ASU’s first NCAA tournament and regional win since 2021 came loaded with every emotion imaginable. The bounce back kids once again showcased their resiliency.

Every Sun Devil at Tuesday’s press conference described the “last four in” bid as a huge relief—an achievement and a moment head coach Willie Bloomquist has been striving for since day one. A late four-game skid almost cost them that chance, but the players saw it as a wake-up call.

The energy in the locker room had shifted as the team prepared for its opening Los Angeles regional matchup against UC Irvine.

The Anteaters came in as a powerhouse—once in position to host a regional and boasting one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses. Their patient, relentless lineup posted a .418 on-base percentage, ranking 25th nationally, and had every reason to be viewed as a favorite to win the region. Despite the hype, UC Irvine’s late-season slump left a crack in their armor, opening the door for ASU’s upset, one that ended a six-game losing streak against the Anteaters.

Bloomquist has said all season that when ASU is at its best, it can hang with anyone—a belief he reaffirmed Tuesday. That confidence wavered late in the year, but the Sun Devils reclaimed it in dramatic fashion. Led by junior left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs, ASU’s pitching staff escaped jam after jam and held one of the country’s top offenses to just two runs. The biggest moment came in the eighth when sophomore left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon induced a double play to end a bases-loaded threat. Four runs proved to be enough in a 4–2 win, setting up a high-stakes showdown with UCLA for a spot in the regional final.

If you had told a Sun Devil fan a year ago that ASU’s pitching would fuel their first regional win since 2021—and that Carlon, who struggled with a 7.52 ERA last season, would close it out—they might have called you crazy. Tonight, that unlikely story became reality, giving the team a huge boost of confidence moving forward.

“The main thing was focusing on ourselves and playing our best baseball,” Bloomquist said. “I mentioned it before—obviously, we didn’t finish the last part of the regular season and our conference tournament the way we wanted to, but maybe there’s a reason for that. Our guys got to rest up a little bit and hopefully get to go on a run here… I think it’s one of those things where the external distractions keep coming, but the more that happens, the tighter we get in our clubhouse—and lord knows there’s been a few of those.”

It felt like ASU’s night from the start. The Sun Devils struck first, briefly lost the lead in the second, but regained control in the fourth and never looked back.

Head coach Willie Bloomquist handed the ball to his trusted ace Ben Jacobs—just as he has all season—and Jacobs delivered. True to form, it wasn’t the flashiest outing, but it was gutsy, effective, and exactly what ASU needed.

Jacobs' start felt full circle—pitching on UCLA’s field against UC Irvine, another California program, in a postseason moment after once wearing a Bruins uniform himself.

“I was supposed to be a part of Irvine in high school and that didn’t end up working out,” Jacobs said. “I played here for UCLA for a year, so I’m pretty familiar with this field, but it was so fun to be out here and come back to where I’m from…I just grinded through it. We’ve got nothing to lose, and we’re dangerous when we’re like that. We’re not a fun team—you don’t want to go up against us right now when we have nothing to lose like this.”

Jacobs has now started back-to-back games for ASU, including the Big 12 tournament loss to BYU, where he battled through early trouble to keep the team in it. That script repeated Friday night as Jacobs ran into trouble in the second inning.

Walks—his Achilles heel all season—resurfaced. A two-out walk sparked a stretch of four straight UC Irvine base runners, including three hits and another free pass. The first two hits tied the game, but Jacobs escaped with a flyout to leave the bases loaded. It was the first of several missed chances for UC Irvine, setting the tone for a night full of squandered opportunities.

The reason the game was only tied—and not UC Irvine in the lead—came down to two solo home runs in the top of the second by senior infielder Jacob Tobias and junior outfielder Isaiah Jackson. Tobias’ first home run of the night ignited the offense early, with Jackson’s blast following closely behind. It was the 11th time this season Tobias recorded the first RBI of a game, and Jackson's home run was his 11th in the last 16 games. UCI starter Trevor Hansen had only given up six home runs all year across 89.0 IP, but on Friday night, he gave up a pair in the second inning alone.

That opening homer ignited Tobias’s unforgettable night as he racked up three crucial extra-base hits. His double in the fourth set the stage for Kien Vu’s go-ahead RBI, while his clutch double in the eighth set up Jackson’s decisive, two-out insurance single—an at-bat that truly sealed the game for ASU.

Tobias and Jackson fueled every run ASU scored. In a mid-game TV interview, Bloomquist noted how sophomore right-handed pitcher Hansen was shutting down ASU’s usual base-stealing game, making it tough to advance that way. Jackson and Tobias aren’t the type to rely on speed to make an impact; instead, their powerful bats delivered exactly what ASU needed to drive the offense.

Despite some standout offensive performances, ASU’s real edge came from their Houdini-like escapes on the mound—snatching victory from the jaws of danger.

All season, one inning has threatened to unravel Jacobs’ outings where early base runners pile up. Sometimes, he’s powered his way out; other times, he’s let the inning slip away, costing him big. Tonight, with runners on second and third and just a one-run lead, Jacobs faced that pressure head-on. He struck out a batter on a perfect changeup, then got a flyout to right, letting out a burst of emotion as he escaped the jam and kept ASU in control.

The second escape came at arguably the season’s biggest moment, as Cole Carlon relieved senior right-hander Jonah Giblin. Giblin had been excellent—just the bridge ASU needed between Jacobs and Carlon—pitching 2.1 innings with one hit, no runs, and three strikeouts. Though when Bloomquist tried to stretch Giblin into a third inning, trouble struck: a hit-by-pitch and a single. With Carlon already warming up, a walk loaded the bases, prompting Bloomquist to turn to his trusted reliever to shut down UC Irvine’s rally in this critical moment.

Carlon’s recent stretch hadn’t exactly been superhero material—seven of his 16 earned runs came in his last five outings, including a shaky relief appearance against BYU, where he walked two batters in a row and handed over a two-run lead. Tonight, the Sun Devils needed Carlon to channel his inner hero and save the day.

Save the day he did. Like a caped crusader, Carlon threw the perfect pitch to induce an inning-ending double play, sparking an eruption of emotion from players, coaches, and fans alike. Blanketing UC Irvine through that inning, he sealed the deal with a dominant ninth, shutting the door on the Anteaters.

The Sun Devils' 11 total strikeouts mark the 37th time in 58 games this year that the team has recorded double-digit strikeouts.

“I just wanted to kind of slow things down,” Carlon said. “Be in the now and enjoy the moment, and just go out there and trust myself—not try to do too much—and just attack as much as I can.”

That’ll need to be just one of many thrilling upset victories if ASU hopes to carve their path to Omaha and craft a magical underdog run in the tournament. Friday’s victory showed that ASU isn’t just scraping by—they have the talent and firepower to make a deep run as long as everything clicks at the right time.

There’s every reason to believe ASU could shock the nation and seize the region.

Now, ASU turns its attention to UCLA on Saturday—a matchup and ballpark they know all too well. The teams split a two-game series earlier this season, with ASU earning one of its two shutouts against the Bruins in the second game. To advance to the regional final, the Sun Devils will need their pitching staff to deliver that same dominant effort once again.

“We all knew going into this we’re underdogs,” Tobias said. “I mean, being one of the last four teams in and kind of playing this whole weekend like there’s nothing to lose—playing with house money—we just want to go out there and give it our best shot, hopefully, open some eyes across the country and just play our best game as a team. I feel like we’re on our way to that right now.”

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