PHOENIX — As current Diamondbacks pitcher and Arizona State alum Merrill Kelly threw out the opening-day first pitch, little did players and fans alike know it would set the tone for the evening's game. 

Friday night is the most prestigious spot in any collegiate rotation, and with the departure of starter Ben Jacobs, the Sun Devils were left with quite a gap in their plans. 

However, junior left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon, a first-time starter, left no doubts in his opening day performance.

“Couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Carlon said. “It was great.”

The second-largest opening day crowd ever at Phoenix Municipal Stadium propelled ASU (1-0) to a 7-2 victory against a feisty Omaha (0-1) squad on Friday, Feb. 13, in an unusually cold and windy night in the Valley. Carlon and the Sun Devils pitching staff fueled Friday night's victory in an effort that saw the squad only concede two runs. 

“I’ve been waiting the whole week since my last inner-squad,” Carlon said. “It was really good to be able to get out there against another team and be able to compete with everyone on our team in the same dugout.” 

The left-hander laid the groundwork for the team's success, only conceding one run over five innings, which came on a solo home run.

Head coach Willie Bloomquist said he was more than impressed with Carlon’s efficient work Friday night, especially with how long he stayed in the game. 

“Cole (Carlon) did a good job getting through five, which was more than I was expecting,” Bloomquist said. “Really, I was hoping to get him through four, but his pitch count was still pretty manageable going into the fifth. So we let him go one more.” 

Carlon said his approach of filling the strike zone remained the same, despite the wind keeping balls inside the park in Friday's outing.

“It's always a plus if the winds blowing in,” Carlon said. “But nothing really changed in my process of going after hitters.” 

The newly crowned starter, Carlon, attacked opposing hitters all night, throwing 43 strikes in his 67 pitches. 

“Stay out the hit, attack the hitter, keep it in the zone,” Carlon said of his approach Friday night. “I could go up there and try to chuck it as hard as I can every time, and I won’t have a good result.”

Despite the impressive night, Carlon decided against throwing his improved changeup.

“I didn’t throw (my changeup) tonight, but I didn’t really feel like we needed to use that,” Carlon said. “I really wanted to attack the zone with fastballs.” 

While Carlon headlined Friday night, Bloomquist made it clear earlier in the week that he would share pitching duties with UNLV transfer junior right-hander Alex Overbay. 

“Ov (Overbay) threw it real well, was able to make some big pitches when he had to,” Bloomquist said.

In his ASU debut, Overbay overcame adversity, holding the Mavericks to one run despite letting seven runners reach base. 

“Had some tough luck with some infield hits there,” Bloomquist said. “They squared a few balls up there in the eighth inning, but he was able to work his way out of it.” 

Although tough luck played a factor, Carlon said he feels Overbay was on the receiving end of some poor calls.

“I feel like he should have gotten more calls; he was absolutely filling up the zone, heater, breaking stuff, all looked really good,” Carlon said. “I’m excited to have that, have him behind me and kind of have that one-two punch on Friday.”

The Sun Devils pitching staff was given room to breathe after the offense caught fire in the bottom of the eight scoring three crucial insurance runs.

With the game all but unreachable, junior right-handed pitcher shut the door on Omaha, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

Regardless of the traffic faced in the eighth inning, Carlon showed the utmost support for his fellow pitchers and their ability to limit opposing batters.

“Those guys are unbelievable pitchers,” Carlon said. “I knew that they were going to come in and shut the door behind me.” 

Backed by Carlon, ASU’s pitching staff looks to continue its success into Saturday and Sunday's games against the Mavericks. 

“You’ll see throughout the weekend our whole staff will be like that,” Carlon said. “I'm excited for the rest of the guys.”