Omaha made its way down to the Valley to kick off its 2026 season against ASU as the Sun Devils aim to finish their year in Omaha at Charles Schwab Field, home of the College World Series.
Behind the assets ASU had spent the past nine months building, as the Sun Devils swept Omaha opening weekend in front of a record crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, showcasing their depth, power and consistency.
Head coach Willie Bloomquist cracked a keen grin when asked about the symbolism of opening the season with a win over Omaha while hoping to finish the year there.
"We ain't talking about that," he said.
ASU was on the ropes in game three after a fairly easy ride to victory in the first two games of the season.
Sunday starter sophomore Easton Barrett got bit early with some long at-bats and ended his day in the second inning while allowing six walks and four runs.
"He showed that his stuff's really good, but he just struggled with command," redshirt sophomore catcher Brody Briggs said. "He's going to be fine. He's going to be really good for us."
The Sun Devils slowly chipped away.
Their bullpen kept them in the game with junior Jaden Alba settling things down, tossing 4.1 innings of scoreless ball. That set up sophomore shortstop Beckett Zavorek to drive in two runs with his single in the eighth inning, giving ASU its first lead of the night.
This lead they wouldn't relinquish, capping off the sweep with a 6-4 victory.
Zavorek, starting in two of the three games, finished the weekend with four RBIs.
"I just try and go out there and play my game every time I touch the field," Zavorek said. "Nothing more, nothing less, just trying to win every time I'm out there."
Saturday's matinee featured ASU flexing its bolstered offense as it rode four home runs to an 11-5 victory.
Team captain and redshirt junior second baseman Nu'u Contrades delivered a grand slam that broke the game open in the third. A trio of transfers, fifth-year designated hitter Matt Polk, graduate right fielder Dean Toigo and junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino, all homered as well.
"You can throw any lineup out there, and they're going to stack one good at bat after another," Smaldino said on the offensive depth. "Hitting is contagious, and a lot of it starts with the first guy of the inning and just chipping away after that."
On the bump, redshirt junior Colin Linder pitched his first collegiate game since 2024 at the junior college level, tossing four innings, striking out three and allowing one run.
The righty missed all of 2025 recovering from arm surgery.
"It was exciting, I definitely felt some jitters at times, but it was really exciting to get back out on the mound," Linder said.
Opening night under the lights in abnormal, cool, windy temperatures saw the Sun Devil pitching staff show its promise behind ace Cole Carlon.
The junior lefty tossed five innings of one-run ball, striking out three and surrendering only two hits.
"I was able to hold my stuff pretty good," Carlon said. "I'm pretty sure that was my longest outing that I've had in my three years here. So, I'm excited (to) keep rolling and building off that."
The Sun Devil bullpen, led by juniors Alex Overbay and Derek Schaefer, was stout, allowing only one run in the final four innings.
ASU's offense didn't let the opening night weather conditions get to it, utilizing pesky base running to keep Omaha on its heels.
Going five for five on stolen base attempts helped create runs all night for ASU. The Sun Devils finished the weekend going a perfect 10 for 10 on stolen base attempts, showing their offensive versatility.
"That was our game plan going in," Contrades said. "We're going to try and cause havoc in any way possible."
Despite the spotless start in the win-loss category for the squad, Bloomquist remains far from satisfied, as he was tempered in his evaluation without wanting to cast a "wet blanket" on the team's celebration.
"We'll take the sweep," he said. "But there's some glaring stuff that we got to work on clearly, so we'll get back to the drawing board and back to work tomorrow."
ASU stays at home over its next four, hosting UConn in its first midweek matchup on Feb. 17 and St. John's for a three-game set kicking off Feb. 20.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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