Cole Carlon tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball, but the Sun Devils were unable to hold on to the lead, and fell to the Mountaineers, 7-3.
Cole Carlon threw 5.1 innings of one-run baseball, striking out six in the loss.
SURPRISE, Ariz. – No. 21 Sun Devil Baseball struggled to get the bats going while a series of defensive blemishes would further undo matters in a 7-3 loss to No. 9 West Virginia in the semifinals of the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament presented Allstate on Friday evening at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz.
Arizona State (37-19) posted a season-low three hits in the contest – two of which coming on back-to-back plays in the fourth inning – and had three errors to boot as West Virginia took control late.
Despite the many miscues, the Sun Devils held a 3-1 advantage into the sixth inning behind an exceptional start from Cole Carlon, who allowed just one run on five hits with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings.
Arizona State took the lead in the fourth following a leadoff triple from Nu’u Contrades and a majestic 457-foot home run from Dean Toigo to claim a 2-1 lead. Contrades added another with his legs alone in the top of the sixth with a walk, stolen base and then taking two bases on a wild pitch to the backstop that gave ASU a 3-1 lead.
That was about the extent of the Sun Devil offense as West Virginia (39-13) immediately took advantage of Carlon’s exit from the game, recording three consecutive base hits – two of which coming on bad reads from the outfield – followed by an infield error to plate three runs and a 4-3 lead that it extended to 7-3 in the eighth behind two ASU errors.
The Sun Devils will now await their postseason fate, which will be determined this Monday, May 25 with the NCAA Selection Show, scheduled for 9 a.m. AZT on ESPN2.
Turning point
Cole Carlon largely dominated the West Virginia offense for 5.1 innings of action as he allowed just one run on a two-out, two-strike RBI single in the second but otherwise did his part to give the Sun Devils a chance to hold the lead early. Looking after his pitch count ahead of next weekend’s regionals, ASU pulled Carlon after his one-pitch out in the sixth. Finn Edwards lost an eight-pitch battle on the first batter he saw and things spiraled from there. A pair of bad reads on balls to the outfield brought West Virginia back within 3-2. A ground ball followed by a throw into the dirt on a ball to short was unable to be picked by Smaldino allowed two more to score to give West Virginia a 4-3 lead. Sean Fitzpatrick was able to strand two runners in scoring position to keep ASU in striking distance but the damage was done.
Big moment
The loudest moment of the game came on Dean Toigo’s 457-foot homer in the fourth inning after Nu’u Contrades flashed the speed with his leadoff triple. The problem was, that was the one big moment in the game for the ASU offense. The Sun Devils managed just those two hits until Matt Polk’s leadoff single in the ninth inning as the team stranded seven baserunners and went 0-for-9 with two outs and just 1-for-11 with runners on base.
Final straw
It remained a 4-3 game until the bottom of the eighth when four-straight one-out balls let WVU’s best baserunner onto the base paths in Armani Guzman. His speed forced a tough throw from center on a single as he flew around the bases to try to go first to third, and the ball caromed off his body, rolled into foul territory and allowed Brodie Kresser to take third on the error as well. He would score on a soft two out single from Tyrus Hall, who proceeded to steal second as the throw AGAIN caromed off the baserunner, rolling into the outfield and allowing the speedy Hall to score on another two-bases error as he just avoided the tag at home. That gave WVU a 7-3 advantage. The Sun Devils did keep it interesting in the top of the ninth, getting two leadoff runners on before flying out three times to right field to end the threat and ASU’s appearance in the Big 12 tourney.
The big number
3 – One can take their pick of the three hits or the three errors, both categories effectively hindering ASU’s chances of making a run into the tournament final tomorrow. The three hits were the lowest by Arizona State this season while the three errors were tied for the second most.
