(Photo: Brendan O’Keefe/WCSN)
Arizona State baseball has been challenged against conference opponents all season long.
They have had eight wins in some gritty, down-to-the-wire games including a 16 inning affair last weekend against Washington. The Sun Devils also went 1-3 in a back-and-forth series against No. 16 Arizona, but after an exhilarating comeback win against No. 20 Stanford on Friday, the Sun Devils had a chance to work their ranked record to .500 on Saturday night.
It was a rollercoaster of a contest that had to be decided in extra-innings but a devastating loss for the Sun Devils nonetheless. After leading 7-0 at one point, the Sun Devils blew the lead to Stanford in an 11-9 nail-biting loss in 12 innings.
“I liked the way we competed,” said head coach Tracy Smith. “But we were not real smart.”
The Sun Devils wasted no time early on, picking up right where they left off on Friday night. Redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain, who lost his impressive 23-game hit streak in the series opener, got back to his hitting ways, walloping an RBI double on the first pitch he saw in the first.
Freshman first baseman Jack Moss stayed hot and followed up the two-bagger with one of his own before freshman third baseman Hunter Haas capped off the big inning with a run-scoring single to center field.
The Sun Devils added four more runs to their tally in the bottom of the third. Freshman designated hitter Ethan Long brought home McLain on his second double in as many days before Haas knocked in RBI number 20 on another single. Redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri then belted his second home run of the season, a two-run shot over the right field wall to make it 7-0 ASU in the third.
Through those first three innings, the Sun Devils managed to push Stanford sophomore starter Quinn Mathews out of the game after just 2.2 innings. They also went 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position to start as well.
The big lead didn’t last long at all, and in the fourth the Cardinal got right back in the ballgame thanks to freshman third baseman Drew Bowser, who hit a grand slam into the ASU bullpen. The next batter, junior designated hitter Vincent Martinez, sent another one that just floated over the right field wall to make it 7-5 ASU.
The early abundance of offense spelled trouble for both ASU junior starter Justin Fall and Mathews. After surrendering only two runs over his last 18.2 innings, Fall looked a lot more like his 2020-self on Saturday, going only three innings and giving up five runs on five hits while walking three. His still-very low ERA ballooned to 2.92.
Mathews gave up six runs and threw 68 pitches to the 15 batters he faced.
“I think [Fall] mentally let down,” Smith said. “I think he’s a good pitcher. Unfortunately we don’t get do-overs but I think if we did the mentality we take into the top of the fourth inning would be a little different.”
The offensive parade didn’t stop there, as Moss added another on a single in the fourth before Stanford came right back with a run of its own to keep the deficit at two in the fifth on an RBI single from Bowser, who finished with five RBI on the night.
Long was also tossed arguing a strike three call to end the fourth and he would be later replaced by redshirt freshman utility infielder Nate Baez.
Once the bullpens got involved, it became a scoreless battle in the late innings.
Redshirt freshman right-hander Cam Dennie’s outing stood out above the rest, as he went 2.1 innings and only allowed one hit to the Cardinal while striking out four. The highlight of his night was nothing short of epic, as he sat down the Pac-12 leader in home runs, sophomore outfielder Brock Jones, on strikes after a 14-pitch at-bat to end the top half of the sixth. Jones represented the tying run at the time.
“That was huge,” Smith said. “There was a lot of good and that’s the tough part when you lose. Cam continued to pound the zone and ultimately got Jones.”
Stanford inevitably worked their way back and tied the game in the eighth against redshirt sophomore right-hander Will Levine, who gave up an RBI single and a run-scoring sacrifice-fly.
The insanity would continue into extra-innings, and after blowing the lead in the eighth, Levine went an additional two scoreless frames while getting a pair of huge double-play balls in the process.
“I thought his effort was warrior-like,” Smith said. “That was a tough one, he deserved a better fate than that.”
The contest was scoreless until the 12th when the Cardinal finally got to Levine. After the first two men reached to start the inning, sophomore catcher Kody Huff lined a single to left field to put the Cardinal on top for good. Two more runs came in to score for good measure.
ASU plated one more on a McLain single, who was hung up in between first and second and tagged out to end the game.
“We got a challenge ahead of us because obviously we fired our bullets tonight,” Smith said. “There are gonna be some other guys who’ll get an opportunity to help their team win.”
The loss is ASU’s tenth on the season and it will try to go for the series win Sunday. First pitch is at 12:30 p.m MST from Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
