Muni Magic was in full swing in front of a very solid Sunday crowd of 3,827, capping off a four-game set this week with a combined 18,528 fans in a contest that featured six different lead changes – two of which coming in the ninth inning.
The Jayhawks (18-6, 3-3 Big 12) took a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth on a two-out opposite field home run with ASU just two strikes away from putting the game away. Unfazed, Landon Hairston led the bottom of the ninth off with a single and Contrades fouled off four pitches before sending one the opposite way into the home bullpen for the walk-off two-run homer to give ASU (16-8, 4-2 Big 12) its second series victory in as many weekends of Big 12 action.
The top of the ASU order of Kyle Walker, Hairston and Contrades recorded six of ASU’s 11 hits. Isaiah Jackson recorded a two-run homer and Jacob Tobias had a go-ahead two-run, two-out double in the bottom of the seventh that would have been the game-winner if not for KU’s late heroics.
The Sun Devils used five pitchers to largely stymie Kansas’ potent offense, holding KU to six runs on 11 hits and stranding 11 Jayhawk batters. Kansas scored 15 runs total on the weekend after entering the weekend ranked 10th in the country and tops in the Big 12 in scoring 9.9 runs per game.
ASU now sets its sights on four straight road games, starting Tuesday evening with a non-conference road game at UNLV at Las Vegas Ballpark before heading over to Utah to take on the Utes in Salt Lake City in a three-game Big 12 series starting Friday at Smith’s Ballpark.
TURNING POINT
The sixth inning was a rocky road for ASU. The Jayhawks had a lot of traffic on the bases which ultimately led to runners in scoring position opportunities on multiple occasions. Kansas was awarded a free pass after a walk, and a passed ball plated a run to tie things up at 3-3. Another walk then loaded the bases with just one out and was the end of Wyatt Halvorson’s day. Sean Fitzpatrick was called upon and nearly escaped the jam unscathed, but Kansas plated another run after a bang-bang play at first resulted in a fielder’s choice to make it 4-3. Fitzpatrick was able to evade the threat by getting the final batter to retire on a flyout before critical damage could be had, keeping his team well within striking distance.
BIG MOMENT
ASU had a pair of one-out baserunners looking to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the seventh but a flyout put ASU in jeopardy of not capitalizing on the threat. The veteran Jacob Tobias ensured that would be the case as he delivered with an opposite double to bring both runners in woth two outs to regain a one-run lead, giving momentum to the Sun Devils lineup that seemed to have been lost since the fourth inning.
FINAL STRAW
After the Jayhawks took the lead on their last life in the top of ninth, it was time for a Sun Devil rally. Youngster Landon Hairston rose to the occasion, leading off the bottom of ninth with a huge base hit to set the table. It was Nu’u Contrades with the chance to keep things rolling for his team. Contrades worked a lengthy at-bat, ultimately taking the seventh pitch of the sequence for a ride to right field with its final destination into the home bullpen. As the ball landed, the game concluded with the Sun Devils on top thanks to Contrades’ swing of the season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Nu’u Contrades played the hero in this one with his opposite field walk-off bomb to give ASU the series win. It was the first walk-off homer of Contrades career and he was the first Sun Devil to do so via home run since Nick McLain’s walk-off grand slam on May 3, 2024 against Washington (W, 11-7).
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Jaden Alba took the mound to kick off the Sunday afternoon matchup for the Sun Devils. The Jayhawks’ hitters soon got to Alba, as a single was followed by a double down the left-field line. Another single to center field followed by a sac-fly brought in two runners for Kansas, quickly bringing it to 2-0. Alba stayed the course and closed the frame, passing the torch to the offense.
Kyle Walker got things going with a single to center field but the following order was not able to take advantage of the opportunity and retired in order.
Second Inning
After walking the first batter at the plate, Alba got Kansas to roll into a 5-4-3 double play and drew a quick groundout to end the inning with a zero on the board.
Brandon Compton got on base by way of a walk and swiped a bag en route to scoring on a passed ball to make it 2-1. ASU got a few runners on but groundout closed the frame, leaving two stranded on base.
Third Inning
Alba opened up the inning with a quick walk but remained calm under pressure and retired the rest of the order to keep it within one.
Kyle Walker opened up the bottom of the frame with another single through the left side but was tagged attempting to steal second. Nu’u Contrades advanced to first by way of a walk but was not able to advance any further as the following batter struck out to end the inning.
Fourth Inning
Wyatt Halvorson was called from the bullpen to relieve Jaden Alba to kick off the fourth inning. Halvorson had a solid frame, picking up a strikeout and leaving a Jayhawk stranded on first, keeping the Sun Devils within one.
Brandon Compton opened up the bottom of the frame with a single through the right side. Isaiah Jacksonstepped up to the plate and launched a nuke to right center for a two-run home run to give the Sun Devils a 3-2 lead. The rest of the batting order was retired.
Fifth Inning
Halvorson got off to a hot start, retiring the first two batters while picking up a strikeout. A double down the right-field line followed but Halvorson stayed the course and struck out the next batter to hold onto a 3-2 lead.
After the Sun Devils couldn’t get anything going, Nu’u Contrades stepped up and delivered with a double to left field to get some momentum rolling. ASU couldn’t contribute to the opportunity and left him stranded on second.
Sixth Inning
The Jayhawks got things going in the sixth with a quick single to left field with an advancement to second by way of a wild pitch, followed by another single through the left side. Another wild pitch brought in a runner for Kansas, tying it up at three a piece. With bases loaded for the Jayhawks, Sean Fitzpatrick was called upon from the bullpen to relieve Halvorson of his duties. Fitzpatrick did what he could and only allowed one runner to advance home, trailing 4-3 with the offense on deck.
The Sun Devils weren’t able to get anything going and retired down in order.
Seventh Inning
Fitzpatrick remained on the mound to start the sixth and picked up a quick strikeout and was then relieved by Derek Schaefer. Schaefer racked up a quick strikeout as well and then struggled to find the middle of the plate. He never lost his composure and managed to close the frame, passing the torch to the offense.
Kyle Walker reached first by way of a walk, followed by a singled up the middle by Landon Hairston to kick off the bottom of the seventh. Jacob Tobias stepped up to the plate with a huge opportunity and delivered with a two-run double to left center to retain a 5-4 lead heading into the eighth inning.
Eighth Inning
Schaefer had another solid frame, racking up two strikeouts and leaving two Jayhawks stranded on base. The right-handed slicer and dicer passed the torch to the offense with a 5-4 lead.
Matt King immediately made an impact and doubled to left field to kick off the bottom of the eighth. A sac-fly by Isaiah Jackson led to King advancing to third, in prime condition to get another runner home for the Sun Devils. Josiah Cromwick was next up and reached on a fielder’s choice while King was tagged at home. Jax Ryan followed that with a single to right field while Cromwick advanced all the way to third. A groundout left both Sun Devils stranded, heading into the ninth with a 5-4 lead.
Ninth Inning
Lucas Kelly stepped up to the mound to relieve Derek Schaefer of his solid outing. Kelly picked up a quick strikeout, followed by a reach to first on a fielder’s choice while the other Jayhawk was tagged at second. When the light’s seemed too bright for Kansas, the next batter delivered a two-run home run to take a 6-5 lead over ASU. Kelly didn’t fold under pressure and returned the Jayhawks to the dugout without any further damage.
Landon Hairston got things going for the Sun Devils as he connected on a single to center field. Nu’u Contrades played the hero as he slammed a two-run walk-off homer to right center to win it for the Sun Devils. ASU took the series 2-1 with a 7-6 win in today’s matchup.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
On what this win does for the trajectory of this team
“It was great resiliency by our guys today by a large part of a pretty sloppy game. I think we just made a lot of mistakes defensively behind the plate, base running and walked a lot of guys. We were uncharacteristic of how we’ve been playing, but to be able to bounce back after giving up the lead in the ninth with two outs, which seemed like that game was just about over or was just about over. To be able to bounce back and come away with a win is just a sign of a good team that’s resilient and not willing to give in. So that part I’m extremely happy and proud of those guys in there. If we can clean up the other stuff and hopefully not make it as dramatic, that would be helpful. But at the end of the day coming away with a big win against a pretty dang good Kansas team was big for us. So step in the right direction and we’ll hopefully carry this momentum.”
On how he picked up Lucas Kelly after the top of the ninth
“It happens. He’s made 11 appearances and hasn’t given up a run. He was one strike away or two strikes away from closing that one out and just being lights out. He’s been outstanding all year. He maybe made a mistake. I haven’t seen where that pitch was, but the kid put a good swing on it. So the great part about him is he bounced back and was able to not give up any more and give our offense a chance in the bottom half. So obviously he doesn’t want to hear that right now, but I look at how a guy bounces back and he came back and attacked the next hitter and got us back in offensively to give us a chance.”
On Nu’u Contrades coming through in the end after dealing through so much adversity
“That’s what makes coaching a lot of fun. You get to see the work these kids put in behind the scenes and you know the ups and downs, blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes that nobody else does. And they get to put it all to fruition at a big moment, it’s pretty gratifying as a coach to see a great kid come through in that situation. He’s been through a lot, obviously with the injury last year and he’s been really working hard to find a swing this year and get it back right. And he’s getting very, very close. Maybe he’s there now with that homer. Just seeing that he made a little adjustment today early before the game today in batting practice and put it into use there in that ninth inning and it came through. When you see those things carry over into a game and have success in a key moment, kind of cool as a coach. I guess that that’s where you get your emotional highs as a coach when your kids come through and do what they were taught. So it was pretty neat.”
Up Next
At UNLV on March 25th at 6 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes
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