The college baseball regular season wrapped up on Saturday, leaving Arizona State little time to prepare before the first of its two postseason tournaments. Fortunately for the Sun Devils, the first of those events is being played in their backyard.
Surprise Stadium will host the Big 12 Tournament, with ASU scheduled to play Cincinnati on Thursday. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the No. 21 Sun Devils will progress from there to an NCAA Tournament regional.
“I’ve been looking forward to being in a regional,” said second-team All-Big 12 selection Domonic Smaldio, who transferred from Cal. “It’s my third year in college and I haven’t been to a regional, so I’m really excited for that, and, you know, excited to win these next three games.”
Senior right-hander Kole Klecker will start the first game of the Big 12 Tournament, a decision that few would have expected given staff ace Cole Carlon’s season. A move like this is rarely made without a reason.
After Carlon was pulled from his start in the second inning of ASU’s 5-3 loss to the Houston Cougars on Thursday, the Sun Devils’ medical staff examined his ailing shoulder and determined it was just fatigue. Even though coach Willie Bloomquist said it is not something to worry about, ASU is erring on the side of caution.
Despite the unexpected switch, the team is ready, both at the plate and on the mound.
“You’re always kind of amped up for postseason baseball,” sophomore pitcher Taylor Penn said. “It’s almost like a better opening day.”
Cincinnati (37-19) is a scrappy team that led the Big-12 in one stat this season, stolen bases, and it led by a wide margin, 113 steals in 131 attempts. Six Bearcats players registered at least 10 stolen bases. Compare that to the Sun Devils, who stole 62 bases on 84 attempts and have just two players with at least 10.
ASU (36-18) achieved success by different means this season, and in some cases, it led to players earning honors in the Big 12. Those include Player of the Year honors for sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston, who tied the program record for home runs on Saturday with his 27th. Hairston, Carlon and infielder Nu’u Contrades all earned first-team nods, while Smaldino was named to the second team.
With the regular season behind them, coach Willie Bloomquist is shifting the Sun Devils’ focus toward the postseason.
“The individual accolades are great,” Bloomquist said following ASU’s final practice at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Tuesday. “But right now we’re focused on what we have in front of us on Thursday and beyond.”
That’s not to say that the players haven’t taken a moment to appreciate where they are and what they have accomplished.
“It’s a really good conference with a lot of good players,” Carlon said of making the All-Big 12 first team. “Just being able to go out this season and show what I can do, and help my team win in any way possible, it’s a big honor to be able to be recognized.”
Each of these players is aware of the program’s historic success. ASU has the fourth-most national championships and the most players ever to play in Major League Baseball. The current Sun Devils hope to add to that list.
And with their counterpart, the ASU softball team, heading to an NCAA Super Regional, they know they have some big shoes to fill.
At least they have one advantage, an 8 p.m. first pitch, which, as Hairston noted, “is better than 7:30 a.m. like last year.”
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