(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
The No. 25 Arizona State Sun Devils (17-13) baseball team suffered a 10-9 loss to the Arizona Wildcats (15-19) in the final Territorial Cup Matchup at Packard Stadium. Despite riding a great deal of recent offensive success and a wave of pregame excitement, a lack of timeliness was once again the culprit.
Down by one run in the ninth inning, sophomore catcher RJ Ybarra put a charge into a pitch from Arizona closer Bobby Dalbec that came within centimeters of clearing the fence in left-centerfield. The ball hit off the yellow cap on top of the fence and ricocheted back into play. Thus, Ybarra had to settle for a double.
Dalbec then was called for a balk that allowed Ybarra to move over to third, seemingly gift-wrapping extra innings for the Sun Devils.
However, heartbreak would ensue, as left fielder Jake Peevyhouse struck out on a backfoot slider, designated hitter Chris Beall lined out to Joseph Maggi at first base, and Dalton Dinatale flew out to right field to end the game.
Head coach Tim Esmay declined to speak to the media after the game.
“He didn’t talk to us [either],” freshman shortstop Colby Woodmansee said. “It’s kind of tough when you have a guy on third base with nobody out and you can’t get him in.”
Despite scoring nine runs, the Sun Devils mustered only 10 hits—revealing an absence of clutch hitting and a reliance on the long ball to claw back into the game.
The Sun Devils entered the third inning down by four runs, but received a huge spark with back-to-back home runs from second baseman Drew Stankiewicz (his second of the season) and Woodmansee (his second as well).
“The amount of pitches I saw my first at-bat really helped me get the pitch I wanted,” Woodmansee said. “[Coach Mike Benjamin] has been working with me with that inside pitch and getting my top hand through and that helped a lot with that pitch.”
Yet every time the Sun Devils regained ground on the Wildcats, Arizona matched their output.
The Sun Devils scored four in the fifth inning for their first lead of the game at 7-6. Ybarra, Peevyhouse and Dinatale all had RBI hits. Ybarra finished the evening going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Dinatale went 2-for-4 and added two RBIs.
After both teams exchanged two-runs in the sixth inning, Arizona’s two-run eighth inning would be the devastating blow for ASU.
Closer Ryan Burr entered the inning entrusted with a 9-9 tie and inherited runners left on first and second by reliever Jordan Aboites. Burr had blown his last two save opportunities and the right hander struggled mightily once again to find control of his fastball and off-speed pitches. Burr promptly walked two batters and an error by Woodmansee at shortstop plated the game-winning run for Arizona.
“It’s kind of hard from an offensive standpoint because we are pumped and they get a bunch of runs in on us,” said Woodmansee in regards to Arizona’s ability to match the Sun Devils offensively. “We just need to focus on getting quality at-bats and staying true to who we are as a team.”
Due to the iconic history surrounding the matchup, this loss for the Sun Devils hurts a bit more than others. “It feels pretty bad,” Woodmansee said. “The locker room is quiet. No one wants to lose to U of A at Packard.”
ASU will look to get back on track with a three-game series against the California Golden Bears over the weekend.
You can reach Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or via email at Jacob.M.Garcia@asu.edu
