Arizona State baseball hands Tennessee its first loss of the year

(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)

The Tennessee Volunteers entered Packard Stadium on Friday night as one of two remaining unbeaten teams in college baseball, but the No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils cut that list to just one remaining undefeated by the end of the night.

Brett Lilek continued his early season dominance in a 3-1 win for the Sun Devils over the Volunteers on Friday night. The left-handed sophomore threw seven innings, allowed just three hits and struck out three to earn his second win of the season.

Sophomore Ryan Burr’s move to the bullpen earlier in the week opened the door for Lilek to make his first Friday start. He has now thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings and believes he just might be in the middle of the best work of his career.

He argues, however, that the best has still yet to come.

“I definitely think location-wise there’s improvement that can be made. Also staying ahead early in the count and definitely throwing more strikes,” Lilek said. “We have great team chemistry so there’s always guys pushing me to get better. None of us are settling and we can always better ourselves.”

Burr, who earned his first save of the season, came into the game with two aboard in the eighth but managed to get out of the jam after allowing just a run. After moving from the bullpen into the starter’s role to begin the season, Burr was impressive in his first action in relief.

“Burr hasn’t done any of that (pitching out of the bullpen) all fall or spring, he’s been geared towards starting, so that was the first time he’s really been back in that role,” ASU head coach Tim Esmay said of the right-hander. “But I guess as they say, it’s like riding a bike.”

The bats came alive early for the Sun Devils with three straight hits to begin the game, including R.J. Ybarra’s single that drove in Johnny Sewald for the game’s first run. Brian Serven hit into a double play in the following at-bat but Trever Allen was able to score on the play, giving ASU the 2-0 first inning lead.

Standout pitching from Lilek and Nick Williams, who got the start for Tennessee, kept the lineups in check most of the evening. Neither team touched the scoreboard again until the bottom of the seventh when Dalton DiNatale blasted a home run to right field for his first of the season.

DiNatale not only stood out at the plate but made a couple of remarkable plays at third base, including two crucial double plays, that caught Esmay’s eye.

“I was really excited about him and his work that he’s done at getting better at third base. We know he can swing the bat, he’s an offensive kid, and tonight he took some really good swings,” Esmay said of his sophomore third baseman. “I’m glad to see him getting going a little bit.”

Williams threw 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits and one run. He struck out four but earned his first loss of the season, moving his record to 3-1.

The Volunteers earned their lone run in the eighth inning when Nick Senzel singled to right, scoring A.J. Simcox. Burr allowed the run but got Vincent Jackson to line out to end the inning, leaving runners stranded on second and third and killing the Vols’ best chance to get back into the game.

This marks the fifth win in a row for the Sun Devils (7-4). Players and coaches attribute their bounce back from some early season struggles to simply sticking to what they like to call the “process.”

“That’s the process, it’s our guys trusting in the process and being humble in this game because this game will humble you. I’ve felt our guys have really stayed the course and and stayed with the process,” Esmay said of the team’s recent surge.

DiNatale echoed his coach’s sentiments after the game.

“We didn’t focus on the three losses we had during that three-game losing streak. We focused more on the process of what was happening and not just those outcomes because we knew we were way better than we showed. It’s just all a process, we’re just taking it one game at a time and trusting in the process.”

The Sun Devils are not surprised with their turnaround and believe that these five consecutive victories are the appropriate measuring stick for how strong they can be.

“(After the 2-4 start) we knew if we get a little bit more together and a little more team chemistry that everything was going to work out. Nobody was holding their head low,” Lilek explained. “We were waiting for it all to click. This is what we knew what was gonna happen when we put everything together.”

The series resumes on Saturday night in Tempe at 6:30 p.m. Ryan Kellogg (1-1, 4.50 ERA) will toe the rubber for ASU while Andrew Lee (2-0, 3.60) is scheduled to pitch for Tennessee.

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