(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Hawaii freshman infielder Aaron Ujimori’s sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning to score redshirt junior first baseman Alez Baeza was the deciding factor in the Rainbow Warriors’ 3-2 victory over Arizona State Baseball on Friday night.
The unearned run would be charged to redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Graham Osman, who missed the bag while covering a Baeza ground ball for freshman infielder Hunter Haas at first-base.
“If we take care of the baseball today we win 2-1,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said postgame. “We were victims of our own doing and it cost us.”
Redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Cooper Benson got the start for the Sun Devils but came out after one scoreless inning. No update was given on his condition by Smith postgame.
Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Christian Bodlovich would pick up the slack with four innings out of the bullpen. He allowed just two hits, one run and struck out four batters over 60 pitches.
“It was an awesome job by Bodlovich and Graham (Osman) to keep us in the game tonight,” redshirt junior infielder Drew Swift said.
“I had to come in and do my job which was to throw strikes and let the defense work,” Bodlovich said. “I knew I needed to attack hitters and to not fiddle outside the zone.”
Smith concurred with his two players.
“I thought they both did a great job,” he said. “We wanted Christian to get us to the fifth and he did a phenomenal job doing so. I thought Graham did a good job too.”
ASU got off to a 1-0 lead just two batters into the bottom of the first inning due to doubles by Swift and redshirt freshman infielder Sean McLain. In the second, it was a lead-off single by redshirt junior outfielder Allbry Major and a single by Haas that got the Sun Devils in business once again. After a sacrifice bunt by redshirt freshman outfielder Kai Murphy, fellow redshirt freshman outfielder Joe Lampe put the ball in play for a productive groundout and an RBI which scored Major to put ASU up 2-0 after two innings of play.
Hawaii sophomore right-handed pitcher Aaron Davenport got the start for Hawaii, and eventually settled in after the two early runs and four hits allowed. Over the course of his final four innings, he would allow just three hits, no runs and strike out five batters.
“[Davenport] was landing his offspeed in better spots the second time through,” Swift said. “He was coming to us with the fastball early and I thought we were doing a decent job but later in those games we’ve got to grind out those at bats.”
In the fifth, Baeza hit a towering home run over the right field wall to get Hawaii on the board. That would be Bodlovich’s final inning on the mound.
A leadoff walk to Baeza in the seventh got the Rainbow Warriors in business. He eventually made it to third after a bunt single and a fielder’s choice. Bazea then scored on a wild pitch by Osman after the pitch rebounded off redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri’s shin guard.
Osman would finish the night going 3.1 innings while allowing two hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out three.
The Sun Devils went 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
“We’re lacking maturity at the plate right now,” Smith said. “We’re missing signs and doing some things we shouldn’t be doing. We may be a little too aggressive and getting ourselves out. The offense will come.”
