(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Arizona State welcomed the struggling Utah Utes to town on a cool Friday night in Phoenix. The two put on an offensive showcase in the early going, with the Devils emerging victorious by a score of 7-4, as a clutch eighth inning single from Gage Canning wass the deciding run.
The Sun Devils (15-22, 7-9) drew first blood with two early runs in the first on an RBI base hit from Lyle Lin, followed two batters later by an Alika Williams ground ball resulting in an error charged to Utah shortstop Matt Richardson. His throw wide right plated Lin to make it 2-0.
ASU repeated in the second, pushing across another pair on RBI singles from Carter Aldrete and Taylor Lane.
Utah (9-26, 4-9) however, would not go down quietly. An RBI groundout and a wild pitch cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning. In the fourth, Utah evened the score. First baseman Wade Gulden took Devils starter Alec Marsh to deep center on a 2-1 count, knotting it up at 4-4.
Neither starting pitcher lasted long Friday night, with Marsh going just four innings (4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) while Utah’s Josh Tedeschi was removed after two frames and 57 pitches (2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K).
The two teams went scoreless for a combined three and a half innings, before Gage Canning happened. The centerfielder stepped to the plate with two on and two out, proceeding to do what he does best: produce hits. He delivered a single to center, scoring Gage Workman from second. Carter Aldrete added on with a 2 RBI triple scoring Canning and Spencer Torkelson.
Tracy Smith countered with Dellan Raish for five flawless innings of two-hit ball.
Player of the Game: Gage Canning. Along from the game-winning hit, the junior laced two additional hits while scoring twice. His batting average now sits at .386 for the year.
Unsung Hero: Dellan Raish. The redshirt freshman came in and silenced the Utes for five consecutive innings. The southpaw allowed a lone hit, retiring 13 of the 15 batters he faced, fanning seven of them.
You knew it was over when: Carter Aldrete tripled in the eighth. The sophomore utility man added on to the two-out rally with two runs coming across on his three-bagger. It extended the ASU lead to three runs.
Biggest Concern: ASU is in desperate need of capitalizing in this series against a team that is well below .500. While they got off to a hot start in Friday’s game, the bats went cold against two Utah relievers who came into the game with ERA’s above 5.00 (Justin Kelly and Jacob Rebar). They pulled away in the eighth, but the offense took an extended period of time to regain life against a team lacking a double-digit win total for the season.
Stat of the Day: The win snapped ASU’s six game losing streak, which is their longest one of the season to date. It also marks their third Friday win in Pac-12 play.
What’s Next?: ASU gets ready for game two of the series on Saturday night vs the Utes in hopes of their second conference series win. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
