Baseball Sweeps Arizona Out of Phoenix, 10-6

PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball buried any Wildcat hopes in salvaging a game during the Territorial Cup, battering the Arizona Wildcats 10-6 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
 
Sun Devil Baseball (16-8, 5-1) scored in five straight innings from the second to the sixth including, four home runs, breaking Arizona (13-9, 3-6). The Wildcats put up three in the eighth, but did not have enough to stage a comeback.

After two players accounted for 11 of Arizona State's 13 runs in the first two games, a team effort powered the Maroon and Gold to victory. All nine Sun Devils got a hit and seven recorded RBI.
 
Jonah Giblin pitched 4.2 innings of three run baseball and turned it over to a lethal Sun Devil bullpen, piloted by Timmy Manning's 2.1 innings of no-hit baseball that got ASU near the finish line.
 
Nu'u Contrades continued to rake, going 4-5 with another homer and three driven in, finishing the weekend 7-14 (.500) and in pole position for an incoming Pac-12 Player of the Week honor. Ryan Campos, Luke Keaschall and Isaiah Jackson also added multi-hit days. 
 
THE TURNING POINT
After a three-run home run that gave the Wildcats the 3-2 advantage in the third inning, The Sun Devils quickly responded in the bottom half with a Wyatt Crenshaw leadoff home run and Jacob Tobias RBI gave the Sun Devils the lead and would not look back from there.
 
THE BIG MOMENT
With two-outs in the fourth inning, Kien Vu delivered his first career home run in the fourth inning to extend the Sun Devils score to 5-3. 
 
THE FINAL STRAW
A combined five runs were added on by the Sun Devils during the fifth and sixth innings.  These insurance runs would be enough to help stray off a potential Wildcat comeback, solidifying the weekend series sweep. 
 
NOTABLES

• Sun Devil Baseball earned its first sweep of the Wildcats since 2019 and its second since 2009.
• Arizona State drew 17,150 fans on the weekend, the most in a three game series in the nine-year history of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. 
• The Sun Devil bullpen was electric in the weekend effort against the Wildcats, recording 12.2 innings and five earned runs. They allowed just seven hits and had a 5-1 K/BB ratio (10-2).
• As a team in the last 11 games, Arizona State is hitting .353, with 16 homers, 32 doubles and a triple for a team .557 slugging and an OBP of .409. In addition, the Sun Devils have posted .980 fielding percentage.
• In the last 11 contests - where the team has gone 10-1 - Sun Devil pitchers have posted a 4.22 ERA with 93 strikeouts to just 32 walks and held opponents to a .229 average against. This is a stark improvement to the first 13 games, where Arizona State had a 6.29 ERA, going 6-7 with 100 strikeouts and 62 walks while allowing a .273 opponents batting average.  
• ASU drew first blood in the series for the first time, going ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the second.
• The Sun Devils trailed 3-2 in the third inning, marking the fourth time this week - including No. 25 Grand Canyon - that ASU has won after trailing.
• The Sun Devils are 11-5 when scoring first.
• All nine Sun Devils recorded a hit and seven drove in runs.
• Arizona State improves to 9-3 when it scores at least six runs.
• Sun Devil Baseball is now 13-3 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium this season.
• Isaiah Jackson went 2-4 with an RBI double. It was the second consecutive game Jackson had an RBI and the second straight game with a double.
• Wyatt Crenshaw was 1-5 with a home run, his fifth of the season and third in league play.
• Nu'u Contrades is seeing a beachball at the plate, going 7-14 (.500) with eight RBI, two doubles, and two homers in the three-game series. It is the second time this season Contrades has homered in back-to-back games.
• In his last 11 games, Contrades is batting 24-49 (490) with 19 RBI, all four of his home runs, five doubles and an .837 slugging percentage. He has also swiped three bases.
• Additionally, it is the second career four hit game for Contrades.
• Jacob Tobias has the team-best 23 game on-base streak after recording a single in the second inning. He went 1-2 with two RBI, both on sacrifice flies.
• Jonah Giblin tied his Sun Devil-best with four strikeouts on the night.
• Ryan Campos went 2-3 with a home run and a walk, extending his on base streak to 22 games. He has hits in 16 of his last 17 games.
• Since ASU's men's basketball season ended, Sun Devil Baseball is 4-0 with legendary broadcaster Tim Healey on the mic at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
• ASU had 15 hits, the 13th time in 26 games this season it has had double-digit knocks.
• In three games, Sun Devil Baseball had seven doubles against the Wildcats. ASU now has 37 in the last 13 games, improving on the 3.0 doubles per game ratio it had coming into the weekend.
• ASU had four home runs, its most in a single game this season. It is the third time in the Willie Bloomquist era that ASU had at least four home runs in a game.
• The top three men in the order for Arizona - Mac Bingham, Nik MClaughry and Chase Davis - were held to 5-34 (.147) on the weekend with five RBI. The three lost a combind 40 points on their batting average in the series.
• Prior to the Sunday contest, 10 of ASU's last 13 home runs had runners on base. All four of the Sun Devils' Sunday bombs were solo shots.

INNING BY INNING
First Inning
In the top of the first, Arizona got on the bases quickly with a one-out double, but back-to-back strikeouts from Sun Devils starter Jonah Giblin eliminated the threat. The game was tied 0-0.
 
In the bottom half, Nu'u Contrades recorded the first hit for the Sun Devils with a one-out single. However, a 6-4-3 double play quickly ended the inning. The game was tied.
 
Second Inning
In the top of the second, a two-out single was good enough for the Wildcat's second hit of the day. Isaiah Jackson made an incredible diving play on a well struck ball to center, to end the inning. The game was tied. 
 
The Sun Devils strung together a couple of one-out base hits from Jacob Tobias and Luke Hill to have them at first and third. Isaiah Jackson proceeded to drill a double down the right field line to put the Sun Devils up 1-0 early. A sacrifice ground out from Trey Newman brought home the second run of the inning. A Kien Vu groundout ended the inning, but the Sun Devils led 2-0.
 
Third Inning
It was a tough third inning for Jonah Giblin as he allowed a one-out walk and a single before Arizona unloaded a three-run home run over the right field wall. Giblin was able to recover and get out of the inning, but the Wildcats now led 3-2.
 
An Immediate response from the Sun Devils, as Wyatt Crenshaw belted a leadoff home run to tie the game at three. A single and a walk ensued, having Sun Devils on first and second. A couple of flyouts allowed Nu'u Contrades to tag from second to third and third to home, which gave the Sun Devils the 4-3 lead.
 
Fourth Inning
In the top of the fourth, Jonah Giblin put the Wildcats down in order for the first time in the game. The Sun Devils still led 4-3.
 
In the bottom half, Isaiah Jackson got the inning going with a leadoff single. However, he was thrown out at second trying to steal a base. A Trey Newman strikeout quickly brought the inning to two-outs. However, a first career home run from Kien Vu extended the Sun Devils lead to two. The Sun Devils led 5-3. 
 
Fifth Inning
In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats stranded two-out baserunners, via a Timmy Manning strikeout, who took over for Jonah Giblin. The Sun Devils still led 5-3.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Nu'u Contrades belted a first pitch home run over the center field wall. Ryan Campos belted a double in the ensuing at-bat. Luke Keaschall singled to put the runners at the corners with no-outs. Jacob Tobias brought home the Sun Devils seventh run with an RBI sac-fly. A couple of pop ups followed which ended the inning. The Sun Devils extended their lead 7-3. 
 
Sixth Inning
In the top of the sixth, a walk, followed by a strikeout and a double play made quick work of the Wildcats. Another strong inning from Timmy Manning. The Sun Devils led 7-3. 
 
In the bottom half, the Sun Devils continued to add on. A first and second situation resulted in a ground out which advanced both runners to second and third. A Nu'u Contrades single brought home both runners. The Sun Devils extended their lead to six. Contrades got caught stealing. Ryan Campos proceeded to launch a solo home run which extended the lead to seven. A Jacob Tobias groundout ended the inning, but the Sun Devils extended their lead 10-3. 
 
Seventh Inning
Manning put the Wildcats down in order for his first in the game and the pitching staff's second time in total. The Sun Devils led 10-3.
 
The Sun Devils went down in order for the first time in the game. The Sun Devils led 10-3. 
 
Eighth Inning
A one-out rally for the Wildcats. A string of singles and doubles helped them put up a three spot in the inning. Jesse Wainscott was able to get out of the jam via a fly out and a pop out. The Sun Devils still led 10-6. 

The Sun Devils went down in order for the second time in the game. The Sun Devils led 10-6. 
 
Ninth Inning
The Wildcats went three up and three down. The Sun Devils won the game 10-6. 
 
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils will hit the road for a midweek contest against the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas on Tuesday Mar. 28 at 6:05 MST. ASU beat the Rebels 6-3 at home earlier this season.