Baseball Returns to Phoenix Muni For Weekend Tilt Against Utah - Arizona State University Athletics (2024)

PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball returns home this weekend to take on the Utah Utes in a three-game Pac-12 series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium beginning on Friday. Friday and Saturday's tilts are scheduled for 6:30 p.m AZT first pitches with the finale scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. AZT.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

• All three games can be seen on ASU Live Stream-2 athttps://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university-2
• The three games will be broadcasted live over local airwaves on KDUS1060AM with Tim and Max Rossiter providing the highlights. All the radio calls from games can also be streamed online at: kdus1060.com/sundevils
• 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

#10Things (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. Ryan Campos has thrown out 10 of the last 18 runners attempting to steal on him after doing so on just 2 of the first 19 this season.
2. The Sun Devils are 5th in the country in doubles (84) and 13th in doubles per game (2.55), leading the Pac-12 in both.
3. ASU has three wins when trailing after eight innings this year, tied for the most since the 2006 team had five.
4. Eamonn Lance was the only Sun Devil with an RBI in all three games against #5 Oregon State and has seven in his last seven appearances.
5. In Pac-12 games, Kien Vu is batting a team-best .381 with an .810 slugging percentage behind two homers and three doubles.
6. This season, ASU has posted 27 innings with three or more runs scored with 17 different innings where the team has scored four or more.
7. The Sun Devils have trailed at some point in 30 of the team's last 36 victories dating back to the 2023 campaign.
8. Despite having just one fewer strikeout than he had all last season (16), Ryan Campos still has the third-best K:BB ratio in the Pac-12 at 0.62.
9. The Sun Devils have struck out double digit batters in 17 of 33 games. The total is notable as ASU had just 21 total games a season ago.
10. Nick McLain is sixth in the Pac-12 with a 0.81 K:BB rate and his 0.84 walks per game are third in the league and Top-100 nationally.

91 – Ryan Campos in a ridiculous 112-of-122 (91.8%) career games with ASU overall. He reached base in the first 30 games of the season and had a 40-game reached base streak dating back to last year ended in the Oregon State series. Campos holds the 42nd-highest active career batting average at .351, a tally that is 6th among catchers and 11th among players with at least 400 career at-bats. His 15 doubles this season pace the Pac-12 and are good for seventh in the country. His 34 RBIs are seventh in the league and his 34 runs are third.
10 –The 2024 Sun Devils had excelled in a pair of categories this season - recording double digit hits and striking out double digit batters. The team has recorded 10 or more hits in 20 of 33 games this season and is thirdin the Pac-12 with 324 total hits on the year.. The pitching staff has struck out double-digit batters in 17 of 33 games, posting 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings this season - a total good for 31st in the country and tops in the Pac-12.. It is notable as the team struck out 10 or more batters in just 21 total games a season ago.
8 –The Sun Devil pitchers have made a habit of escaping jams under pitching coach Sam Peraza, stranding 1,203 baserunners over 146 games, an average of 8.2 stranded opponent runners per game. ASU has stranded 270 in 33 games this season. The Sun Devil bullpen has allowed just 42 of 101 (41.7 percent) inherited runners to score this season, paced by Sean Fitzpatrick (three of 13 inherited runners scored), Ryan Schiefer (six of 17) and Hunter Omlid (four of 14). A key to that is relievers getting outs as soon as they enter the game. Cole Carlon leads that pack, retiring the first batter 13 times on 16 appearances out of the pen.
5 –Extra base hits have been a specialty for the Sun Devils lately, and they now find themselves fifth in the nation with 84 doubles on the year. That total leads the Pac-12, as does Ryan Campos with his 15 doubles that also sit seventh in the nation to date. Brandon Compton is fourth in the league with his 11 doubles and 99th nationally. Harris Williams and Jacob Tobias have added 10 doubles each. ASU is the only Pac-12 school with four players with double digit doubles this season. No other has more than two. ASU has 14 different players with multiple doubles this year.

RECOGNIZING BOBBY WINKLES:

• The Greatest Tradition in College Baseball will recognize the architect of its decades-long success with the unveiling and dedication of a statue in honor of the late Bobby Winkles, which will be unveiled on Friday, April 12, ahead of the team's opener against Utah.
• Enshrinement with a statue at ASU is reserved for the few who made such a profound impact on a program or institution that they are worthy of a lifetime of remembrance. Winkles will join Sun Devil Football legends Frank Kush and Pat Tillman along with golfer Heather Farr as individuals in university athletics history to be recognized with such a prestigious honor.
• The statue will be unveiled on the third base concourse just under an hour before first pitch against Utah on Friday. Sun Devil Baseball will also recognize the 60th anniversary of the 1964 team, the first in program history to make it to the College World Series on the field before the game. Additionally, the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Coach Winkles Bobblehead, courtesy of Mountain America Credit Union.

LASTTIME OUT: No. 5 Oregon State/GCU

• The Sun Devils are coming off a forgettable four-game road stretch after getting swept by No. 5 Oregon State in Corvallis before dropping its midweek tilt up the I-17 against GCU on Tuesday.
• ASU was not without its chances in the Oregon State series. After falling into a 5-0 hole early on Friday, ASU rallied to bring the tying or go-ahead run to the plate in five straight innings but couldn't find a stop on the defensive end or the big hit on the offensive end to complete the comeback.
• Sunday's tilt was equally frustrating with ASU tying the game after falling into 4-0 and 7-4 holes, but was unable to push the go-ahead run across.
• Eamonn Lance had RBIs in all three games in Corvallis, including breaking up a shutout in the ninth inning on Saturday with his pinch hit solo homer. Lance also added a single on Tuesday and has now reached base in seven-straight apperances - the longest active streak on the team despite being a pinch hitter for about half of those.
• ASU has stranded 34 baserunners in the four-game stretch and bat just .286 with runners in scoring position and only .250 with runners in general. Despite amassing 37 hits, the team has just 19 runs to show for it.

ON DECK: UTAH

• ASU owns a 53-14 all-time record over the Utes and took two of three in Utah last season. ASU has not lost a series to Utah since being swept in 2017 in Salt Lake City.
• Utah, which received votes for the third straight week in the NCBWA Division I poll, is currently fifth in the Pac-12 standings. The Utes are one win away from matching their 2023 season total of 22 wins.
• Gary Henderson's club reached the 20-win mark in their first 28 games, the fastest in recorded program history. It includes 14 victories in which the Utes trailed at some point in the game. Previously, the Utah club known to reach 20 wins the fastest was in 1997; that year the team started 20-12-1.
• Offensively, the Utes continue to be paced by center fielder Kai Roberts (.370 / .457 / .630), whose batting average ranks third in the Pac-12. It is more than 100 points North of where Roberts finished his junior season in 2023; he also leads the league with 21 stolen bases entering the series. Roberts' .630 slugging percentage slots him fourth in the Pac-12 and includes 12 doubles.

GOING CAMP-ING

• Ryan Campos entered the season as D1Baseball's 10th-ranked catcher in the country and No. 95 collegiate prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft. He was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team, as voted on by the league's coaches.
• Campos has the 42nd-best active career batting average (.351) - sixth among the nation's catchers and 11th among players with at least 400 career at-bats (457).
• Campos has reached base in a ridiculous 112-of-122 (91.8%) career games with the Sun Devils overall. He had a 40-game reached base streak dating back to 2023 snapped at Oregon State but has, regardless, reached base in 32 of 33 games for ASU this season.
• Campos currently paces the Pac-12 with 15 doubles this season - a tally good for seventh in the country. His seven homers are eighth in the league.
• His 35 RBIs this season are tops on the team and 7th in the Pac-12. His 15 two-out RBI are also the most on the squad.
• Despite an uncharacteristic sub-.300 average this season, he has still reached base at a .423 clip (18th in the Pac-12 and second on the team) thanks to a his team-leading 26 walks (second in the Pac-12) and three HBPs.
• In fact, despite already having just one-less strikeout than he had in all of last season (16), Campos still has more walks and his 0.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio in third in the Pac-12. He has also struck out just once in the last 14 games after having 15 in the first 19.
• He easily leads the team in productive outs, advancing runners with an out 16 times - three more than any of his teammates. His .286 ISO Power mark (Slugging - Average) is ninth in the Pac-12.
• His 34 runs scored also pace the team and are good for third in the Pac-12.
• Campos has been exceptional behind the plate as well, throwing out 10 of the last 18 baserunners attempting to steal on him after posting just a 2-for-19 tally to start the year.
• The junior had his first multi-homer game against Santa Clara in the finale, also posting a career-best five RBIs. He added another multi-homer game against Oregon.
• Campos reached base in all but two games last season. The two games he did not reach base was once during opening weekend and the first game after he returned from an 11-game injury absence.
• Had a team-best 31-game reached base streak at one point in last season and showed off plenty of extra pop in the bat, recording eight homers, seven doubles and a triple
• Campos was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and also tabbed as the Pac-12 Player of the Week after the Washington State series during his sophom*ore campaign.
• In 44 games, Campos smacked .388 with 16 extra-base hits including eight home runs...He walked 35 times and struck out on a mere 17 occurrences
• Campos' 35 earned free passes were 15th in the league, yet because of his midseason injury, he had the fewest games played of anyone in the top 50 in the category.
• His .388 average was third in the Conference of Champions and his .503 OBP was tops in the league
• ASU's most reliable presence over the last two seasons, Campos earned his first recognition to the All-Pac-12 First Team last season as a sophom*ore after picking up an honorable mention honor as a freshman, also earning Freshman All-America honors that season as well.
• Campos was named the Jim Brock Mr. Sun Devil at the squad's end-of-season awards banquet at the end of the regular season last year....Named for the legendary and late Dr. Jim Brock, the award is presented to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the attitude and character expected of a Sun Devil Baseball Player
• For his elite efforts behind the plate, Campos was named as a Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Semifinalist.

• Jacob Tobias earned Preseason Pac-12 All-Pac-12 recognition after he took his game to the next level last season, finishing with a .317 average and starting 54 games - the majority coming at first base.
• Tobias is second on the team in batting .299 on the season with 15 RBIs, 10 doubles and five homers.
• His 10 doubles are tied for 7th in the Pac-12 this season and give him 29 for his ASU career.
• The junior posted his first career five-hit game in the finale against Arizona.
• Tobias was named by D1Baseball as the No. 44 first baseman in the country entering this season.
• Last season, he slugged .546 with 10 homers, nine doubles and leading the team with four triples en route to a 59 RBI season - good forninth in the Pac-12 though the eight players in front of him benefited from postseason action.
• Tobias was deadly the second time through the order with 22 of those RBIs coming in the fourth or fifth innings when he saw a starter for the second or third time - batting 23-of-50 (.460) with 22 RBIs, three homers and over a .500 OBP in those two innings.
• As a sophom*ore, he recorded an RBI in 12 of the last 18 games of the season and 33 games overall. He has an RBI in three of four games thus far this season.
• Tobias was 7-of-9 on the season when the bases were loaded and brought a runner home from third with less than two outs 75 percent of the time (15-of-20).
• Tobias earned Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades last season as he took his game to the next level, finishing with a .317 average and starting 54 games - the majority coming at first base.
• Tobias was named a Freshman All-American in 2022. His 12 bases (two homers, two doubles) against Utah in the series finale are tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in a game. His seven homers this year were tied for eighth in ASU freshman history.

ACTION JACKSON

• After a solid freshman showing Isaiah Jackson has shown continued exceptional defensive skills while adding 23 RBIs - fourth on the team - and six homers.
• His 23 RBIs this season are just outside the Top-20 in the Pac-12. His six homers are tied for14th.
• Jackson's 23 RBIs through 32 games are notbale as he had just 28 total through the entirety of the his freshman season.
• Jackson has been second on the team in productive outs, advancing runners with an out 13 times.
• Jackson homered in the first two games of the season, as did teammate Jacob Tobias, joining a small list of Sun Devils to do so since 1998, including Spencer Torkelson (2020), Riccio Torrez (2011) and Jason Kipnis (2008).
• His three-hit game in the opener gave him more hits in five at-bats than he had through his first seven games last season.

BIG MAC:

• Nick McLain missed the start of the 2024 campaign for the seconds-straight season due to having his other hamate bone removed but made quite the splash in his debut during the team's trip to Texas.
• After struggling following his return from that surgery, Nick McLain had a monster eight-game stretch between the Washington State and Cal weekends, batting a team-best .438 (14-of-32) with eight extra base hits for a .906 slugging percentage, leading the team with 16 RBIs - five more than any other player. He has three homers, four doubles and a triple in the stretch.
• McLain has already drawn 21 walks this year - 8th in the Pac-12 despite missing eight games.
• His recent efforts have boosted his OBP to a team-best .430 while his average has climbed to a respectable .270. He OBP is 12th in the league.
• He has brought the runner home from third with less than two outs nine times this season - already tied for the team lead despite missing eight games.
• Defensively, McLain is 32nd in the country in defensive runs saved on fly balls at 3.45.
• McLain bat .313 in Texas in his return from the surgery (5-of-16) and a .421 OBP with five RBIs in four games - including essentially carrying the team on his back with his four RBI effort against UT Arlington that included a two-RBI single to tie the game at 2-2 in the fifth and then a go-ahead two-RBI double in the seventh to put ASU on top for good in the victory.
• McLain also missed the first half of the season last year after a sustaining a hamate injury the week prior to the season and wasted no time catching up on the lost time.
• McLain earned Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention despite appearing in just 23 games, posting a .298 average and reached base at a .391 clip while slugging .649 behind eight homers, two triples and five doubles, recording over an RBI per game with 24 on the season, recording eight multi-RBI games.
• He enters this season as D1Baseball No. 53 collegiate prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft.
• He 3-for-6 with four RBIs - including a two-run insurance missile in the ninth - in his collegiate debut, a road win over Grand Canyon
• McLain tarted his collegiate career with an 11-game hit streak - the longest streak to start a career for an ASU freshman since at least the 1998, as far back as easily found records can be accessed - and had hits in 14 of his first 15 games as a Sun Devil
• He also recorded five outfield assists on the year in his limited action.
• McLain showed the clutch gene through out the season, batting .400 in the 8th inning or later of games, posting four homers and eight RBIs in the process.

LEAVING HIS MARK-L

• Connor Markl has put together a solid four-weekend stretch when ASU has needed in most, which included posting consecutive quality starts for the first time since Tyler Meyer in March of 2022.
• Markl has gone at least 5.0 innings in each of his last four starts, eating up valuable innings while ASU battles with injuries on the mound.
• Markl was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week following the Arizona series, ASU's first pitcher of the week since March of 2022 as well, for his efforts in one-hitting the Wildcats.
• In his two quality starts against Arizona and Washington State, Markl had a 1.42 ERA over 12.2 innings with 14 strikeouts to four walks, holding opponents to a .186 average against.
• He matched his career high in innings pitched with his 6.0 against Arizona and then topped it with his 6.2-inning effort against Washington State. It marked the first time in his career that he had posted back-to-back 6.0 inning efforts
• Markl has a 4.25 overall ERA but a 3.19 SIERA mark that that is currently good for sixth in the Pac-12. His 25.9 strikeout percentage is seventh among Pac-12 pitchers and his 17.7 K:BB percentage is sixth among in the league.

NOT HIS FIRST RODEO

• Harris Williams, a USF transfer who ranks in the Top-40 among all active Division I players in career games played (198), is batting .298 on the season - third on the team - and has reached base in all but four games.
• Williams was responsible for the team's walk-off two-RBI double is ASU's home win GCU, ready when his number was called after not starting and not entering the game until the seventh inning as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement.
• Williams leads the team with nine multi-hit games. His 10 doubles are seventh in the league. His 19 walks are third on the team and 14th in the Pac-12.
• The super-duper senior has advanced baserunners at team-best .588 clip, doing so on 34-of-58 chances. He has gotten the job done as the leadoff batter as well, reaching on 23-of-55 chances while leading off an inning ( .418).
• Williams has brought the runner home from third with less than two outs a team-best 9 times and also second on the team with runners in scoring position, batting .393 (11-of-28).

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

• Redshirt freshman Brandon Compton was recruited to ASU as a pitcher out of high school, but Tommy John surgery sidelined him his true frosh year, instead allowing him to focus on his bat - and focus he did.
• The youngster leads the team with his .324 average this season, good for 16th in the Pac-12. His .420average on balls in play is ninth in the Pac-12. His .410 mark (16-of-39) with runners in scoring position is tops on the team.
• His 30 RBIs are second on the team and 12th in the Pac-12 and his 14 two-out RBIs are second on the team.Compton is fourth in the Pac-12 with 11 doubles this year and eighth with seven homers. His 1.022 OPS is tops on the squad and 10th in the Pac-12 while his .288 ISO Slugging (Slugging Minus Average) is eighth in the Pac-12,
• He was responsible for the go-ahead grand slam in the series finale against Ohio State that proved to be the difference in the 10-8 ballgame. He also had a huge game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning of ASU's eventual walk-off win over Oregon. He had the go-ahead two-run homer against Utah Valley on Tuesday as well.
• Compton had a productive Summer Ball campaign in the Northwoods League for the Duluth Huskies this past summer, making the league All-Star game and was the league leader in RBIs with 71 while slashing .320/.423/.563, recording 17 doubles and 13 homers across 60 games and 231 ABs.

NO DOZE-ING OFF

• Ethan Mendoza has quietly put together quite the start to his collegiate career, posting a .282 average and earning the team's walk-off fielder's choice against Oregon and following that with a go-ahead two-RBI single in the ninth inning of the team's Friday-night victory over Arizona.
• Mendoza is tied for third on the team with 11 runners advanced with an out this season.
• The freshman recorded a 4-for-4 effort in the second game against Washington State despite only seeing five pitches in the contest. He led all players in the last four games with his .500 average on 8-of-16 hitting.
• Mendoza was the only Sun Devil to record hits in all four games in Texas.
• Mendoza was the only Sun Devil to record a hit against No. 7 Texas A&M in the first game of the Globe Life Series, in fact recording the only two hits in the shutout loss.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS

• Ben Jacobs has quietly put together an impressive season for ASU and done so in a number of roles, making three starts while coming out of the pen 10 times.
• Jacobs has a team-best 44 strikeouts this season over just 28.2 innings.
• The 44 strikeouts are eighth-best in the league but his 13.81 K/9 easily leads the league and would be Top-25 among all pitchers in the country if he had four more innings under his belt to meet the minimum to qualify.
• Jacobs' only struggle has been keeping the ball in the park with eight of his 27 total hits allowed this year being homers and accounting for 12 runs of his 19 total earned runs allowed.
• Jacobs has been especially deadly against lefties, holding left-handed batters to just a .154 average on 6-of-39 batting this year.

CHIEF SCHIEF

• One of the most pleasant surprises of the Sun Devil pitching staff this season has been the emergence of reliever Ryan Schiefer.
• Schiefer has a 2.28 ERA over 27.2 innings and 14 appearances, holding opponents to a .179 average overall.
• Schiefer has given up just 17 total hits on the season.
• Schiefer's efforts mark the first Sub-2.50 ERA at ASU for a relief pitcher with 25+ innings of work (only in relief) 33 games into the season since Mitchell Lambson had a 2.04 tally in 39.2 innings in 2010.
• He is tied for the team lead with two saves this season and leads the team in stranding 11 inherited runners on the year, allowing just 6-of-17 to score.

READY WHEN THEIR NAME IS CALLED

• ASU's recent five-game win streak is notable as it has been accomplished with several new faces in the lineup - all of which have contributed.
• Kien Vu has bat .556 this season as a pinch hitter (5-of-9) with four RBIs. His efforts in that realm earned him a couple starts during this recent stretch and he has responded with a .407 average in the team's last nine games, recording eight RBIs, two homers and two doubles and leading the team with his .704 slugging percentage (min. 20 ABs).
• Mario Demera was responsible for the go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning of ASU's series-clinching win over Cal. It was his the first home run as a Sun Devil and also the first home run given up by Cal reliever Tyler Stasiowski this season. It was the first he had allowed since March 7, 2023 against Villanova, ending a streak of 29 straight appearances and 43.0 innings without allowing a long ball.
• It was Demera's first homer since April 22 of last year against San Diego and just his sixth career homer over three-plus seasons and over 130 games played with over 450 at-bats.
• Eamonn Lance hasn't cared if its a start or a pinch hit as he has posted a .353 average in his last seven appearances over the last eight games. Lance has three homers in that stretch and seven RBIs, posting a massive .941 slugging percentage. He was the only player to record an RBI in all three games against Oregon State,l doing so twice as a pinch hitter - including breaking up a shutout in the ninth inning on Saturday's game with a solo home run.

GRABBING THE BULL-PEN BY THE HORNS

• The Sun Devil bullpen has made a habit of escaping jams under pitching coach Sam Peraza, stranding 1,203 baserunners over 146 games, an average of 8.2 stranded opponent runners per game. ASU has stranded 270 in 33 games this season.
• ASU relief pitchers have inherited 101 baserunners this season, of which only 42 have scored (41.6). Ryan Schiefer, Matt Cornelius and Matt Tieding all inherited the bases loaded against #24 Kansas State when they entered the game and all got inning-inning strikeouts.
• Scheifer paces the category, stranding 11 of his 17 inherited runners, Sean Fitzpatrick has done so on 3-of-13 and Hunter Omlid on 4-of-14.
• Recording the first out when coming into the game out of the pen has been a highlight for several bullpen members, with Cole Carlon leading the way in retiring 13 of the 16 first batters he's faced when entering the game out of the pen. Ben Jacobs has done so on 9-of-10, Sean Fitzpatrick on 13-of-16 and Matt Tieding on 9-of-12.
• Hunter Omlid is the only Sun Devil to strikeout 10 batters in a game this season, and he did so as a reliver against Utah Valley.
• ASU's 17 strikeouts against Ohio State were the most by a Pac-12 team this season. ASU is also one of just two teams in the league to one-hit an opponent this year.
• Last season, the bullpen posted a 5.62 ERA with 22-7 record in decisions and 11 saves. The squad had 234 strikeouts to 130 walks (over 274.0 innings) and held opponents to .270 batting. While not entirely electric, it was a marked improvement from previous season where the 2022 Sun Devil bullpen had a 6.71 ERA for the season with a 13-19 record in decisions with 231 strikeouts to 170 walks (over 271.0 innings) and a .299 average against.

HEADED TO THE GAP

• The Sun Devils are tops in the Pac-12 and 5th in the country with 84 doubles this year in 33 games and the 2.55 doubles per game are 13th in the nation.
• 14 different Sun Devils have multiple doubles this season - the most of any school in the Pac-12.
• Ryan Campos is the Pac-12 leader with 15 doubles this year - a tally good for 7th nationally. Brandon Compton is fourth in the league with his 11 doubles and 99th nationally. Harris Williams and Jacob Tobias have added 10 doubles each. ASU is the only Pac-12 school with four players with double digit doubles this season. No other has more than two.
• ASU has multiple doubles in 23 games this season and at least one double in 31 of 33 games.
• ASU got a slow start in the doubles category last season but came alive in the second half of the year. After having just 13 in the first 11 of the season, ASU finished with 108 to find itself in the Top-100 prior to the NCAA Tourney after being ranked as low as 232 through the first month of the season.
• The team recorded a double in 45 of 55 games overall with multiple doubles in 26 of those.
• Luke Keaschall finished seventh second in the entire country with 25 doubles .
• The Sun Devils recorded 134 doubles in 2022, 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 in 2022 and multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL

• ASU is currently four in the Pac-12 and Top-75 in college baseball this season with 41 home runs, despite not hitting a single one in its four games in Texas or in its series at Arizona. In fact, Nick McLain's homer in the final game against Washington State was ASU's first homer hit away from Phoenix Muni this season. ASU added three more of those against UNLV.
• ASU homered once in each of the three games against Oregon State, notable as the Beavers had allowed just 10 homers all season entering the weekend and just five total at Goss Stadium.
• The Sun Devils had eight homers in the Oregon series. Unfortunately, all came of the solo variety. The Sun Devils continue looking for the big hit with runners on base as ASU now has 20 solo homers on its 41 this season. Of the team's 23 solo homers, however, 12 were of the leadoff variety and didn't give anyone a chance to be on base while two others came as part of back-to-back homers and thus, the same principle.
• Clutch homers have increased recently though, with nine of ASU's 17 homers in the last 15 games coming with two outs.
• Eight different Sun Devils have multiple homers and 11 players have homered overall.
• The Sun Devils hit 19 more homers during the 2023 season than it did the prior year. 12 different players logged a home run last season for ASU and 10 had multiple home runs
• Last season, ASU had eight different players with at least six homers - more than any other team in the Pac-12.
• The Sun Devils had seven players with at least seven homers last year - two more than any other team at ASU has had since at least the 1998 season. ASU had five players with at least seven homers in 2022, tied for the second-most at ASU since 1998.
• ASU's 83 homers were 56th in the country prior to the NCAA Tournament.
• The better news was ASU finally started the get pumps with runners on base. 37 of the team's last 66 Sun Devil home runs last year came with runners on base after 14 of the first 17 this season were solo shots. Of the 26 solo shots, 17 were leadoff homers and thus not given the opportunity to happen with runners on base.
• The timing of the home runs improved immensely over the second half of the 2022 season as well. 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.
• Of the nine position players with at least 30 starts in 2022, all nine had multiple home runs. ASU had ten total players with multiple homers.

COMING IN HOT

• The Sun Devils thrived in the big innings, 12 times last season recording five or more runs in an inning. The team recorded 51 innings with three or more runs scored.
• This season, ASU has now posted 27 3+ run innings and 17 4+ run innings. ASU has five innings with 5+ runs.
• ASU has recorded 10 or more hits in 20 of 33 games this season.
• ASU has scored 73 runs in the 7-9th innings this season, and has scored 38 runs in the seventh inning of games alone.
• ASU is batting .338 in the seventh inning of games, recording 14 extra base-hits in the process.
• The team posted 52 runs in the eighth inning of games last season, just under a run per game. The team bat .326 in the eighth inning of games with a .526 slugging percentage. The squad had 25 home runs total in innings 7-9 - easily surpassing its total of 17 from the previous season.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

• ASU did its part to shake off some of that bad mojo from the 2022 in close games last year, winning seven one-run games (going 7-3 after going just 1-7 in such games in 2022) and 18-9 in games decided by three runs or less - a category ASU was 14-16 in in 2022.
• This season, ASU is 11-12 in games decided by three runs or less. The team is 7-3 in one-run games but oddly gone an unsightly 1-7 in two-run games.. ASU seven wins in one run games already matches last season's total and is the most since the team had nine in the 2017 season.
• The walk-off win against GCU was ASU's fourth this season as a result of a ninth-inning lead change, with walk-offs against Oregon and GCU and ninth-inning go-ahead runs on the road against Arizona and UNLV.
• It was the third time ASU has won a game this year when trailing after eight innings - already matching its most since the 2017 season - and fourth when trailing OR tied after 8 (achieved in 2017 and 2021). The team had five wins when trailing or tied after eight in 2016 and nine in 2015. However, should ASU win another game in which it trails after eight innings, it would be the most since the team had five such victories in 2006.
• ASU trailed at one point in 30 of its last 36 victories dating back to last season and all but two of its wins this season.
• Last season, ASU was incredibly efficient at closing games out, going 24-4 when leading after six, 27-1 when leading after seven and 29-0 when leading after eight. ASU is 7-2 when leading after six, 8-2 after seven and 7-1 after eight this season. The loss of a ninth-inning lead in the second game against Oregon marked the first time ASU had lost a game when leading after eight innings since Feb. 25, 2022 against BYU (led 4-2, lost 6-5). The Sun Devils had won 56 consecutive games when leading after eight innings prior to that.
• ASU has gone ahead in the ninth inning of three games this season, walking off Oregon, and taking road ninth-inning leads at Arizona and at UNLV.
• In two-plus seasons under Willie Bloomquist, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits. ASU had nine wins last season when trailing by at least three runs at some point in the game and four of those by at least five.
• ASU has five wins this season when trailing by three or more.
• In 2022, 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 last season with the victories over North Dakota State and GCU, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in both (and 9-2 in entering the eighth against GCU) for victories in both.
• Three times in 2022, 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). ASU surpassed that and won four games last season in which it trailed by five runs.
• The Sun Devils have two such games this season, adding their ninth game under Bloomquist to that tally coming back from a 7-1 deficit against UNLV on Monday, improving to 7-2 in games that featured a five-run comeback at some point under Bloomquist. .

DO I KNOW YOU?

• The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 27 new faces to the roster in 2023. The class features D1Baseball's No. 23 freshman group in the country and the No. 25 transfer class, a year removed from posting the No. 2 transfer class in the nation.
• The roster will feature 11 freshman arms, an incredible tally considering the 2022 team didn't have a single freshman arm on the roster.
• Thomas Burns is slated to become the first true freshman pitcher to start on opening night since the 2006 season when Ike Davis did it.
• The team will feature two new middle infielders for the second consecutive season after having at least one returner up the middle from 2018-22.
• Harris Williams, an All-WCC player at San Francisco last season, was the only transfer player named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team aa voted upon by the league's coaches.
• The Sun Devils added another pair of All-WCC players in USF's Mario Demera and Santa Clara's Eamonn Lance.
• In addition to the guys playing on the field, the team also welcomed a slew of new faces on the coaching and support staff, highlighted by former Central Arizona College head coach Anthony Gilich as the team's third paid assistant, taking advantage of new NCAA legislation allowing for there to be a third coach. Sun Devil legend Brett Wallace also joined the staff as the Director of Quality Control and Offensive Strategy.

THE BURN(S) UNIT

• Thomas Burns became the first true freshman to start on the mound for the Sun Devils on Opening Night since Ike Davis in 2006.
• The youngster was electric in his debut, allowing just a single hit in his 5.0 innings and one run en route to earning his first career win. Burns struck out seven and walked just one batter in the effort.
• Burns tossed a career-best 7.0 innings in ASU's Friday night victory over Arizona, allowing just one run for ASU's first quality start of the season.
• Burns has been sidelined with shoulder inflammation the last three weekends.
• 11 of the 16 runs scored against him this season have come by way home runs, coming off five solo homers, a three-run shot against Texas A&M, and three by way of homer against Washington State (a two-run shot of his own and an inherited runner scoring on another pitcher's home run allowed).
• In fact, he has only given up 23 hits on the year, of which seven have left the ballpark.
• Right-handed hitters are 10-for-55 (.182) against Burns this season while he has allowed just a .213 average against overall - ninth-lowest in the Pac-12 prior to his injury - adding 39 strikeouts in just 30.1 innings.
• Burns has been at his best with runners on the basepath with teams batting just .130 (6-of-46) against him with runners.
• Prior to his injury, he had stranded 89.6 percent of his baserunners this season - the 14th-highest tally of any eligible pitcher in the country this year and tops in the Pac-12.
• Prior to his recent absence, Burns was seventh in the Pac-12 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.82) and third in the Pac-12 in strikeouts per nine innings (11.57). He had struck out 28.5 percent of the batters he has faced this year, a tally good for sixth in the Pac-12.

WHO'S THE NU'U GUY

• Nu'u Contrades entersthe season as a Preseason All-Pac-12 selection and as D1Baseball's No. 46 third baseman in the country.
• The sophom*ore is reaching base at a .346 clip - striking out just twice in his first 21 ABs appearances, an area he struggled in last season, though he has missed action lately with a lingering back injury.
• The ASU third baseman bat .309 with 20 extra base hits (eight homers, two triples, 10 doubles), recording 40 RBIs
• The .309 average was in the Top-5 for freshmen in the Pac-12 last season and Top-50 among all freshmen in the country...The rally at the dish came despite the youngster still sitting below the Mendoza line as of March 7
• He obliterated the University of Arizona in the three-game series in Tempe, where he was 7-14 (.500) with eight RBI, three runs scored...He plated the winning run in Saturday's series-securing victory and scored it in the series finale Sunday and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week in the process. 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 in four total games that week
• Honored as the team's Bobby Winkles Award winner as a true freshman, Nu'u Contrades found himself at home in the valley as he earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors as an infielder.
• Had a productive Summer Ball campaign in the Northwoods League for the Duluth Huskies, making the league All-Star game and was the league leader in RBIs with 71 while slashing .320/.423/.563, recording 17 doubles and 13 homers across 60 games and 231 ABs.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

• The Sun Devils had five position players honored by the Pac-12 Coaches in being selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team last week in Ryan Campos, Jacob Tobias, Nu'u Contrades, Nick McLain and Harris Williams
• The five selections were two more position players than any other team in the league.
• Williams was the only transfer recogized on the Preseason All-Pac-12 team by the coaches.
• Nick McLain was tabbed by D1Baseball at the No. 53 collegiate prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft with Ryan Campos checking in at No. 95. Isaiah Jackson was dubbed the No. 17 collegiate prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft by the outlet and Nu'u Contrades as the No. 52 prospect.
• The Sun Devils brought in the No. 25 transfer class in the nation, according to D1Baseball, highlighted by San Francisco All-WCC competitors Harris Williams and Mario Demera, Santa Clara's All-WCC Eamonn Lance and highly touted junior college transfer Kevin Karstetter out of the State College of Florida.
• Campos was ranked as the No. 10 catcher in the country for 2024 by D1Baseball, with Jacob Tobias as the No. 44 first baseman, Nu'u Contrades as the No. 46 third baseman and Harris Williams as the No. 88 outfielder in the country.
• McLain was tabbed as the No. 6 Pac-12 prospect in the 2024 Draft class with Campos checking in at No. 10, according to D1Baseball. Isaiah Jackson is the No. 3 prospect in the 2025 Draft Class in the league with Nu'u Contrades tabbed at No. 7.
• ASU also brought in the No. 23 freshman class in the country, according to D1Baseball, highlighted by middle infielders Ethan Mendoza and Jax Ryan, local two-way prospect Cole Carlon and Opening Night starter Thomas Burns out of Wisconsin.