Baseball pulls away down the stretch behind Carlon's gem

Turning point
The Sun Devils needed just three batters in the game to take a lead it would not relinquish throughout the night. Dean Toigo launched the longest home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning, team-leading third of the year on a 429-foot bomb to right that plated Landon Hairston and gave the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish. Toigo finished the night with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Big moment
Carlon faced adversity early with runners on second and third in both the second and third innings. Carlon wouldn’t allow any of those runners to come home, however, and his efforts led to a 0-for-6 outing for the Red Storm with runners in scoring position. His third-inning effort was especially notable with runners on second and third and just one out and facing the St. John’s three and four hitters in the lineup, striking out both to strand the runners and ease up his workload on the night. Carlon faced just one batter over the minimum on the final twelve batters he faced in the contest.

Final straw
Despite the electric outing from Carlon, the game was still very much a dogfight heading inning the bottom of the seventh with ASU holding on to a 4-1 lead. The Sun Devils took advantage of a loss of command from the St. John’s pitchers with four walks on five batters, plating a run and giving ASU a 5-1 lead. St. John’s went to the bullpen with the bases loaded with one ou,t but it mattered not, as Nu’u Contrades launched his second grand slam of the season to welcome the new blood, blowing the contest open with a 9-1 lead that was never threatened down the stretch.

Inning by inning
First inning
Cole Carlon took the mound for his second start of the season, striking out two and inducing a groundout to cap off a scoreless first inning.

Landon Hairston singled to left to lead off the inning, and Dean Toigo put the first runs on the board with a home run to right, giving the Sun Devils an early 2-0 lead. Two flyouts ended the inning, with Arizona State up by two.

Second inning
Carlon opened the inning with a walk, followed by a foul out. Another walk put two on, and a groundout moved the runners to second and third. A strikeout from Carlon finished off another scoreless inning.

A Garrett Michel base hit to right led off the inning. A flyout from Dominic Longo and a groundout from Austen Roellig put two outs on the board, and another groundout finished the inning off for ASU.

Third inning
St. John’s opened the third inning with a double, followed by a groundout to short that moved the runner to third. A walk from Carlon put runners on the corners, and a stolen base made for two runners in scoring position. Carlon then notched back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and keep the Red Storm off the board. 

Hairston got on base for the second time in as many plate appearances with a walk, and PJ Moutzouridis moved him over with a sac bunt. A pop-up and a groundout ended the inning.

Fourth inning
St. John’s singled to begin the fourth inning, but a fly out followed by a double play put a swift ending to the inning.

Dominic Smaldino struck hot with a home run to put the Sun Devils up 3-0. Roellig followed up a groundout and a foul out with a double to get on base, but a flyout ended the fourth inning.

Fifth inning
Carlon opened the fifth inning with a flyout followed by a strikeout. A home run finally put St. John’s on the board, but Carlon struck the next batter out to limit the damage. 

Hairston led off with his second hit of the game, a base hit to left, followed by a stolen base. A strikeout followed by Hairston caught stealing, and a flyout ended the fifth inning.

Sixth inning
Two strikeouts from Carlon and a groundout kept St. John’s off base, putting a quick end to the sixth inning. 

A flyout from Nu’u Contrades led off the inning, and Dominic Smaldino got on base with a single past the third baseman. Garrett Michel then drove in Smaldino with an RBI-double down the third base line. Dominic Longo grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Michel being tagged out at third. The inning ended when Longo was caught trying to steal second.

Seventh inning
Alex Overbay was the first guy out of the bullpen for the Sun Devils, starting strong with a strikeout. The Red Storm picked up a baserunner with a walk, but Overbay was able to get a flyout and a groundout to end the inning. 

Roellig walked on four pitches to start the inning, and after Brody Briggs flew out to right, Hairston walked as well. A hit by pitch for Moutzouridis loaded the bases, and a walk from Toigo drove in a run, increasing Arizona State’s lead to 5-1. Nu’u Contrades then welcomed in a new pitcher with a grand slam to left center, making it 9-1, Sun Devils. Smaldino doubled to left center, and the fifth walk of the inning put Garrett Michel on base. A strikeout and groundout finished off the inning.

Eighth inning
Overbay opened the eighth inning with a strikeout, followed by a flyout. Another strikeout capped off the scoreless outing for Overbay. 

Cooper Clouser pinch hit for Briggs to lead off the eighth, taking a walk. Pinch hitter Ky McGary reached on a fielder’s choice, followed by a flyout. A groundout to first completed the eighth inning.

Ninth inning
Austin Musso was the next guy up, giving up a single to start the inning. Musso followed up with a strikeout, but another walk put a runner in scoring position for St. John’s. A double out on a groundball secured the victory for the Sun Devils.

“I think good swings ultimately resulted in home runs at times. And when you have those three, top to bottom, anybody in that lineup can put the ball in the seat. So that’s what’s kind of cool about it. But we're not one-dimensional like we have been in the past. I think there's plenty of different ways we can beat you, with the running game, small ball if we have to," Willie Bloomquist said of the big swings from Toigo, Contrades, and Smaldino.

Quotables
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
“Offensive approach was spotty, a little bit. If I’m being critical, we just swung at too many breaking balls early in the count and got ourselves out with weak contact. But Dean (Toigo) obviously got us on the board there in the first with his homer, we were able to piece a run together there in the fourth and obviously the seventh was the big blow, but up until then, it was in balance, for lack of better term, we just were having decent at-bats at times, but we just weren't stringing much together until the seventh, but able to score enough runs there to get a little bit of breathing room.”

On Cole Carlon’s performance
“(St. John’s) had a good approach against him, and he walked a couple of guys that put himself in some situations there, but was able to lock in and make some big pitches when he had to to keep zeros on the board. But he did a good job, obviously limiting the damage and then pitching his way out of some things, and was able to throw a variety of pitches in there for strikes today. So it wasn’t just fastball and slider. He was able to throw a curveball in there. Had a strikeout or two on a changeup as well. So if he's starting to get four pitches working, it's going to be beneficial for him and us moving forward.”

On Landon Hairston’s hot streak
“Hitters hit, you know. I honestly don’t think he’s fully locked in yet. To be honest, he’s getting hits. His two base hits today were kind of backside and hit one off the cap there to left field. But he just gives himself opportunities to get those types of hits, because the bat heads in the zone so long. And good hitters do that. They aren’t in and out of the zone quickly. He just has a knack for being able to put the barrel to the ball. When you do that, you find holes a lot. So he’s getting his hits, but I know there’s more in there too.”

On the big swings from Toigo, Contrades, and Smaldino
“I think good swings ultimately resulted in home runs at times. And when you have those three, top to bottom, anybody in that lineup can put the ball in the seat. So that’s what’s kind of cool about it. But we’re not one-dimensional like we have been in the past. I think there are plenty of different ways we can beat you, with the running game, small ball if we have to. I feel much better as a complete offense this year than I have in the past, where we’re not just living and dying on the long ball. Even though we did a little bit of that tonight, most of our runs were scored via long balls. But I do feel confident that this team is more dynamic than we’ve had in the past.”

Infielder Dominic Smaldino
On tonight’s approach
“I was just keeping everything slow. We knew they were going to throw a lot of breaking balls. I was just making sure I didn’t speed myself up to where I was too susceptible to that. I was just sticking to my process.”

On his homerun tonight
“I saw a slider over the middle of the plate. I saw it right out of hand. I knew they were trying to get away with that. We’re trying to take advantage of those ones up and over the plate.”

Outfielder Dean Toigo
On tonight’s home run
“I took two changeups prior to being at bat. I had a feeling the fastball was coming. I was hunting a fastball up, and he just threw it where I was looking, fastball up and in, and I got it.”

On reaching his offensive potential
“I don’t feel fully like my feet are wet yet. I’m still doing decent. We're winning, and that’s all I care about. There’s still room for me to grow offensively. The more at-bats I get, the more comfortable I will feel.”

On improving runners in scoring position
“Hunting the pitches up, sticking to the approach of getting heaters up and spitting on anything off-speed in the dirt. If we do a better job in that in the next couple of games and the rest of the year, that will be a much better number.”

Pitcher Cole Carlon
On his performance tonight
“It felt good, staying active between innings and making sure my body and my arm feel good to go. I felt really good towards the end. It felt like the juices were flowing more towards the end of my outing. I definitely got it going again, so I was excited about that.”

What is needed ahead of Arlington
“Really good recovery, lots of sleep, hydration, things like that. Still, routine-wise, I’m going to keep my same process, attack the zone. I’m looking forward to that, I’m excited. That will be a fun game to pitch.”

On wanted Improvements ahead of facing Arlington
“I let a couple of hitters get away there, a couple of walks. I need to be relentless with each pitch. That’s a word I like to use, I just have to keep along those lines.

Infielder Nu'u Contrades
On his second grand slam of the year
“It feels good. As a hitter, you always dream about getting the opportunity to do it. I’m sticking to my process, and it was definitely fun.”

On what he learns through wins like this
“We’re just relentless. We’re going to try and keep that going. We come out here and compete, and that’s all we can do.”

On tonight’s stolen base performance
“We’re always going to be aggressive on bases. Some nights it happens. Our plan isn’t going to change. We’re going to stay aggressive. Our plans aren’t going to change.”

Up next 
Arizona State remains at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a weekend series against St. John’s beginning Friday. The games will be broadcast on ESPN+ by the Cronkite School of Journalism.

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