In its first home series in a brand new Big 12 Conference, Arizona State (15-7 overall, 3-1 Big 12) did not let up in their 9-2 win over the Kansas Jayhawks (17-5 overall, 2-2 Big 12), a game highlighted by timely hitting and a nearly sold-out crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. 

Veteran catcher Josiah Cromwick led the offensive surge, finishing 2-4 at the dish with a pair of home runs and three RBIs that tipped the scales in favor of the Sun Devils.  

Cromwick’s performance marked his first multi-homer game of his Sun Devil career. Cromwick also reached base in four of his five plate appearances, adding a walk and reaching on an error to cap off his impressive night.

“Honestly I just try to keep it simple and look for a good pitch to hit,” Cromwick said. “Today I felt like I stuck to that approach pretty well.”

The bats never let up for the Devils, who scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, hitting the final nail in the coffin for the Jayhawks.  

Arizona State totaled an impressive 12 hits to only five strikeouts as a team, falling back on their mantra of applying continuous pressure.

Kyle Walker was another shining star for the Sun Devils, as his three hits showcased the continued improvement of his bat.

“I think we are an aggressive team, we’ve shown it all year,” Walker said. “Today we just stayed aggressive and it fell for us.”

The redshirt-junior Grambling State transfer was hitting well below the Mendoza Line earlier in the season, a trend that never wavered his confidence. 

The standout second baseman, now hitting .328 at the top of ASU’s order, was a highly sought-after transfer with plenty of buzz surrounding him. 

The more Walker maintains his level of play, the more potent the Sun Devils become. 

“It’s infectious when he (Walker) is the way he is,” Bloomquist said. “He makes everyone else around him better, always talking and always chirping out there.”

Starter Ben Jacobs struggled out of the gate, issuing three straight free passes to Jayhawk batters. Jacobs quickly found his footing after that and was unstoppable the rest of the night.

Jacobs would shove four innings for Arizona State, allowing a single unearned run on one hit while striking out eight. While his outing breathed success, Jacobs still has room left for improvement, he also allowed seven walks in his shortened outing.  

The Jayhawks entered Saturday’s game after two consecutive losses in Big 12 play, their most recent coming from a shutout against a 23rd-ranked Arizona squad. 

Before its slip, Kansas led the conference with 46 home runs, 10 more than any other team. However, they could never find an answer against Ben Jacobs.

“I’m pretty proud of myself for how I was able to bounce back,” Jacobs said. “That’s really all that matters at the end of the day, putting zeroes up.”

Jacobs was a pivotal reason why Walker donned the maroon and gold and has reaped the benefits of his production while on the mound. 

“I was a little birdie in his ear this summer,” Jacobs said. “I really wanted him to be a Devil and it clearly worked out.”

The relief arms for ASU provided the much-needed stability. Only two pitchers came in for relief, Jonah Giblin and Cole Carlon. They combined for eight strikeouts and only three hits allowed.

Head Coach Willie Bloomquist bragged about the pitching performance and has hope for the next two games of the series.

“I’m glad we didn’t have to get anybody else up,” Bloomquist said. “ I didn’t want to go to a fourth arm tonight and expose another arm for them to see.”

While the bats may have been the stars, the bullpen did not go unnoticed in the victory. All three pitchers gave their best “stuff” to seal the win.

“When you’re attacking the zone, throwing your off-speed pitches for strikes, it makes it challenging for the other hitters,” Bloomquist said.

The Devils will look to roll in less than 24 hours against the Jayhawks on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The team hopes the crowd will be just as intense and packed as it was tonight.

“Hopefully they keep coming,” Bloomquist said. “It adds a lot of energy, not only to the environment but our guys just have an extra gear of motivation.”