ASU is bringing the Territorial Cup back home to Tempe.
No. 20 ASU went down south to Hi Corbett Field behind enemy lines, taking two of three from in-state rival Arizona.
The Sun Devil offense routed Arizona 15-6 in the series decider behind junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino's six RBI game.
Smaldino joined graduate right fielder Matt Polk with four hits and multi-extra base hit games, leading the charge.
"Whenever you can beat them, it's sweet," Polk said via Devils Digest. "(Willie Bloomquist) really has a disdain for these guys ... He says he wants them on a platter; that's our job."
Sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston homered, giving him 18 on the year as he continued to march toward the ASU record of 27.
Righties senior Kole Klecker and redshirt junior Colin Linder both tossed four innings apiece on the mound for ASU.
The lone stain of the series came in Friday night's matchup after the bullpen spoiled six scoreless innings from junior left-hander Cole Carlon.
Carlon struck out a career high 12 batters before handing the ball over to the bullpen, who gave up seven runs in the seventh inning.
The Sun Devils couldn't overcome the deficit as the bats went silent after the fifth inning, ultimately dropping the game by a final score of 7-4.
"That's just a lack of concentration, a lack of focus and a lack of finishing the job," head coach Bloomquist said per Devils Digest. "Not having the killer instinct we need to finish a job, right now, that's an issue."
In the series opener, some seventh-inning timely hitting proved to be the deciding factor for the Sun Devils.
Hairston led the way, finishing the game just a triple shy of the cycle. ASU took down Arizona 6-4.
Redshirt junior infielder Nu'u Contrades delivered the deciding blow in the seventh with a two-RBI double that put the Sun Devils ahead for good.
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Penn, making just his second start of the season, gave ASU four innings of two-run baseball, paving the way for relievers junior right-hander Alex Overbay, senior left-hander Sean Fitzpatrick and junior right-hander Derek Schaefer to finish the job.
Looking ahead, ASU currently sits tied for fourth place in the Big 12 standings at 7-5. With the current first-place team, UCF, looming at the start of May.
ASU is seeking its first outright conference championship since winning the Pac-10 in 2010.
The Sun Devils have two mid-week matchups against GCU and UNLV before welcoming Utah to Phoenix Municipal Stadium this weekend.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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