Baseball Arrives in the Bay to Take on Cal

BERKELEY -- Sun Devil Baseball looks to continue its recent hot streak as it heads to the Bay Area to do battle with the Cal Golden Bears in a three-game set beginning Friday, March 31 at Stu Gordon Stadium in Berkeley. First pitch for the first two games is scheduled for 7 p.m. AZT with the finale set for a 2 p.m. start.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

• The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast all three games in the weekend series with Ben Ross on the call.
• All games will be broadcast live over local airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with Tim Healey and Jeff Munn providing the highlights.
• Fans are always encouraged to follow the Sun Devil Baseball team on social media  for any program or schedule updates throughout the week on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account: @ASU_Baseball.

HONORING THE PAST

• The Sun Devils will wear black SB and MG tribute patches on batting helmets throughout the 2023 season to honor the loss of two great alumni this past offseason in Sal Bando and Mike Gallagher.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. ASU is the only team in the Pac-12 with three pitchers ranked in the Top-10 in ERA - Jonah Giblin (3.08), Matt Tieding (3.20) and Ross Dunn (3.24)

2.  On March 8, ASU was 92nd in the nation in slugging, 191st in doubles and 131st in average. Those totals now sit at 33rd, 55th and 22nd respectively.

3. The Sun Devils are 4-1 in one-run games this season, a notable tally as ASU went just 1-7 in one-score games last season.

4. Sun Devil Baseball has 39 doubles in its last 14 games after posting a measly 13 in the first 11 games this season.

5. Ryan Campos is the only player in the Pac-12 in the Top-10 in average, slugging, OBP, runs scored and walks.

6. Jacob Tobias leads the team with an active 24-game reached base streak and also has 28 RBIs already to lead the team (had just 29 total last year).

7. The Sun Devils have trailed at some point in each of the team's last eight victories and in 10 of the team's 17 wins overall.

8. Nolan Lebamoff enters the weekend having not allowed a run in any of his last 10 appearances after allowing three in the first two.

9. ASU's pitchers struck out 103 batters over the last 12 games to 35 total walks - notable as ASU allowed 62 walks in the first 13 games of the year.

10. The Sun Devils are the only team in the Pac-12 with  six players that have posted three or more home runs this season.

BY THE NUMBERS
39 - The Sun Devils have 39 doubles over their last 14 games (2.8 per game) - notable as the team had a paltry 13 in the first 11 games of the season. That has brought ASU back up to 55th in the NCAA in doubles and third in the league (52). On March 5, ASU was 252nd in the nation in the category. The team has recorded a double in 18-straight games (and 22 of 25 overall) with multiple doubles in 12 of those. Wyatt Crenshaw is second in the league with 10 while Luke Keaschall and Luke Hill sit fourth with nine. ASU is 33rd in the nation in slugging (.511)

9 - The Sun Devils have shown an ability to be successful in close games, going 9-1 this season in games decided by three runs or less. A year ago the team was 14-16 in those games. More notably, ASU is 4-1 in one run games this season after going 1-7 in those games last year. ASU has also been impressive in its single-game midweek tilts this year, going 5-0 in such games after Tuesday's victory over UNLV. ASU was 4-4 in single-game midweek tilts last season. ASU has yet to blow a game in which it was leading after 7 or 8 innings, going 17-0 and 16-0, respectively.

3 - ASU is the only team in the Pac-12 with three players sitting in the top-10 in ERA in the form of Jonah Giblin (7th, 3.08), Matt Tieding (8th, 3.20) and Ross Dunn (9th, 3.24). Tieding has become ASU's go-to inning eater, tossing a team-high 22.0 innings in relief, posting a 2.45 ERA and a 3-0 record in those games. Giblin's efforts out of the pen have earned him a spot in the weekend rotation and he now leads the team with 26.1 innings pitched. Dunn has quietly put ASU in position to succeed on Friday nights with the team going 6-1 in the opening games of series when he starts.

3 - Nu'u Contrades enters the weekend having homered in three straight games and is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week. He single-handedly propelled ASU to victory in the series clinching win on Saturday, going 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs - including the go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning. He followed it up with a 4-for-5 outing with another bomb and three RBIs in the series sweeping win on Sunday. He then added a two-run shot in Tuesday's midweek win at UNLV for good measure. He has a team-best 21 RBIs over the last 12 games for ASU.

LAST TIME OUT: ARIZONA/UNLV

• It was quite the week for the Sun Devils as the squad moved into first place in the Pac-12 with a three-game sweep over rival Arizona - just its second sweep over the Wildcats since 2009.
• Nu'u Contrades was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week - ASU's second consecutive honor - after he single-handedly propelled ASU to victory in the series clinching win on Saturday, going 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs - including the go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning. He followed it up with a 4-for-5 outing with another bomb and three RBIs in the series sweeping win on Sunday. He then added a two-run shot in Tuesday's midweek win at UNLV for good measure.
• 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).
• The heart of the order for Arizona - Nik McLaughry, Chase Davis and Kiko Romero - 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.
• With the midweek win over UNLV, The Sun Devils moved to 5-0 in single-game midweeks this season after going 4-4 in them last season.
• ASU's pitching in those single-game midweeks has been absolutely exceptional, posting a team ERA of 2.60 with 49 strikeouts to just eight walks while limiting opponents to .218 hitting.
• UNLV entered the contest averaging 7.9 runs per game. It scored five total in two games against the Sun Devils.

ON DECK: CAL

• After going 1-2 in Corvallis last weekend, Cal is 2-7 in Pac-12 contests this season. Overall, the Bears are .500 at 10-10. After starting the year 8-3, they have lost seven of their last nine.
• Cal went 1-1 in one-run games over the weekend and is 3-1 tight ballgames for the season. Under head coach Mike Neu, the Bears are 36-26 in games decided by a run.
• The Bears are hitting .221 as a team, led by Caleb Lomavita's .291 batting average (25-for-86).
• Cal's pitching staff sports an ERA of 4.03 as a unit, which ranks 31st (out of 295 teams) in the nation.
• The Bears' starting pitching boasts an ERA of 2.38. Paulshawn Pasqualotto earned his second win of the year on Saturday, throwing five shutout innings and allowing just one hit and one walk against Oregon State. Matt Lozovoy made his first appearance of the year on Sunday and threw 1.2 shutout innings.
• Friday will be the 187th time the Bears and Sun Devils have squared off with ASU owning a 118-68 advantage in the series after taking two out of three in the series in Tempe last season.

GOING CAMP-ING

• While Nu'u Contrades and Luke Keaschall have taken home the weekly honors the last two weeks, it has been Ryan Campos who has been the hottest batter in the Sun Devil lineup in the last month.
• Over the last 12 games, Campos is batting a team-high .523 (23-of-44) with nine walks and two HBPs for a .618 OBP. He has three homers, a triple and five doubles in that time for a .886 slugging percentage and a OPS over 1.500.
• His is second on the team with an active 23-game reached base streak.
• For the season Campos is now batting .404 for the season and second in the Pac-12 and also second in the Pac-12 with a .522 OBP - aided by his team-leading 20 walks, which are fifth in the league. He sits just 10th in the Pac-12 with his .663 slugging percentage as well.
• Campos 8.9 percent strikeout rate this season is the fourth-lowest in the Pac-12 while the .50 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the league
• The sophomore also leads the team with 31 runs, a tally that tops the Pac-12 as well.
• Campos is the only player in the Pac-12 ranked in the Top 10 in average, OBP, slugging, runs and walks.
• Camps is successful advancing runners at a .609 clip (28-of-46) the highest average on the team.He has also been ASU's ost efficient hitter when it comes to extending innings, leading the team with a .385 average with two outs (10-of-26).
• Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average last year as a true freshman – the sixth-best freshman average in program history and just ahead of head coach Willie Bloomquist's .356 average.
• It was the seventh-highest average in the Pac-12 prior to the NCAA tournament and the 11th-highest batting average for a catcher in the NCAA prior to the tournament and the fourth-highest for a Power Five catcher.
• It was the 10th-highest batting average for a freshman in the NCAA prior to the tourney and the best freshman catcher average in the country.
• He was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
• It marked the second straight season a true freshman led the team in average (Ethan Long last year) - something that has never happened in consecutive years in program history and just the fourth time in program history overall that it had happened.
• His .363 average in league-only games was the fifth-highest in the conference.
• His .438 OBP in league games was also tops on the team and ninth in the Pac-12 and tops among league catchers
• Campos had the best average on the team with runners in scoring position at 21-for-59 (.356).
• He had 20 multi-hit games last year – good for third on the team despite starting 13-15 fewer games than the majority of the other starters on the team.

USE THE FORCE, LUKE

• After a slow start at the dish this season, Luke Keaschall has come alive in the past three weeks.
• Moved to the cleanup spot in the batting order after leading off for the first month of the season, Keaschall has responded with an .449 average and an absurd .918 slugging percentage, recorded eight doubles and five homers.
• His .667 slugging percentage on the season (7 homers, 1 triple, 9 doubles) has him at eighth in the Pac-12 while his 17 total extra-base hits are second.
• He is up to 27 RBIs for the season, including a herculean five-RBI effort in the series opening win over Arizona - sitting sixth in the Pac-12 in the process.
• His nine doubles for the season are two off the Pac-12 lead in fourth and he also sits fourth in the league with eight steals.
• Keaschall has also been getting it done in the field, turning a league-best 73 defensive assists this season - four more than any other player in the Pac-12.
• In four games against Utah Tech and Utah, the second baseman hit .625 (10-for-16) with 11 RBI, eight runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and a pair of stolen bases en route to Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and recognized by Collegiate Baseball News as one of its National Players of the Week.

JACOB'S LADDER

• Jacob Tobias got the first RBI of the 2023 season with his RBI single in the first inning of Opening Night.
• Tobias leads the team with 28 RBIs this season - good for fourth in the Pac-12. His nine-multi-RBI games are two more than any other player on the team.
• He is responsible for the game-winning RBI in each of ASU's last two games - his first two of the season.
• The tally is especially notable as he had just 29 in the entirety of last season.
• Tobias leads the team with an active 24-game reached base streak.
• While not looking the part, his three triples this season give him four for his career, marking him the active career leader in the category at ASU in games played for the Sun Devils. The three triples are also 20th nationally.
• Tobias leads the team with an active 10-game hitting streak - also the longest active streak in the Pac-12 entering the weekend.
• Tobias was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team after being a first team selection as designated hitter last season.
• His 12 bases (two homers, two doubles) against Utah in the series finale were tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in a game last year.
• His seven homers last year were tied for eighth in ASU freshman history.
• His 23 RBIs in Pac-12 games were the second-most on the team, 20th in the Pac-12 and third among Pac-12 freshmen.

RUNNING UP THAT HILL

• Luke Hill did not at all look like a true freshman starting at shortstop over the first month of action, showing savy skills with the bat and with the glove.
• Hill is second on the team with a .364 average that is 11 in the Pac-12 and 27th among all freshmen nationally.
• His 32 total hits are seventh in the league and the freshman is also fourth in the Pac-12 with nine doubles this season.
• He notched his first career homer in the series finale against Mississippi State
• He has just two errors on the season for a .972 fielding percentage on 69-of-71 fielding.
• His  67 defensive assists are fourth in the conference.

NOT SO QUIET WYATT

• Transfer Wyatt Crenshaw posted video game numbers last season at Colorado College and has quickly shown that was no fluke, speaking plenty loud with his bat despite saying approximately 18 total words in post-game press conferences thui season.
• Crenshaw is batting .305 on the season, slugging .562 with five homers, a triple and 19 doubles - the latter good for second in the Pac-12 and 38th in the nation.
• He has also played a nice right field for ASU, recording all 32 putouts on balls flown his way thus far with no errors.

WHO'S THE NU'U GUY

• It was a quiet start for true freshman Nu'u Contrades but he has swung one of the hottest bats in the lineup in the last two weeks.
• Contrades is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week after he single-handedly propelled ASU to victory in the series clinching win on Saturday against rival Arizonam going 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs - including the go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning. He followed that up with a 4-for-5 outing with another bomb and three RBIs in the series sweeping win on Sunday.
• His run on a sac fly on Sunday was the go-ahead run as well and in last Wednesday's victory over #25 GCU, his RBI double also represented the go-ahead run - marking him responsible for the go-ahead RBI or run in three of ASU's wins over the four games last week.
• He led the team with 10 RBIs (of 31 total for the week for ASU) with a .947 slugging percentage while batting .474 on 9-of-19 hitting.
• Over the last 12 games, Contrades has bat .472 to bring his season average from under the Mendoza line to .356 on the season.
• He is tops on the team with a team-leading 21 RBIs in that time, recording all five of his home runs on the year as well with five doubles for a .849 slugging percentage.

SHOP AT ROSS

• Ross Dunn has quietly put up some impressive numbers as the team's Friday night starter, and ASU is 6-1 in Friday night series openers with Dunn posting a 3-1 record himself.
• Dunn has a team-leading 32 strikeouts over 25.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .222 batting average against.
• Dunn is posting a 3.24 ERA that is ninth in the Pac-12.

GRABBING THE BULL-PEN BY THE HORNS

• ASU stranded 497 opponent baserunners last season - an average of 8.6 per game. That total is 192 this season - just under 8.0 per game.
• ASU's has used midweek games as bullpen days and the crew has been absolutely electric, going 5-0 in single-game midweeks this season while posting a team ERA of 2.60 with 49 strikeouts to just eight walks and limiting opponents to .218 hitting.
• Over the last 12 games, the bullpen has posted an overall ERA of 4.37, earning seven decisions with a 6-1 record and recorded four saves. The group has struck out 51 to just 15 walks and allowed just a .225 average against. In the first 13 games of the year, the group had a 5.27 ERA and allowed 39 walks and a .254 average against.
• Matt Tieding has been essential in saving the Sun Devil bullpen after tough outings for starters this year. AS A RELIEVER, the newcomer has  team-low 2.45 ERA in 22.0 innings (min. 8.0 IP) and a 3-0 record. He is holding opponents to a .187 average out of the bullpen with 11 strikeouts to just three walks. His overall ERA of 3.20 is 8th in the league.
• Nolan Lebamoff has been another that has come on strong of late, posting a 3-0 record out of the bullpen with a 2.61 ERA. After giving up three runs in his first two games over 1.1 innings, Lebamoff has posted 10-straight scoreless appearances. He earned Tuesday's win over UNLV with a season-high 3 strikeouts over a season high 2.0 innings.
• Timmy Manning and Owen Stevenson have solidified valuable roles out of the penn for ASU with Manning posting scoreless outs in three of his last four appearances with 9 strikeouts to  one loss in those three. Stevenson has not allowed an earned run in his last five appearances, recording 12 strikeouts to two walks over 10 innings in that stretch.
• Brock Peery has given up just a single run and has stranded a team-high eight inherited runners on the year. Peery led the league with 10 saves last season year - good for 26th in the country. He added two in the first four games this season and tacked on a win for good measure.The 10 saves last season were tied for seventh-most at ASU since the 1998 season and marked the first time a closer reached double digits in the category at ASU since 2016.
• Christian Bodlovich has inherited 73 runners in his career at ASU, with only 24 scoring (32.9 percent), including an 11-for-37 tally last season.
• Jonah Giblin has also done his part as an inning eater, tossing 11.2 innings in relief with a 3.09 ERA and 11 strikeouts. The effort earned him his first weekend start against UC Davis where he spun 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball to earn his first Division I victory. Giblin now leads the team with 26.1 innings pitched and has done so with a solid 3.08 ERA - good for seventh in the Pac-12 - that is tops among those with at least 13.0 innings pitched.
• Several Sun Devils have shined under pressure with runners on the basepath, holding opponents to sub-200 averages through the staff including Josh Hansell (.143), Nolan Lebamoff (.067), Brock Peery (.182) and Tyler Valdez (.167).

PLAYING THE FIELD

• ASU turned 50 double plays last year - a tally good for 21st in Division I and fourth in the Pac-12. The squad has turned 110 double plays over the previous two seasons.
• ASU has 20 double plays this season, tops in the Pac-12 and Top-50 nationally.
• The Sun Devils are fielding at a .975 clip this season, good for fifth in the Pac-12.
• Luke Keaschall leads the league with 73 defensive assists while Luke Hill is fourth with 67.
• For the third straight season, the majority of position players on the diamond are new faces with only Will Rogers (left field) and Ryan Campos (catcher) starting the season reprising their roles from last year. ASU had just two players start last season in the same position they finished in 2021 (Joe Lampe in CF, Nate Baez at C and Sean McLain at 2B, though McLain was playing shortstop by the second weekend while Baez moved around the field by Week Two as well). ASU's only veteran starter in 2021 was Drew Swift - who shifted over to shortstop after spending the majority of his career at second base. All other positions on the diamond that season replaced by newcomers.
• ASU had four fielders in the Top-30 in fielding percentage in the Pac-12 last year (min. 100 chances) in Joe Lampe, Kai Murphy, Ryan Campos and Conor Davis. That was tied with USC and Oregon State for the most in the Pac-12.
• Sean McLain had the second-most defensive of assists of any player in the Pac-12 (179) - the second straight season an ASU player accomplished that feat following Drew Swift (171) in 2021.

HEADED TO THE GAP

• ASU got a slow start in the doubles category this season but has come on hot of late. The team has 39 in its last 14 games after posted just 13 in the first 11 of the season.
• That has brought ASU back up to 55th in the NCAA in doubles and third in the league (52). On March 5, ASU was 252nd in the nation in the category.
• The team has recorded a double in 18-straight games (and 22 of 25 overall) with multiple doubles in 12 of those.
• The Sun Devils recorded 134 doubles last year, good for 19th in the nation and third in the Pac-12.  The 127 doubles during the regular season were the most for a Sun Devil team in the REGULAR SEASON in the BBCOR era (since 2011) and tied for the fifth-most in a regular season since 1998.
• ASU had at least one double in all but six games last season and multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.
• There were 45 Pac-12 players with double-digit doubles in the regular season, of which ASU had seven (Baez, Lampe, Rogers, McLain, Long, Davis, Murphy). No other team had more than six.
• ASU reached double digits in hits in 28 of the last 34 games of 2022 and 37 times in 58 games. They have done so in seven games this season.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL

• 11 different players have logged a home run for ASU and eight have multiple home runs.
• ASU's 35 homers are second in the Pac-12 and 43rd nationally.
• The better news is ASU has finally started the get knocks with runners on base. 11 of ASU's last 18 home runs have had at least one runner on base after 14 of the teams first 17 homers this season were solo shots. Four of those homers in the last 18 were of the leadoff variety as well, not giving there any opportunity to have a runner on base.
• The six Sun Devils with three or more home runs this season are the most in the Pac-12.
• Of the nine position players with at least 30 starts last season, all nine had multiple home runs. ASU had ten total players with multiple homers.
• ASU had five players with at least seven homers last year, tied for the second-most at ASU since 1998.
• The timing of the home runs  improved immensely over the second half of the last season. On 24 of the final 37 homers on the year, ASU had at least one runner on base. That was notable as ASU had runners on base just eight times on the teams first 27 homers. 
• The Sun Devils had four grand slams last year - the most it had had in a season since 2004 (also four).

COMING IN HOT

• The Sun Devil bats have been at another level over the last three weeks, sitting near the top of the league in most offensive categories.
• ASU's .313 average as a team is tops in the Pac-12 and 22nd nationally while the squad's .511 slugging percentage is also first in the league and 33rd in the country.
• The team currently leads the league with 268 hits, good for 26th nationally and notable as the team was 115th in the country in the category on March 8.
• ASU was 92nd in the nation in slugging percentage on March 8, 191st in doubles and 131st in batting average. Three weeks later, those totals sit at 33rd, 55th and 22nd respectively.
• Campos, Keaschall and Contrades have been unstoppable over the last 12 games, combing to go 70-for-146 (.479) with 52 of the team's 101 RBIs in that span. The trio has logged 13 homers, 18 doubles and a triple as well.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

• ASU has its part to shake off some of that bad mojo from last season  in close games thus far, going 4-1 in one-run games (after going just 1-7 in such games last season) and 9-1 in games decided by three runs or less - a category ASU was 14-16 in a year ago.
• In each of ASU's last eight victories, the team has trailed at one point in the game and in 10 of ASU's 17 wins overall.
• ASU has yet to blow a game in which it was leading after 7 or 8 innings, going 17-0 and 16-0, respectively.
• The Sun Devils played no shortage of tight games last  season - for better or worse - with 26 of the teams 58 games being decided by one or two runs - the most since it also played in 26 in 2017.
• Unfortunately, ASU was 1-7 in one-run losses and 15 of the teams 32 losses came by way of 1-2 runs.
• That said, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits. On 11 occasions last season, ASU erased a lead of at least three runs.
• The seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal was the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona.
• ASU doubled down at that with the victory over North Dakota State this season, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in an eventual 10-9 walk-off victory.
• Three times last season ASU rallied from a deficit of five or more runs to tie or win the game - the first time that had happened since 2010 (also 3).

DO I KNOW YOU?

• The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 28 new faces to the roster in 2023. ASU went hard in the Transfer Portal during the offseason, recording the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation according to several outlets.
• The new batch was highlighted by a total overhaul of the pitching staff, which will feature three transfer starters this weekend in LHP Ross Dunn (Florida State), RHP Khristian Curtis (Texas A&M) and LHP Timmy Manning (Florida). Owen Stevenson (San Francisco) also figures to find a spot in the rotation over the course of the season.
• Dunn competed for Team USA on the Collegiate National Team this past summer.
• Preseason All-American Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) highlights the incoming position players).
• Among the newcomers, freshman Isaiah Jackson ('22, Astros, 18th Round),  Dunn ('19, Yankees, 11th Round) and Drake Varnado ('21, Diamondbacks, 17th Round) have all been drafted at some point in their careers.
• The Sun Devils didn't have a single freshman arm in the clubhouse last season but welcomes four this season (Ryan Hanks, Brandon Compton, Austin Humphres and Stephen Hernandez).
• After the departure of Sean McLain to the MLB Draft following last season, the Sun Devils will welcome his brother Nick McLain to the clubhouse this season with the youngster expected to be the Opening Day center fielder.
• ASU will feature an entirely new infield this season, highlighted by standout freshmen Nu'u Contrades, Luke Hill and Reese Beheler with a deep group of veteran transfers in Keaschall, Vernado, Jonny Weaver, Willie Cano and Wyatt Crenshaw.

ROGERS THAT

• Will Rogers got the Sun Devils off to a huge start on Opening Night, going 3-for-5 and  a stolen base with a home run and a the game-winning walk-off single.
• He added his second walk-off of the season against NDSU with his one-out solo shot in the bottom of the ninth for a 10-9 victory.
• Rogers had nine homers last season, tied for fourth in ASU freshman school history.
• From April 1 on,  Rogers had the second-highest average on the team at .373. respectively. He led the team with a .746 slugging percentage in that time with nine doubles, a triple and five homers.
• His 27 extra-base hits on the season were the third-most of any Pac-12 freshman and 19th in the league overall.