(Photo: Brendan OKeeffe/WCSN)
It was the perfect eighth inning.
Washington State had a smashing sixth inning in which it scored all four of its runs. Arizona State Baseball was down one, and its bats had been quiet since the first frame.
Nevertheless, the momentum began to shift as redshirt freshman outfielder Kai Murphy and freshman third baseman Hunter Haas both drew walks and were able to steal bases on a wild pitch. Freshman pinch-hitter Jack Moss then stepped up to the plate and hit a single, which Washington State center fielder Kyler Stancato whiffed on defensively, allowing Haas and Murphy to both score and let the Sun Devils take back the lead.
“Runs were few and far between,” ASU head coach Tracy Smith said.
In ASU’s 5-4 victory over Washington State, the Sun Devils highlighted this season’s identity. Unlike last year, when ASU boasted several home run and power hitters, the roster this season is younger, faster and more contact-oriented. Now, the Sun Devils are taking a small ball approach and trying to manufacture runs when necessary. That philosophy was at work in Saturday’s game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“Our team isn’t built like it was last year,” Moss said. “This is a team that’s just going to scrap and have really competitive AB’s.”
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Tyler Thornton kept the Sun Devils steady through five innings. Thornton ended the afternoon with five strikeouts but relied on groundouts and flyouts during his outing.
Junior right-hander Zane Mills pitched 6.1 innings and earned five strikeouts for the Cougars. After allowing three runs in the first inning, Mills silenced the Sun Devils’ bats through the rest of his day.
Saturday’s game had a similar start to the first game of the series against Washington State on Friday, where the Sun Devils had four-straight base hits to lead off the game and took an immediate three-run lead.
The first inning on Saturday began with three doubles from redshirt junior outfielder Hunter Jump, redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain and freshman first baseman Ethan Long, who powered ASU to an early 3-0 lead.
Unlike Friday’s game, the Sun Devils were unable to maintain an offensive rhythm throughout and couldn’t capitalize on any scoring opportunities until the eighth inning.
“I was proud of the way that we very maturely battled through some of that stuff that we haven’t necessarily done up to this point,” Smith said.
ASU has the opportunity to sweep Washington State on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. when it returns to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for the final game of the series.
