ASU baseball: Where the team stands after the Washington State sweep
Arizona State baseball has flourished in head coach Willie Bloomquist’s second season and their most recent series is a good reflection of what’s been working for the Sun Devils.
ASU’s sweep over Washington State on Saturday marked the fastest ASU has earned 10 conference wins in a season since 2009. In that season, ASU began Pac-10 play 10-1 and finished the season 17-3 in conference play.
The Sun Devils (23-9, 10-2) sit atop the Pac-12 standings and swept its second conference opponent this season, along with winners of four consecutive series for the first time since 2015.
Here is what stood out from ASU this past weekend.
Pitching is locked in
The mound was a stronghold for the Sun Devils in the series. ASU’s pitchers have struck out double-digit opponents in six of the last eight games and seven of the last 11.
Saturday’s sweep was made possible with right-hander Khristian Curtis’ eight strikeouts in a career-high six innings. Curtis has tallied 17 strikeouts in his last two games.
In Friday’s start, Ross Dunn struck out nine batters and has struck out at least seven batters in four of his last five starts.
ASU’s bullpen held it down for the starters throughout the series, retiring 21 batters and allowing just two runs over 13.1 innings. The bullpen allowed just one hit with no walks and no runs in the series finale.
Fantastic freshmen
The freshmen class has shined this season for the Sun Devils as three of the seven best averages on the team are freshmen.
Friday marked the first time that five freshmen were in the starting lineup when left fielder Kien Vu, third baseman Nu'u Contrades, shortstop Luke Hill, designated hitter Reese Beheler, and center fielder Isaiah Jackson all started in their respective positions.
Jackson hit a big fly at the bottom of the fifth of Friday’s win with a 408-foot, 2-run shot to dead center. Jackson has four home runs this season.
Contrades’ home run in the series finale secured his team-leading seventh of the season.
The freshmen class will continue to be an integral part of the lineup. During the series, ASU received unfortunate news that junior infielder and pitcher Ethan Long will miss the season after undergoing wrist surgery.
Behind the dish
Catcher Ryan Campos has been valuable at the plate this season with a team-leading .419 batting average, 49 hits, 39 runs, and seven home runs.
Campos has reached base in 30 straight games and has the highest on-base percentage in the Pac-12 (.527).
Up next
The Sun Devils will travel to cross-town rival, Grand Canyon, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Earlier this season, the Sun Devils routed the then-No.25 Lopes in an 11-1 victory at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on March 22. ASU has won 17 of its last 19 games.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU baseball: Where the team stands after the Washington State sweep
