In the Big 12, there are no mercy rules on Saturdays, which forced Arizona State to play all nine innings in a 13-3 victory in game two. 

On Sundays, however, no such rule exists, ultimately allowing the Sun Devils (34-18, 18-9 Big 12)  to complete a 13-1 victory over Houston (28-22, 11-15) in the seventh inning.

Easton Barrett received his third straight day-three starting nod and did not disappoint. The freshman southpaw dominated the first five and a third innings of Arizona State’s abbreviated victory, allowing just one Cougar to score on three hits.

Barrett also allowed zero walks, snapping a nasty trend that’s haunted the Arizona State pitching staff over the last few games. 

“I’ve been more about pitching to contact instead of just pitching to blow by everyone. Getting weak contact, fly balls, ground balls, I got a lot of that, so I think that’s been a huge adjustment for me instead of trying to strike the guy out on 0-0 counts,” Barrett said.

Barrett left to a standing ovation from the crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium following his stellar outing. 

“I got a taste of myself a little bit,” Barrett said. “I had my family there, my friends, so everyone was supporting me and my teammates, you know, it’s pretty cool.”

Barrett got run support from his offense early and often as ASU scored three or more runs in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings.. Five of Arizona State’s nine batters collected multiple RBIs. 

One of which was star freshman Landon Hairston, who also recorded three hits on the day.

“It’s been huge having the consistency every day throughout the lineup, that’s kind of been what we’ve been striving to get throughout the year,” Hairston said. “We’ve had our bumps in the road, but having that consistency is key to having a good team.”

Part of the four-run rally in the third inning was a two-run shot off the bat of Brandon Compton.
Coming into the series, Compton had gone over five weeks without hitting a homer. 

Compton has now hit two in as many days. 

In addition to the home runs from Compton and Isaiah Jackson (his team-leading 13th of the year), Houston’s defensive miscues and pitching hurt themselves.

Josh Butler, Chance Dequila, and Cole Carlon combined for the final scoreless inning and two-thirds, allowing just one base runner on a walk. 

Bloomquist was “emotional” when Dequila made an appearance for the first time in a Sun Devil uniform following multiple surgeries. 

“We’ve been trying to find the right opportunity to bring him in,” Bloomquist said. “There weren’t too many dry eyes in the dugout when he took the mound.”

Arizona State will play its final home game of the season on Tuesday against Valley rival Grand Canyon University. That will be followed by their final Big 12 series of the year in Stillwater, against Oklahoma State.