for extra bases. 
  • Arizona State collected eight free passes on six walks and two hit by pitches. 
  • Four Sun Devils had multi-hit games, with Smaldino ending his day with three RBIs on two singles. Landon Hairston went 2-for-4 with two base hits, while newcomer Davis Perkins had two singles as well. Berry contributed two hits of his own, a single in the sixth and an RBI-hustle double in the seventh. 
  • Finn Leach and Brenden Lewis each added two RBIs as the Sun Devil lineup combined for 14 hits.
BSB99P9536Jet Berry scores against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
Photo Sep 27 2026, 14 59 23Dominic Smaldino bats against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P8992Finn Leach throws across the diamond against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P8575 2Alex Valentin pitches against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P9188Brody Briggs bats against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P8347Taylor Penn pitches against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
20260927-BSB999P0938Sun Devil Baseball celebrates it win against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P8038Landon Hairston stands at second after hitting a double against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
20260927-BSB999P0268Sun Devil Baseball against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
BSB99P8073Landon Hairston and Davis Perkins score against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27
20260927-BSB999P0251Jacob Bardwell pitches against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta at American Family Fields in Phoenix on Sunday, September 27

Quotables

Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening statement
"Great to get out and play another uniform. Our guys have been working hard against each other, and it's nice to come out here and play against a different team. A professional team at that. So what a great event that these guys have put on out here in Maryvale, a lot of fans showed up for this, which was great. So the atmosphere that our guys got to play in was something different than the stale mundane of fall ball with nobody in the stands. So this was good for them to get out and get a little bit of adrenaline going. And I thought our pitchers did an outstanding job of attacking the strike zone, only two walks over nine innings. Offensively, we did some things okay, but we got some things we got to get cleaned up there as well. But all in all, happy with the performance today, and a great result.”

On what he can take away from this game
"These guys need in game situations, even against somebody that they're not comfortable with, that they don't know. So, we see if the approach has been solidified yet, or how guys react in game situations. Catchers did an outstanding job today, no passed balls, no plank balls that should have been called strikes that we missed. So, those are things that, in game situations, in practice, they've not been very good. We got to get better. But when the intensity picked up a little bit when you're playing against another team, and you see guys walk in a little bit better, that was nice to see. On the flip side of things, like I said, offensively, there's definitely some guys who kind of clammed up, but with guys in scoring position, we'd like to see guys be a little more aggressive, especially the fastballs, which something that we have to clean up and get ready to put that bat on ball right there.”

Infielder Dominic Smaldino
On getting back in the swing of things
"I'm getting more comfortable as it goes on. Each inter squad we play, each game we play, it gets better and comfortable. Today I felt pretty comfortable. I thought I was seeing it well, and that made it easy. Everyone was getting hits.”

Infielder Jet Berry
On his first experience playing college baseball
"It was surreal, being a freshman playing for the first time in a college kind of atmosphere was pretty awesome. It was just exciting. I was just really excited to just play my first game with the boys, and having such a good group of guys and coaching staff has made it easy to come out here and be excited to play.”