In the final Pac-12 series ever for the Sun Devils, they traveled to Stanford looking to secure their spot in the Pac-12 tournament. ASU entered the weekend after a loss to its in-state rival Arizona, so a successful weekend would be a huge momentum shift for the Devils before their final weekend at home against Texas Tech and UNLV.

They found nothing but success as ASU (29-24, 17-13 Pac-12) beat the Cardinal (20-28, 11-16) in all three games. ASU smelled blood in the water after the first game when the Devils won 13-1 and continued their dominance on Saturday with a 13-1 win before closing out the weekend with a 16-7 win.

With Arizona State's pitching staff struggling in conference play with a Pac-12 worst 6.55 ERA, they needed the offense to step up. Lucky for them, Stanford has its own issues on the mound, ranking second to last in the conference with a 6.28 team ERA. ASU extended their streak with at least one home run a game to 19 games and have now hit multiple home runs in 12 of their last 13 games.

In Saturday’s game, the Sun Devils started hot after they scored three runs in the first inning. In the third inning, redshirt sophomore outfielder Nick McLain hit a solo homer to extend the lead to four, and then junior first baseman Jacob Tobias hit one of his own in the fifth to give the Devils a 5-0 lead.

McLain added two more RBIs to his night with an RBI single in the sixth, and an RBI groundout in the eighth as ASU went up 7-0. Stanford would spoil the shutout in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single to center by sophomore catcher Malcolm Moore.

ASU would shut the door on any possible Stanford rally in the ninth with a six-run inning. The cherry on top for the Devils was sophomore outfielder Kien Vu’s three-run homer for a final score of 13-1. Sophomore lefty Ben Jacobs earned his sixth win of the year after pitching six innings and giving up four hits, no runs, and striking out nine batters in the process.

Game two was more of the same for both sides. Arizona State picked up right where they left off, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Stanford came right back with a run on their off a wild pitch. Nick McLain stayed hot with a solo shot in the third, and it was 5-1 Devils.

The scoring would hold off until the eighth, where junior catcher Ryan Campos scored two runners off an RBI single. Stanford felt a bit of Deja Kien Vu when the sophomore hit another three-run homer, and ASU secured win number two of the weekend 10-1.

Arizona State's starter on Saturday was senior lefty Connor Markl, and he, too, went six innings for his sixth win of the season. He allowed one run off offive hits, and five punchouts. Redshirt junior right Jonah Giblin finished the job, going three innings and giving up no runs.

Heading into Sunday, the Sun Devils had already clinched their spot in the Pac-12 tournament after Friday’s win but still had the opportunity to sweep the Cardinal.

The Devils once again came out of the gates swinging and scored three runs in the first. They added to their lead in the second on a solo shot from senior infielder Steven Ondina to make it 4-0.

The Cardinal put up four runs of their own to tie it up in the fourth, but the Devils came right back in the fifth off a two-run shot from redshirt freshman designated hitter Brandon Compton.

Stanford wasted no time in the bottom of the fifth, answering the Devils with a two-run homer of its own to tie it right back up.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal, that was the last time it would pull within striking distance after the Devils took two pitches back-to-back over the left field wall in the sixth to go up two 8-6. ASU added to its lead in the seventh, as Ondina had a three RBI night after a two-run single brought the Devils’ lead to 10-6.

The Devils never took their foot off the gas pedal and scored three more in the eighth after Tobias took a 1-1 pitch with two on and nobody out and hammered it over the centerfield wall to go up 13-6. They added three more runs in the ninth, and Stanford scored a run of its own in the bottom of the ninth for a 13-7 win and a Devils sweep.

The ASU offense was put on the spot with the pitching staff playing as well as it did in the first two games, and both sides delivered. The Devils scored a combined 39 runs this weekend, something ASU fans have become accustomed to.

The Sun Devils are 12-3 over their last 15 games after starting conference play 6-9 after getting swept by both Washington State and Oregon State. Their final weekend at Phoenix Municipal Stadium features nonconference games, with two contests against Texas Tech and one against UNLV.

Texas Tech is 30-22, currently riding a five-game losing streak, while UNLV is just 26-24. ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist preached after ASU’s loss against Arizona that every win matters at this point in the season, and while his team isn't exactly on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament, winning that trio of games this week on top of a few wins in the Pac-12 tournament could be a huge boost for their resume and slipping into the field of 64.

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