Arizona State Baseball Kicks 2026 Season Off With Victory

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0) started off their 2026 season with a convincing 7-2 victory over the Omaha Mavericks (0-1) from Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday night.

The Sun Devils coincedentally began their season that includes hopes of reaching the College World Series in Omaha against the host university of the yeary event.

The fifth year of the Willie Bloomquist era started off on a high note - follow scoring plays, a breakdown of key players in the win, and looking at what's ahead below.

Scoring Plays

Second Inning: Nu'u Contrades scores the first run of the season off of masterful baserunning. The third baseman stole second base following a single, then got to third off of another steal before scoring following a throwing error.

Fifth Inning: Garrett Michel accounted for a leadoff double, which was followed up by a PJ Moutzouridis single and a sac fly from Brody Brigs that put Arizona State back in front after Omaha tied the game at 1. Landon Hariston extended the lead to two runs with a single

Sixth Inning: Contrades hit what was nearly a home run - the double ended up paying off after Garrett Michel hit a single.

Eighth Inning: Arizona State's final time batting is what ended up breaking the game open, as the Sun Devil lead extended from 4-2 to 7-2. The scoring started by Contrades once again getting on base after getting hit by a pitch, which spiraled into three runs being scored as the result of "small ball" - the Sun Devils were then able to close out the game in the ninth.

knknl — ASU baseball head coach, Willie Bloomquist, talks about Thaddeus Earle and his contributions to the team on Nov. 13, 2023. | Sam Ballesteros/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Key Players

P Cole Carlon - Pressure was on Carlon to perform after making the jump from bullpen arm to starting pitcher. Carlon largely delivered, giving up only two hits and striking out three batters in five innings of action.

P Alex Overbay - The UNLV transfer came into the season as one of the biggest adds that Bloomquist made - Overbay did not disappoint in relief, giving up just one run in three innings of work.

Garrett Michel, PJ Moutzouridis, and Nu'u Contrades deserve particular praise amongst the lineup on Friday, as the three contributed over half of the 11 hits on the night.

What's Next

Arizona State closes out the opening series against Omaha with 1 P.M. first pitches over the weekend before facing UConn at home on Tuesday night in a single-game set.

Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..

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