PHOENIX – No. 25 Arizona State (29-14, 12-7 Big 12) used an all-around strong day from its offense to grab an 11-2 victory against Baylor (22-19, 9-10) on Friday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Sun Devils recorded five home runs and 16 hits.
“That’s what this lineup is capable of,” ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist said.
ASU hitters made immediate contact on the first pitch, with sophomore utility Landon Hairston hitting a single into left field.
Hairston is a well-known name in the stadium as he ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and second in the nation with his batting average of .446, and he continues his 26-game hitting streak, which ties him with the longest active streak in the country.
Baylor caught Hairston stealing, which led to Coach Bloomquist challenging the call
And despite a failed challenge, the next batter didn’t let the chaos affect him.
ASU fifth-year outfielder Dean Toigo came up and hit a two-run homer into right field, his 16th of the season, putting the Sun Devils on the board.
The batting never stopped.
The Sun Devils held momentum with junior infielder Dominic Smaldino hitting a 452-foot, two-run homer into left.
Not only did ASU have strong at-bats, but they also proved themselves on the mound and the field.
The Sun Devils did not allow Baylor to score in seven of the nine innings.
Junior LHP Cole Carlon started on the mound, coming into the night ranked fourth in the Big 12 with a 3.63 ERA. Despite allowing two home runs, Carlon still struck out 11 of his 20 batters, allowing just four hits.
“He threw the heck out of it tonight,” Bloomquist said. “We are very strict on his pitch count with how important he is.”
Senior LHP Sean Fitzpatrick took over the mound during the seventh inning. He pitched for two innings, both ending with three up and three down.
“Fitz was great,” Coach Bloomquist said.
Fitzpatrick struck out four batters. Fitzpatrick said he has put on some weight, which allows him to throw harder, and his mentality has changed.
“I understand it’s one pitch at a time,” Fitzpatrick said. “You execute the pitch at hand and move on to the next.
The bats continued to be hot.
Sophomore infielder Beckett Zavorek notched his first career multi-homer day, sending homers out in the second and eighth. He has a total of three home runs this season.
“I felt pretty good,” Zavorek said.
Even with a new pitcher, redshirt junior infielder Nu’u Contrades hit his 12th home run of the season.
“We don’t go up there thinking about home runs,” Coach Bloomquist said. “We go thinking good solid contact, hit it, hit it hard, not far.”
The Sun Devils had 16 hits out of 38 at-bats.
“However we score, I’m happy,” Coach Bloomquist said.
Bloomquist had to be happy when Toigo scored from Smaldino’s double into right field and even happier when junior infielder PJ Moutzouridis scored on a wild pitch.
ASU isn’t new to making contact with the ball. Going into the night, the team ranked 28th in terms of making contact on pitches in the strike zone, sitting at 87.2 percent.
The Sun Devils produce quality at-bats even while being aggressive at the plate. The team averages .402 on first pitches put to play this season, which is 46th nationally.
“Tonight was a complete performance,” Coach Bloomquist said. “There wasn’t one hero.”
ASU will play Baylor again on Saturday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium with the first pitch at 6:35 p.m.
