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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nKU baseball’s Dan Fitzgerald reacts to being Big 12 coach of the year<\/p>\n
Check out some of what Kansas baseball’s Dan Fitzgerald had to say recently as he reacted to being named Big 12 Conference coach of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/story-highlights> Landon Hairston can breathe now.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been chasing the school record for most home runs in a single season this year. Hairston hit a late-season snag (by his standards), putting some pressure on the sophomore, Queen Creek Casteel product.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hairston awoke from the slump in the regular-season finale, tying the record of 27 set by Mitch Jones in 2000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning against Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Surprise on May 21, Hairston launched a 349-foot home run to take a 7-1 lead and break the school record in the process<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hairston\u2019s home run highlighted a game filled with them, as No. 3 Arizona State routed No. 6 Cincinnati 10-2 to advance to the Big 12 semifinals.<\/p>\n The win set up a semifinal game between the Sun Devils (37-18) and No. 2 West Virginia in the semifinals on Friday, May 22, at 8 p.m. MST, at Surprise Stadium, with the winner advancing to the Big 12 tournament championship on Saturday, May 23.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels amazing to be a part of something in such a storied program,\u201d Hairston said. \u201cIt means the world to me. No words to describe it. It was a big weight off my shoulders. I knew right when it left the bat. There\u2019s no better feeling in the world when you square up a ball like that.\u201d<\/p>\n ASU coach Willie Bloomquist continued to be impressed.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can really put it into words,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cWe all know the history at Arizona State and the amount of players that have come through here, with 118 major leaguers, and a lot of them are storied, household names. For this young man to be on top of that mountain, that\u2019s pretty damn special.\u201d<\/p>\n For the game, Hairston finished 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Junior Dominic Smaldino got the scoring started for ASU in the bottom of the first with the Sun Devils trailing, launching a two-run home run to take back the lead 2-1.<\/p>\n From there, the tone was set.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been outstanding,\u201d Bloomquist said about Smaldino. \u201cHe\u2019s produced like a clean-up hitter should. He\u2019s on a bit of a heater right now. We\u2019ll keep riding him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hairston made it 3-1 in the bottom of the second, driving in a run on an infield error.<\/p>\n The errors continued for Cincinnati, second in the Big 12 in the category, in the next inning. Consecutive errors led to junior Garrett Michel knocking in Dean Toigo on an infield groundout.<\/p>\n Matt Polk, the next batter, singled up the middle to drive in Smaldino to extend the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third.<\/p>\n After a one-two-three inning from starting pitcher Kole Klecker came Hairston\u2019s record-breaking home run.<\/p>\n ASU added another, a solo home run from Polk, to make it 8-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. A two-run double from Toigo in the bottom of the eighth capped off the night.<\/p>\n Sophomore Taylor Penn pitched three scoreless innings in relief, striking out five with no walks, to get the win. Penn has switched among all three roles \u2014 starter, reliever and closer \u2014 and is now settling in as a dependable reliever.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing whenever Willie puts me in the game, just contribute, fill it up,\u201d Penn said. \u201cLet your defense work. I feel like when the defense is in the game, it affects the offense as well. Whenever I get a chance to pitch, it\u2019s a blessing any time, starting or relieving.\u201d<\/p>\n ASU finished with 10 runs on 12 hits in the game, scoring in six different innings.<\/p>\n It was another dominant display of offense from ASU, one of the top-scoring teams in the NCAA.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re capable of,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cObviously, there were some defensive miscues we took advantage of. I was really impressed, we did a really good job on the bases. We swung the bats decent as well. Continue to keep our heads down and play the best baseball we can this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Arizona State and West Virginia met in late March at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, with the Mountaineers taking two of three games.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a dogfight at our place earlier in the year,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cThey\u2019re extremely talented. Good team. Two heavyweights going at it our place earlier in the year, they got us in that series. I anticipate it being a tough one again.\u201d<\/p>\n Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: <\/em>@LSscribe<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n