Arizona State (2-1) knocked off Sacramento State (1-2) in the rubber match between the two sides on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, capping off a mixed bag of results on ASU’s opening weekend.

In Saturday’s win against the Hornets, it was redshirt freshman outfielder Kai Murphy who came up with the heroics via an incredible catch on the first pitch of the contest and the first ASU home run of the season.

On Sunday though, the victory was a team effort - a combination of stellar hitting and even better pitching, as the Sun Devils put together their first one-hitter since 2007 to defeat the Hornets 3-1.

Redshirt sophomore lefty Erik Tolman set the tone, starting on the bump and delivering five innings of one-run baseball, with his only mistakes being an RBI double in the fifth and two walks. Tolman had excellent command of his off-speed pitches, particularly his changeup which was a point of emphasis for the redshirt sophomore over the offseason.

Tolman’s strong start was followed up by a slew of relievers who combined for four strikeouts while not allowing a single hit through the last four innings.

Redshirt freshman Cam Dennie, the right-hander charged with Friday’s loss and blown save after giving up a grand slam in the top of the ninth, came back strong and retired all three batters he faced, sitting down one with a backwards ‘K’.

“There’s nobody that felt worse after Friday than Cam because he didn’t want to let his teammates down,” ASU skipper Tracy Smith said. “In that role if you’re going to pitch in high leverage innings, you have to have a short memory and be ready to take the baseball again and go out and be aggressive. There was no hesitation on our part, no hesitation on Cam’s part to go back out there and reframe that ending of Friday night…I thought he did a great job today.”

Redshirt junior Boyd Vander Kooi came in for two-thirds of an inning in the seventh and retired two out of the three batters he faced with the only exception being a walk. Vander Kooi is being nursed back to health from an undisclosed injury and was limited to a window of 15-20 pitches.

After Vander Kooi’s appearance, redshirt freshman lefty Graham Osman came in and sealed the deal with two and a third innings of flawless pitching. The Morrison, Colorado native struck out three of the seven batters he faced and closed the contest on a high note, recording the first save of his career.

The ASU pitching staff also received some help from the defense – specifically redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift who made an incredible aerial snag before flipping the ball to second to catch the runner tagging for a threat-clearing double play.

Across 27 innings through opening weekend, the Sun Devil pitching staff has allowed 14 hits, six earned runs, six walks and 31 strikeouts, a solid showing across three contests, with the only major blemish being Dennie’s rough outing on the ninth inning on Friday.

“All in all, on the weekend, you pitch the baseball like that, outside of that one inning on Friday, pretty much all the innings this weekend we were at the top of the food chain,” Smith said.

“Our whole game plan is to throw as many strikes as possible. The guys who are more consistent with throwing those strikes and being able to throw all their pitches are in there getting opportunities that the team needs to succeed,” Osman noted. “We are definitely focused on trying to have the pitchers carry this team because we don’t have the (offense) we had last year.”

Speaking of the sticks, Arizona State had a fantastic Sunday in the batter’s box, notching 10 hits, two doubles and a triple with only eight strikeouts.

In the bottom of the second, the ASU offense struck first. Redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri singled to left, before freshman third baseman Hunter Haas singled to right shortly afterwards.

With runners at the corners, redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe roped one that went all the way to the wall in right field. Ferri scored easily, while Haas saddled up on his horse and was waved to home. The throw was just a tad too late as Haas slid headfirst into home plate.

Safe.

Lampe advanced to third on the throw and the Sun Devils were in business. They continued to ride the offensive wave into the third, as redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain doubled to left to lead off the frame. Two batters later, redshirt junior left fielder and Xavier transfer Allbry Major chopped one to center field to give ASU a three-run edge.

For Smith’s Sun Devils, 2021 will be a change of mood in the batter’s box and on the basepaths. With the departure of players like Spencer Torkleson and Trevor Hauver will be the likes of Drew Swift, Kai Murphy Lampe, McLain and more. ASU will prioritize hitting to advance runners and execution on the basepaths above all else.

“Those guys can create difficulties on the defense when they’re on the bases, but they can also score on balls to the gap, which we think we’re going to get,” Smith mentioned. “I still think we’re going to score runs, albeit it’s going to be different than we did it last year with a bunch of home runs.”

The Sun Devils will stay at home for their second series of the season next weekend, as the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors come to town for a three-game slate starting on Friday.