(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
Following Arizona State Baseball’s 7-5 loss on Saturday, the Sun Devils were once again outworked by UCLA on Sunday, losing 16-5 in Los Angeles.
The Sun Devils got themselves into early trouble thanks to the Bruins’ stellar offense and the Sun Devils’ poor defense.
The Bruins jumped all over Sun Devils’ redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi, as he failed to record an out and allowed seven runs in the first inning.
This included a grand slam from UCLA sophomore centerfielder Carson Yates, which kicked Vander Kooi from the game.
UCLA put up nine runs in the first inning as the Sun Devils found themselves down 9-0 entering the second.
The Sun Devils put up a decent fight as they scored at least one run in each of the next three innings.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Joe Lampe got the scoring started for the Sun Devils as he singled to left field, bringing in freshman first baseman Jacob Tobias, putting the Sun Devils on the board.
The following inning belonged to redshirt sophomore Nate Baez. Baez launched a three-run home run to dead center field, giving the Sun Devils some life as they trailed 9-4 after the third.
Baez was a lone bright spot for the Sun Devils, as he finished 3-4 and raised his average to .331 on the season.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they last scored in the top of the fourth inning thanks to freshman left-fielder Will Rogers’ solo home run.
The closest the Sun Devils got to the deficit was after Rogers’ home run, when they trailed 9-5 after four frames.
UCLA kept throwing haymakers at ASU, as the Bruins scored four more runs in the bottom of the fifth and three more in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the Sun Devils away for good.
With the loss, the Sun Devils have now lost five straight and are starting to somewhat implode as the season comes to an end.
ASU will look for better results next weekend when it hosts Utah for a three-game series.
