Cody Airington kept the Sun Devils’ high-powered offense in check, tossing four scoreless innings with four strikeouts heading into the fifth. 

Coach Willie Bloomquist wanted his team to adjust quicker than they did to Airington’s velocity.

“He basically said hit it if you can, and we weren’t touching it,” Bloomquist said.

The turnaround for the Sun Devils came in the fifth inning, an inning that accounted for four of ASU’s five hits and all five of their runs. 

The biggest swing of the inning came from junior center fielder Isaiah Jackson, who clubbed his first home run of the season to get the Sun Devils on the board. 

Airington finished his day after 64 pitches, who pitched through four and a third innings while allowing just three total hits.

Once the Governors head coach Roland Fanning took Airington out of the game, the offense exploded. 

Back-to-back singles followed Jackson’s home run, followed by three straight walks that brought in another pair of runs. 

The latter of those singles came from catcher Brody Briggs, who had an incredible weekend to kick off the season and his collegiate career. 

Bloomquist was not surprised by Briggs and him shining on the big stage.

“When the lights come on, that kid is gonna show up,” Bloomquist said. “He’s starting to get his opportunity.”

Briggs started Saturday and Monday as the team’s catcher, going 4-7 at the dish and scoring a pair of runs. 

Brandon Compton finished the rally with a two-run line drive single up the middle to solidify the comeback for Arizona State. 

Compton has started the year on a tear, as through his first four games he’s racked up four extra-base hits, nine RBIs, and an OPS at 1.900. 

“Somebody’s got to come up with big hits,” Bloomquist said. “And right now he’s been doing it pretty much daily.”

A lot of success with ASU’s offense has been exactly that, getting the hits when they need them most.

“We’re not quite firing on all cylinders yet,” Bloomquist said. “Look at the numbers, they’re not godly”. 

A lot of Arizona State’s star players are not performing at quite star levels. Bloomquist isn’t concerned, though, especially when looking at Kyle Walker. 

Walker, who compiled a .381 batting average last season for Grambling State, has gone 2-13 at the plate thus far, though Bloomquist has hardly noticed.

“Numbers don’t always tell the full story,” Bloomquist said. “He [Kyle Walker] continues to put together really solid at-bats and seems to come up with, it sounds so small, but he comes up with the big walk every now and again.”

While the box score didn’t reflect the offensive success of the Sun Devils, Bloomquist can rest assured leaving the weekend 4-0 against two highly touted organizations. 

Rohan Lettow, who threw just a third of an inning in 2024, provided Arizona State with a solid performance in his first collegiate start.

Lettow allowed seven base runners, with only three of them crossing home plate. 

Of his five hits, four of them were singles, and only two of them left the infield. 

Jonah Gilbin and Cole Carlon gave ASU critical relief innings following ASU’s game on Sunday, where Bloomquist used six relievers to complete the final five innings. 

Giblin finished his day after throwing three innings of shutout ball, allowing just two base runners while striking out four. 

Gilbin, who has started eight games in his collegiate career, is ready for more extended outings in the future. 

“Get ready to do whatever you’re called on for,” Gilbin said. “If you need to go for three or four innings to pick some guys up, that’s what you do.”

Carlon’s day was much shorter, only throwing an inning and a third, but he kept Austin Peay off the scoreboard and allowed just one baserunner. 

Coming off of a rocky outing on Saturday, which saw Carlon allow two hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch that led to a crucial run for Ohio State, Bloomquist believed Carlon would bounce back.

“I was confident he was gonna bounce back and throw the ball better, and he did,” Bloomquist said.

Carlon’s scoreless frames set up Will Koger for the save, where he succeeded for the second time this season.

Arizona State will play a talented mid-major team this weekend in Oral Roberts, who like the Sun Devils are undefeated following a three-game sweep of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. 

Over the three-game set against Ohio State this weekend, Phoenix Municipal Stadium welcomed 10,570 fans, which was the largest opening weekend crowd in Arizona State history.

Bloomquist hopes to see continued support from the Sun Devil faithful following their record-breaking weekend. 

“It’s helpful,” Bloomquist said. “Not only for our guys to get a little energy, but just the fan's support and it's just great to play in front of fans.”