If the Amegy College Baseball Series was meant to show where ASU stands among the nation's elite, the verdict was clear: not there yet.
The Sun Devils dropped all three games in Arlington against Top 25 SEC opponents. Self-inflicted mistakes defined the weekend. The pitching staff issued 20 walks and four hit batters. Offensively, ASU went 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
Head coach Willie Bloomquist described Sunday's loss to No. 22 Texas A&M as "pretty pathetic," to cap off the subpar weekend.
ASU never held a lead all weekend long, and opponents outscored the Sun Devils 22-10. Sunday night's matchup was the most lopsided loss of the series as Texas A&M swung away on junior pitcher Jaden Alba, who made his first start of the season, putting up six runs against him in the first three innings.
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Redshirt junior designated hitter Garrett Michel and junior center fielder Dominic Longo each homered for the Maroon and Gold. Sophomore Taylor Penn tossed two scoreless innings, striking out four. The trio proved to be the lone bright spots in the 9-3 loss to the Aggies.
Against No. 19 Tennessee, ASU kept it close, but ultimately, a four-run second inning from the Vols proved to be the deciding factor in the 5-3 loss.
Redshirt junior Colin Linder was able to settle down after the second inning, going two scoreless after that and handing the ball to junior Alex Overbay, who dominated in his three innings of work, striking out six and allowing only three base runners.
The offense fell short in critical situations, consistent with the theme of the entire series. ASU put runners on first and second with one out in the first and eighth innings, had second and third with one out in the third and loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth.
Not one of those opportunities produced a run.
The highlight of the weekend ended with ASU junior ace Cole Carlon lying flat on his back behind home plate. Carlon was sharp, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning, striking out seven. After a seeing-eye single found its way into left field, scoring the first run of the game for No. 4 Mississippi State, Carlon came out of the game with a cramp after backing up home plate.
Junior Josh Butler relieved Carlon and gave up a three-run home run on the first pitch he threw. The homer broke open the game for Mississippi State en route to an 8-4 victory.
Bulldog starting pitcher sophomore Ryan McPherson outdueled Carlon, silencing the ASU offense over seven innings, striking out five and allowing one run.
Carlon's injury is deemed not to be serious.
Bloomquist warned early in the season, despite the team's success, that underlying flaws would surface against competition. In Arlington, they did.
"We're not there yet, bottom line," Bloomquist said. "We have the talent to do it, but these guys have to understand the things that it takes to win baseball games. Number one thing is we have to throw the ball over the plate; that's first and foremost."
ASU is now 8-4, after starting the season 7-0 heading into the Oklahoma series, with just over a week before their first Big 12 matchup against rival UA.
The sweep raises larger concerns in the grand scheme of ASU's mission to get deep in the NCAA Tournament in hopes of returning to Omaha for the first time in 16 years.
No conference in college baseball has matched the SEC, which has sent an average of more than 10 teams to the NCAA Tournament over the past five years and won the last six College World Series.
ASU has gone 2-8 against the SEC since 2023.
If the Sun Devils are going to accomplish their goal of reaching Omaha, the odds are that they will meet one or more teams from the SEC along the way.
ASU looks to get back on track, returning home to host Loyola Marymount University for a three-game series this weekend.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Jack McCarthy and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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