ASU Baseball: Five-run first inning propels Devils to another win over Arizona

(Photo: Bobby Kraus/WCSN)

Sometimes, all you need is a few offensive innings to get a victory. In Saturday’s case for Arizona State baseball, the bats only came alive for two innings, but that was enough to secure them the victory.

Arizona State improved to 24-1 (7-1 Pac-12) on Saturday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium as the Devils defeated the Arizona Wildcats (13-13, 2-6 Pac-12) 8-3 in the second game of a three-game series. In front of another packed crowd of 5,688, ASU used a five-run first inning and a three-run sixth inning to come away with the win.

Hunter Bishop continued his home run-hitting ways with his second homer of the series in the first inning– a two-run shot to right-center field that helped set the tone for ASU and got the fans immediately on their feet. An RBI groundout by Myles Denson and an RBI single by Sam Ferri made it 5-0 in the first and the Devils chased Arizona starter Quinn Flanagan out of the inning, after only recording two outs.

After the first, the Sun Devils’ bats would go cold, recording only one hit from the second to the fifth inning.

The sixth inning was where ASU eventually drove in some insurance runs after Arizona put up three in the fourth. Bishop plated in Spencer Torkelson from first on a hit-and-run in the sixth inning and after a two-RBI night on Friday, Carter Aldrete collected two more RBI Saturday night with a double down the line in left.

“We are better hitters,” Torkelson said. “More experience. Just more everything. Everyone is better. Maybe approach-wise it is getting a pitch and doing damage with it and not being too fine and waiting for the perfect pitch. I think everyone one through nine is a solid, better hitter.”

For starting pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi, it was a bounce-back start for the sophomore right-hander after a forgetful start last weekend at Oregon. After pitching 2.2 innings, 3 hits, 4 earned runs, and 5 walks in Eugene, he came out on all cylinders pitching 6 innings while giving up 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks and striking out 4.

“It was a big improvement,” head coach Tracy Smith said. “With Boyd, it’s getting him to settle in. It’s maturation, too. He’s got the stuff, he’s got the physical. Just being comfortable in that role. I thought he took a huge step forward tonight. That’s what we’re going to need out of him if we want to be where we want to be.”  

It was just a three-run homer in the fourth inning by Dayton Dooney of Arizona that proved to be Vander Kooi’s only blemish of the game. With the exception of that, Vander Kooi looked solid once again on his home mound.

“I think [Boyd] was being aggressive tonight,” Smith said. “[Arizona has] good hitters. That guy got one and put a good swing on it and hit it out. What we were looking for was how is he going to respond and I thought he responded very well in a very mature fashion.”

Smith departed the game early, however, after being ejected in the fifth inning by second base umpire Ryan Goodman. Goodman called Alika Williams out at second base for leaving the base too early when he was tagging on a Gage Workman fly ball to center field. Smith immediately got up in Goodman’s face only for him to be tossed, although replay appeared to show Williams’s foot still on the base after the catch was made.

“The guys in the locker room have never seen me get thrown out,” Smith said. “I was pretty sure of myself. To make that call at that point of the game, it needs to be pretty clear. I was pretty upset about that because I did not agree with the call at that time.”

The players were fired up about their head coach getting tossed and knew that they would eventually pull through for the skipper.

“It hyped me up,” pitcher Sam Romero said. “Seeing him get tossed, he has our back. Him having our back is huge. He’s going to stand up for us in any situation.”

Romero closed out the evening, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out four in a strong performance for the lone senior on the team.

“I just want to go out there and help the team win. When I come in, my mentality is to give it all that I got for this batter and the next batter and the next batter. Just trying to get that out and it all plays out on it own,” Romero said.

ASU will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from starting pitcher RJ Dabovich is slated for 1 p.m at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.   

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