(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)
Arizona State Baseball rallied back for its 14th comeback victory of the season against Fairfield on Friday night, as redshirt freshman infielder Sean McLain’s bloop single into right field scored redshirt freshman two-way player Kai Murphy to walk it off 7-6 in the opening game of the NCAA Baseball Tournament’s Austin Regional.
“That’s why you play to the last out,” ASU Head Coach Tracy Smith said postgame. “I love the resilient attitude of this team and it was the difference.”
McLain added: “I heard the crowd going wild as I walked up to the plate which got me excited and [I] was able to do something good for them.”
One out singles by redshirt freshman outfielder Joe Lampe and the pinch-hitter Murphy paired with a four pitch walk to redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift set up another pinch-hitter for ASU in freshman infielder Blake Pivaroff. He replaced redshirt freshman outfielder Seth Nager, who had pinch-ran for starter redshirt junior Hunter Jump earlier in the game. Pivaroff was hit by a pitch to tie the game at six apiece.
“It says a lot to those guys who came off the bench that they stayed ready to play throughout the game,” Smith said. “They did their job and I just loved how those guys were really into the game and ready to hit.”
Smith reflected on how the Sun Devils seem to consistently grind game after game this season.
“These guys somehow find a way,” Smith said. “It may be ugly but at the end of the day we just need one more run than the other team.”
Freshman infielder Jack Moss expanded on his coach’s thoughts on how ASU is able to find ways to win.
“I think it’s a great representation of what we’ve been through all year and we showcased that to the nation tonight,” Moss said.
Fairfield suffered its third loss in five games despite throwing the first punch. On the second pitch of the game, junior outfielder Mike Handal drove one out of the park for his seventh home run of the season to put the Stags up 1-0 early.
ASU redshirt sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Thornton wiggled in and out of trouble throughout the night, only giving up just one more run in his 5.2 innings of work, which saw him allow seven hits, strikeout three and walk one batter.
“I thought Tyler was great, though he pitched well enough to win,” Smith said. “When he settled in with his slider and breaking ball, he was really effective.”
The Sun Devils were able to tie things up in the third inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Swift brought home a run via a sacrifice-fly. ASU was unable to do further damage as a double play ended the inning.
However, more damage came in the fourth as freshman infielder Ethan Long drove in McLain from second base to put the Sun Devils in front. Two batters later, Moss drove one out of the yard for a two-run home run to give them some breathing room at 4-1.
“I saw some spin out of the hand and actually hit it off the end of the bat but saw it carry a little bit further than I anticipated,” Moss said.
A leadoff double in the sixth inning by Fairfield junior infielder Justin Guerrera set up sophomore infielder Charlie Pagliarini’s RBI two-bagger, as the two teammates swapped places to cut the deficit in half at 4-2.
It would stay that way in the seventh inning, but with the bases loaded and two outs, redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Will Levine was called on and found the strike zone just three times in 19 pitches. As a result, he walked four batters and Fairfield jumped ahead 5-4.
“He clearly didn’t have it, we could see that,” Smith said. “It was also a lot mentally and in a tournament setting, it’s a different feeling.”
The Stags would tack one on after Guerrera’s second double of the game and graduate infielder Sean Cullen’s RBI single, making it 6-4.
After Jump doubled with one out in the eighth inning, McLain brought home pinch-runner Nager to cut ASU’s deficit to one.
“You got to keep guys positive and keep playing all the way through,” Smith said. “Baseball will give you your share of disappointments but you need to just play and not get caught up in the emotion.”
Freshman right-handed pitcher Jared Glenn kept the Sun Devils in the game through the final 2.1 innings, allowing four hits and one run over that stretch.
“Tonight was electric,” McLain said. “I think I play better when the fans are rooting against me. I love it.”
ASU redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Justin Fall will get the start on Saturday night for ASU, as they take on the No. 1 seed in the Regional, Texas, at 5 p.m. MST.
“We got a big one tomorrow and we need to be ready for that,” McLain said.
