Klecker’s 13 Ks fuel ASU’s 17-0 rout of South Dakota State

When your season is hanging by a thread, experience becomes invaluable.

Just 12 hours after a crushing 14-inning loss put Arizona State on the brink of elimination, the Sun Devils handed the ball to the one pitcher who had already lived through moments like this.

Senior right-hander Kole Klecker has pitched in conference tournaments, regionals, super regionals and even Omaha. Pressure is familiar territory. It is exactly why ASU brought the Chandler native home in the offseason. After a difficult final season at TCU, the Sun Devils believed the pitcher who helped reach the College World Series as a freshman was still there.

On Saturday, he looked every bit the part.

Behind the best start of his career, Klecker kept ASU’s season alive Saturday. The seasoned veteran threw a career-high eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out a career-high 13 on 118 pitches. The Sun Devils rewarded him with an offensive avalanche, capitalizing on three South Dakota State errors and nine walks while receiving grand slams from junior infielder Nu’u Contrades and sophomore infielder Austin Roellig in a 17-0 victory that pushed ASU deeper into the loser’s bracket and preserved valuable pitching for the f 

If ASU was going to survive Saturday, it needed Klecker to do more than simply pitch well. It needed him to stabilize a pitching staff that had already exhausted its best options the night before.

Less than 12 hours after a heartbreaking 14-inning loss that stretched nearly five hours, the Sun Devils entered an elimination game with their ace and three most trusted relievers already spent. With a potential three games in two days still standing between ASU and a super regional berth, the assignment went beyond stopping one game. It was about preserving what came next.

Klecker answered the call.

From the first inning, South Dakota State looked overmatched. His curveball consistently dropped into the zone, his slider generated awkward swings and misses, and his fastball lived on the corners. Every pitch seemed to have a purpose. Every count seemed to tilt in his favor.

The senior right-hander struck out at least two batters in each of the first five innings and allowed just one baserunner during that stretch. There were no stressful innings, no extended threats and no signs of fatigue. As the outs continued to pile up, so did the confidence that Klecker was prepared to give ASU exactly what it needed.

On the other side, however, the Sun Devil offense took some time to get going.

Considering most of the lineup had played all 14 innings the night before, a sluggish start was understandable. Through four innings, ASU’s only offense came on a first-inning solo home run from graduate outfielder Dean Toigo, his third consecutive game leaving the yard. Against a South Dakota State pitching staff that entered the regional with a 7.25 ERA, it felt like another frustrating offensive performance could be developing.

Then the fifth inning arrived, and everything changed.

The inning began innocently enough with a single and a pair of walks. After junior infielder PJ Moutzouridis drew a bases-loaded walk and sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston added an RBI single, the floodgates opened. Contrades, already coming off a two-homer performance in Friday’s regional opener, stepped to the plate and crushed an opposite-field grand slam to right field, his 20th home run of the season.

The inning only got worse for the Jackrabbits.

Three more singles followed. Three more walks followed. Pitching changes came and went with little success. South Dakota State used four pitchers in the inning, three of whom failed to record an out. By the time the chaos finally ended, 11 runs had scored and ASU had turned a tense elimination game into a rout.

The Sun Devils were not finished.

An inning later, a walk, an error, a single and a hit-by-pitch produced another run and loaded the bases once again. This time it was Austin Roellig’s turn. Not known for his power, the sophomore infielder drove a ball to nearly the same spot as Contrades’ blast, sending an opposite-field grand slam into right field for just his third home run of the season.

By then, ASU had hung 17 runs on the board and removed any remaining drama from the afternoon.

Still, the story remained Klecker.

While the offense poured on runs, he continued carving through the South Dakota State lineup. Rather than turn to the bullpen, head coach Willie Bloomquist let his starter keep rolling. Even after crossing the 100-pitch mark, Klecker never wavered.

His final inning served as the perfect ending.

With two runners aboard, Klecker struck out the side, recording strikeouts Nos. 11, 12 and 13. The final punchout came on pitch No. 118, his last of the afternoon. As he walked off the mound, Klecker flashed the forks toward the ASU fans in attendance, a wide smile across his face after delivering the performance of his career when the Sun Devils needed it most.