(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
The sixth inning has not been kind to Arizona State Baseball in its series against No. 13-ranked UCLA this weekend.
On Friday night, the Bruins scored 13 runs in the frame to fuel a 17-run win against a bruised and embarrassed Sun Devils team. Then, less than 24 hours later, in the same inning, UCLA would erase a three-run lead by ASU, causing even more heartbreak for the Sun Devils.
The disastrous sixth frame on Saturday would prove too much for the Sun Devils, negating a hard-nosed outing from redshirt junior right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Luckham. The club, in a disappointing fashion, dropped Saturday’s matchup 7-5 to the Bruins and the series in the process, extending their losing streak to four games.
Lack of control from both clubs’ starters was the story early. The first two frames saw a combined six walks and three hit by pitches by ASU and UCLA. After a quiet top of the first inning, the following three sides would see bases loaded almost solely at the hand of pitching miscues.
Luckham was visibly frustrated with the zone, barking at the home plate umpire because of back-to-back close ball calls to load the bases in the first. Luckham had no command, as he would walk in a run to give UCLA the 1-0 lead.
Bruins’ freshman left-hander Ethan Flanagan, making his second start on the mound of the year, showed a similar inability to pound the zone, loading the bases off only one hit and multiple walks. The freshman lefty would match Luckham by walking in two runs back-to-back to give ASU a 2-1 lead on only one hit. Flanagan would be yanked after that, throwing 24 pitches in the second – 17 of them being balls.
Luckham continued his troubles by loading the bases his next time on the mound. The Bruins would only tag a single run off a sac fly to tie the game at two. Despite the early pitching woes by both sides, neither side’s bats could capitalize to tack on more runs.
ASU head coach Willie Bloomquist has talked about the fight that Luckham shows on the bump, and it was on display on Saturday, as he stranded five UCLA runners through early turbulence.
The fighting spirit of Luckham would finally be rewarded with quick outs. The ASU righty would retire nine straight after allowing the sac fly – fanning three batters during that stretch. Luckham locked into the second half of his start, pitching a gutsy 5.2 innings while allowing two runs on two hits and striking out four against the 13th-ranked team in the nation.
The sixth inning is where things got complicated for both sides. ASU and UCLA bats struggled up to that point, but the top side of the frame saw ASU redshirt sophomore infielder Nate Baez break the cold streak by hitting a solo home run to break the tie at 3-2. That was expected to be all the Sun Devils would get, as a two-out pop-up by freshman outfielder Will Rogers looked to end the inning.
However, the blinding sun would impair the UCLA outfield, causing a dropped ball and allowing Rogers to reach safely. ASU freshman infielder Cam Magee stepped up to try and extend the club’s lead, and in a convoluted way, he did.
A mid-at-bat ejection handed to Magee would cause massive confusion. As the dust settled after the long delay, Rogers would immediately steal third, and an ill-advised throw allowed the freshman to dash home. Then, ASU freshman infielder Alex Champagne, who replaced Magee during his at-bat, would slash an RBI single to give ASU a 5-2 lead.
The momentum seemed entirely in the corner of the Sun Devils, but similar to Friday, the bottom half of the sixth inning would be a nightmare. ASU redshirt junior pitcher Will Levine would come in to relieve Luckham and try and get the final two outs of the frame. Instead, he would walk the bases loaded before allowing a three-run RBI double to UCLA freshman infielder Cody Schrier, tying the game.
The woes wouldn’t stop there for Levine, as before his departure, he would allow another RBI double to give the Bruins a 6-5 lead.
The Sun Devils would have opportunities to take back the lead – one being in the seventh with runners on the corners – but they couldn’t capitalize. The UCLA bullpen weaved through any turbulence and showed complete control on the mound late, not allowing a walk after Flanagan exited.
A late run added in the eighth by UCLA would seal it the win on Saturday and clinch the series 7-5.
While encouraging in moments, ASU drops another an essential Pac-12 Conference game on the road because of its horrid sixth inning. The Sun Devils have lost five of their last six games and are in danger of falling down the Pac-12 standings.
Bloomquist and ASU have one more chance on Sunday to salvage the weekend by stealing one on the road in hopes of not returning to Tempe having being swept by UCLA.
