HOUSTON (Interstat) — Colby Guy pitched five shutout innings and Arizona State’s bullpen held off a late Houston rally as the Sun Devils defeated the Cougars 4-3 on Thursday night at M.O. Campbell Center in a Big 12 matchup.

Guy allowed no hits and two earned runs while striking out three over five innings, departing after Houston finally broke through in the fifth. The Sun Devils improved to 35-17, while Houston fell to 23-30.

Arizona State jumped on Houston starter Kendall Hoffman immediately. In the top of the first, Luke Hairston doubled to right-center and scored on Dominic Smaldino’s single up the middle. The Sun Devils added two more runs in the third. Hairston singled, moved to third on a single by Kien Vu Contrades and scored on Dean Toigo’s sacrifice fly to deep center. Smaldino added an RBI double in the eighth that proved crucial.

Houston’s offense struggled early against Guy. The Cougars managed only one hit through four innings – a single by Alex Perez in the second that was erased on a caught stealing. In the fifth, Houston finally broke through. Jackson Fields doubled down the left-field line, and Dylan Maxcey followed with a two-run homer to deep left, his third of the season, cutting the Arizona State lead to 4-2.

The Cougars pulled within one in the seventh when Josh Sabathia led off with a solo home run to deep center, his sixth of the year, making it 4-3. But Arizona State’s bullpen shut the door. Taylor Penn, Finn Edwards, Sean Fitzpatrick and Derek Schaefer combined for four innings of one-hit relief.

The most important sequence came in the bottom of the eighth after Houston had cut the lead to one. With two outs, Houston’s Anthony Broussard walked, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A.J. Climie then walked, putting runners at the corners. Fitzpatrick relieved Edwards and, on the first pitch, caught Broussard attempting to steal home, throwing to catcher Kade Hairston for the out to end the threat.

Schaefer closed out the ninth by striking out Sabathia and Jackson after a leadoff walk, earning his first save of the season.

Arizona State finished with 11 hits, including two each from Smaldino, Toigo, Hairston and Nathan Roellig. Smaldino drove in two runs. Houston managed six hits, with Maxcey’s homer accounting for two RBIs.

Hoffman pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and two earned runs while striking out three. Richie Roman worked 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and striking out one.

The Sun Devils took an early lead in the first when Hairston doubled and scored on Smaldino’s single. Toigo’s sacrifice fly in the third made it 2-0, and Smaldino’s double in the eighth scored Toigo for a 4-3 advantage.

Arizona State loaded the bases in the seventh on a single by Roellig and a double by Brandon Briggs, but Hairston was intentionally walked and Contrades grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sun Devils added insurance in the eighth when Smaldino doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice by Roellig, who reached on an error by Houston shortstop Luke Cox.

Houston’s best chance to tie or take the lead came in the eighth, but Fitzpatrick’s pickoff throw to home preserved the lead. In the ninth, Schaefer walked pinch-hitter Max Weems, then induced a sacrifice bunt from Perez before striking out Sabathia and Jackson swinging.

The series continues Friday and Saturday at M.O. Campbell Center.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Arizona State 7, Houston 5, and Interstat’s ELO system had given Arizona State a 64.00 percent probability to win. Arizona State had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-2.5.