Haas leads the way as ASU grabs series sweep over Cal State Fullerton

During the midst of fall, ASU freshman third baseman Hunter Haas didn’t expect to play much when ASU finally took the field at Phoenix Muni come February. Redshirt senior Conor Davis was expected to fill the void at a corner infield position and Haas, the local product, expected to have to work his way in to a spot in due time.

“Coming in and coming to school here, I wasn’t sure (what role he would play),” Haas said. “I didn’t know going into the spring, and unfortunately, with Conor Davis going down, I’ve had the opportunity to play and I just want to win.”

With Davis’ season-ending injury, Haas found himself playing serious time at third base and when opening day came around for the 2021 season, he was a starter. Since then, he’s been instrumental in ASU’s success and continued contributing in his key role on Sunday, as No. 15 Arizona State (11-2) continued its dominant stretch within the friendly confines of Phoenix Municipal Stadium, nabbing its ninth straight win and second consecutive series sweep via a 5-2 victory in the Sunday sunshine.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the second via back-to-back singles from senior catcher Sam Ferri and redshirt freshman outfielder Joe Lampe, along with a walk from junior shortstop Drew Swift, Haas stepped in. A bright number two shone on the Phoenix Muni scoreboard in the out column as ASU looked to break a 1-1 stalemate and inflict some damage early. On the first pitch of the at-bat Haas slotted a ball to left field, clearing the basepaths and sending the Sun Devil faithful into raptures.

In his meteoric rise across 13 games, Haas notched an RBI in every game this past weekend and currently ranks first on the team in RBI, second in hits, and second in doubles.

“The confidence has been huge for him,” Swift said of Haas. “I’m so proud of him; he’s grown just from the fall to the spring. He’s going to be a really good player; he always wants to get better, he’s always taking extra reps and stuff like that. When you have a guy like that in your program, that’s when you make a jump.”

Haas’s double capped off a monumental second inning, which saw a mammoth home run hit by the red-hot redshirt sophomore infielder Sean McLain. On Friday night against the Titans, McLain hit a pair of bombs, including one directly after a ball, went zipping over his head. On Sunday, it was McLain’s hot bat that was the catalyst for ASU’s offense, sparking a four-run frame for the Sun Devils.

After the explosive second frame, skipper Tracy Smith’s lineup went relatively cold across the middle innings, exiting in a three-up, three-down sequence in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames.

“I thought we cruised for a little bit there; that’s not acceptable,” Smith said. “I thought we kind of lost a little bit of focus, weren’t as competitive in some of the at bats in the middle part of that game.”

The Sun Devils struck again in the seventh, but only in part because of Lampe’s incendiary speed on the basepaths. The redshirt freshman from Petaluma, California has wowed all who have watched him play during his 12 starts and 13 appearances in maroon and gold and in the latest installment of his skills, he continued to make jaws drop.

Lampe, the second hitter in the bottom of the seventh, reached base on a hit-by-pitch with one out on the board. He advanced to second on a groundout from short by Swift. With Haas at the plate, the freshman third baseman chopped a ball into the middle of the field. Fullerton shortstop Josh Urps snagged the ball before firing it to first for a contested play at the bag; Haas was called safe. By the time Haas had reached first, Lampe was at full steam ahead, flying for home. The speedster slid headfirst and was called safe at the plate.

“When you have his speed going, it’s definitely a problem,” Swift said of Lampe on the basepaths.

Elsewhere on the diamond, the Sun Devils maintained their strong consistency on defense and toeing the rubber.

Despite a dwindling staff that has been shrinking in numbers due to season-ending injuries, Arizona State still boasts an extremely strong rotation and bullpen that has been through a significant amount of trials and tribulations, despite playing such a short number of contests. With three of ASU’s best pitchers out for the season, there is significant emphasis and pressure shifting to other arms, eager for an opportunity to strut their stuff.

One of those pitchers is Justin Fall, a redshirt senior lefty from Toms River, New Jersey. Fall received the starting nod on Sunday and flourished in his sixth appearance on the season. Fall threw a third of an inning late in Saturday’s matchup against the Titans, recording a crucial strikeout. On Sunday, he knew he would throw again, this time as a starter, and he flourished, throwing five and two-thirds of one-run ball, with four strikeouts and four hits allowed.

“He did exactly what he was supposed to do over this weekend,” Smith asserted. “Yesterday, if we need to him to get a high leverage out, get us an out, you’ll still start on Sunday and go as far as you can. If we get three out of you great, if we get five, awesome, and we got five and two thirds…. It was key for us to have him go that deep today; it was a wonderful performance by him.”

“I felt good; I could’ve gone for longer,” Fall said. “Skip came out to grab the ball from me, and I have confidence in the guys to follow… I’ll pitch wherever this team needs me.”

Fall’s performance was supplemented by another solid job from the Sun Devil bullpen and an even better day from the defense. In the fourth, Swift made a diving grab at short and flipped the ball to McLain, sparking a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame. The lone error for ASU came on an errant throw to first from redshirt junior righty Brady Corrigan.

For the defense, it all comes down to their confidence when they step on the diamond. Haas explained how their mindset pays dividends when they take the diamond with a “no-mistakes allowed” attitude.

“I think all eight of us on defense think no one can hit it past us,” Haas noted. “I know that Swift and I think no one can hit it by us on the left side, and that’s just our mindset. Lampe’s thing is that (center field) is a no-fly zone, so he’s got everything covered in the outfield.”

“We are relentless; we are not going to go away.”

With conference play looming, every game matters for the Sun Devils going forward. That takes commitment, focus, and confidence down the stretch. Swift, one of the team’s veterans, and Smith, the mastermind behind it all, know what it takes to succeed in the gauntlet of Pac-12 foes amidst a team of inexperienced underclassmen who are green to the conference experience.

“I think we are in a really good spot entering conference play,” Swift explained. “We have had a lot of stuff thrown at us, and we have come back from it. I think our minds are right going into conference play. A lot of these guys haven’t seen that, but I just tell them to be ready for anything. It’s going to be closer, tighter ballgames. So, they have to be ready and prepare for anything.”

“(Conference play) is where we are going to have to be better because you can’t let teams hang around,” Smith said. “You hit a bloop, you hit a gapper, in that last inning, it’s anybody’s ball game. There’s this idea of teaching the young team every out counts, every at bat counts and making sure that you have maximum concentration, focus, and energy for the entire game.”