ASU’s season ends in a second extra-inning heartbreak as Ole Miss walks it off 5-4

That’s all she wrote for one of the most explosive seasons in Arizona State history.

The Sun Devils shattered records along the way. They set a program mark for home runs in a season, became the first ASU team to feature three 20-home run hitters and watched sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston break the school’s single-season home run record. None of it was enough to carry them beyond another regional heartbreak.

Friday’s 14-inning loss to Ole Miss felt cruel enough. After spending the entire season preparing for postseason opportunities against SEC competition following a winless gauntlet at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, ASU saw the Rebels walk them off in a game they were inches from stealing.

The Sun Devils earned one more shot Sunday after surviving elimination games against Nebraska and South Dakota State. To advance, they needed two straight wins over Ole Miss. Instead, they found themselves trapped in another extra-inning battle and another devastating ending.

Despite heroic relief efforts from junior right-hander Alex Overbay, who threw 3.1 scoreless innings, and sophomore right-hander Eli Buxton, who added 2.1 scoreless frames, ASU’s offense went silent over the final six innings. The absence of Hairston, who was ejected earlier Sunday against Nebraska, loomed large as the Sun Devils fell 5-4 in ten innings, ending their season one win short of forcing a winner-take-all showdown.

The flaw that haunted Arizona State all season delivered the final blow.

For a lineup that entered the NCAA Tournament ranked among the nation’s best in batting average and home runs, the Sun Devils too often struggled to find the hit that mattered most. The offense could overwhelm opponents for innings at a time, then suddenly go quiet with runners aboard.

That problem never felt larger than it did Sunday.

ASU finished just 2-for-17 with runners on base and 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, repeatedly leaving opportunities stranded and spending most of the afternoon one swing away from changing its fate. A line drive through the infield, a bloop over a defender, a deep fly ball. Any of them could have rewritten the ending.

Early on, it looked as though the offense had plenty left to say.

Graduate outfielder Dean Toigo launched a first-inning solo homer, driving a 97 mph fastball the opposite way for an early lead. An inning later, he struck again. With the bases loaded, Toigo lined a ball near the warning track that was dropped by Ole Miss senior outfielder Tristian Bissetta, allowing two runs to score and pushing ASU ahead 3-0.

The Sun Devils added another run in a chaotic fourth inning. Sophomore outfielder Ky McGary singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before being thrown out trying to evade a tag at home. Junior infielder PJ Moutzouridis eventually reached third following a wild pitch and an error, then scored on yet another wild pitch.

It would be ASU’s final run.

Two runners were stranded in the fifth. Two more were left aboard in the sixth. From the sixth inning through the 10th, the Sun Devils managed only two baserunners as Ole Miss continued stacking zeroes and slowly seized control of the game.

The absence of Hairston hung over everything. Suspended after his bat-flip ejection against Nebraska earlier Sunday, ASU was without the program’s single-season home run king and likely Golden Spikes finalist for the biggest game of its season. Losing by one run only amplified the what-if.

After carrying the offense through much of the regional, junior infielder Nu’u Contrades, junior infielder Dominic Smaldino and junior outfielder Dominic Longo all went hitless in the finale. The trio had combined for seven home runs during the tournament run.

As had been the case throughout the weekend, the pitching staff gave ASU every chance to survive.

After junior right-hander Colin Linder lasted just two innings, allowing three earned runs, junior right-hander Alex Overbay delivered one of the best outings of his season. The reliever-turned-starter-turned-reliever entered with an ERA north of six and responded with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out five.

Then came sophomore right-hander Eli Buxton.

Buxton arrived in 2026 stronger and throwing harder than ever, but consistency never followed. Entering Sunday with an ERA above 11, he inherited a pressure-packed seventh inning and proceeded to deliver the outing of his season. Buxton recorded 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed no hits and struck out three.

From Overbay to Buxton, from graduate right-hander Colby Guy to senior right-hander Kole Klecker, several arms that battled inconsistency throughout the spring saved some of their best work for the season’s final weekend.

Eventually, though, Ole Miss broke through.

After already pitching twice during the regional, junior right-hander Derek Schaefer took the mound in the 10th. A walk and a single quickly put runners on the corners. Moments later, Ole Miss junior infielder Dom Decker lifted a sacrifice fly to left field.

For the second time in three days, the Rebels walked off Arizona State in extra innings.

This time, there was no tomorrow. The season ended 90 feet later.

For the second straight year, Arizona State’s season ended in a regional. This one may hurt even more. Twice in three days, the Sun Devils stood a run, a swing or a pitch away from flipping the script against Ole Miss and punching their ticket to a super regional. Twice, they came up just short.

And with that, one of the most talented teams ASU has fielded in recent memory scattered into the offseason.

The record-setting offense is gone. The stars who rewrote the program’s record book are gone. The postseason run that felt destined for something more is over.

What remains is the sting of what could have been and another challenge for head coach Willie Bloomquist, who now turns back to the transfer portal in search of the pieces needed to recreate the magic of a team that came painfully close to taking the next step.