(Photo: Bobby Kraus/WCSN)
Five hours and 10 minutes following the first pitch of Sunday’s series finale, Arizona State (25-1, 8-1 Pac-12) finished off the sweep of arch-rival Arizona (13-14, 2-7 Pac-12) in one of the most improbable fashions imaginable, by the football-impersonating score of 17-16.
Alika Williams brought the lengthy game to a close with a two-out hard-hit ground ball to the Dayton Dooney. The Wildcat shortstop made an error on the play which allowed Drew Swift to score from third.
“Good things happen when you put the ball in play,” said Williams following the game. Because of Williams putting the ball in play the Devils got a win at home and maintain the best record in Division 1 baseball.
Earlier in the game however, ASU quickly found themselves in a hole, trying to fight their way back into the game after giving up four runs in the top of the first.
Starting pitcher RJ Dabovich struggled through the first two innings, throwing 57 pitches and giving up seven runs.
Freshman righty, Blake Burzell came in to relieve Dabovich, only going 1.2 innings.
A total of seven different Arizona State pitchers were on the mound in this game. Sun Devil pitching walked six batters and surrendered 17 hits. The Wildcats scored 16 runs off 17 hits of their own.
The typical pitchers that the Devils rely on struggled against the Wildcat’s bats. Chaz Montoya had an ERA of just 0.79 going into the game and had not allowed an earned run since the second game of the season.
After giving up two hits and two runs on Sunday, Montoya’s ERA ballooned to 2.03.
This is the most runs that Arizona State has given up in a single game so far in the season.
“You’re going to have two or three games where it’s just not good,” said head coach Tracy Smith. “If you can find a way to win then that’s the positive.”
The Devils ‘found a way to win’ with keeping the bats hot, scoring 17 run with 12 hits including home runs from Williams and Lyle Lin.
“The leads didn’t even phase us at all,” Williams said. “We stick to our game, stick to what we know, came back and won.”
What the Devils lacked in defense they made up for in offensive, with eight of nine batters in the starting line up getting at least one hit.
The top four batters in the lineup had a total of seven hits and eight walks, and half of those walks were attributed to Hunter Bishop.
The Devils’ lineup has become a challenge for opposing pitchers to work through, with an imposing back-to-back threat of Spencer Torkelson and Bishop. The dynamic duo “forces one to get pitches and the other forces the other one to get pitches to hit,” according to Smith.
After falling behind in the game and trailing the Wildcats for six innings, the team displayed their tenacity and stayed focused on their goal of winning.
Sam Romero closed for the Devils, throwing 41 pitches and getting the win, after just pitching a night earlier and throwing 52 pitches.
“[Smith] asked me and I said ‘yeah I’m ready to go,’” said Romero.
Left fielder Trevor Hauver enjoyed the game against the rival university.
“It was just awesome going back and forth with our rival, and just coming out on top obviously,” said Hauver.
The team will only have one full day of rest until they are back on the field on Tuesday, for a one-game midweek matchup against the Long Beach State Dirtbags.
