(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Oh my.
The Sun Devils scored a monumental victory tonight, as they routed the Oregon Ducks 18-4, clinching their first Pac-12 series of the season.
ASU’s offense was stronger than ever, and frankly…it was sad.
They scored four in the first, two in the second, four in the third, two in the fourth, and five in the fifth.
Its easy to get lost in the numbers.
A number that you should know however, is five.
ASU junior Gage Canning went five-for-five tonight from the plate.
But there’s more.
He not only launched a triple and a homer, but he also added an inside the park home run.
“The first base coach said ‘Go all the way,’ and I was like ‘There’s no way,’” Canning recalled of his inside the park home run. “I was looking at the the third base coach and I was pretty sure he was going to send me, and I [thought] ‘I guess I’ll try it.'”
Canning’s tripe tonight was his tenth triple of the season and the left-handed batter leads the NCAA in that category.
Spencer Torkelson launched his tenth bomb of the season in the sixth, which pushed the lead to 18-0 at that point. After the game, he jokingly described what was going through his head in the at-bat.
“Honestly that guy was just throwing really slow, if I couldn’t touch the baseball then we had some problems,” he said, sparking laughter in the room.
The Sun Devils produced 18 runs, 22 hits, four home runs, and a lot of dancing in the dugout as it appeared they played one of their best games of the season, clinching their first Pac-12 series victory in their first Pac-12 series.
Freshman righty Boyd Vander Kooi was overshadowed by the offensive show, but pitched very well shutting out the Ducks through five innings and only allowing a single hit.
It was a St. Patricks Day party at Phoenix Municipal tonight. Ironically enough, not for the team in green. In fact, it was the maroon and gold crew that had all the luck and celebration.
While ASU wrapped up a series victory on Saturday evening, the Ducks will look to avoid a sweep. First pitch will be at 12:30pm MST.
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