May 14, 2003
CORVALLIS, Ore. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Down to their last six outs and trailing 6-3, the Arizona State Sun Devils rallied for nine runs in their last two at-bats to complete a thrilling 12-7 come-from-behind victory over the Oregon State Beavers Wednesday afternoon at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
The crucial win sealed a series victory for the Sun Devils after winning the opener 14-4 and falling in the second game 6-1. ASU improved to 46-10 overall and remained in second place in the Pac-10 with a 12-6 record. ASU has now won eight of its last nine games and is now 7-2 on the road in conference play this year. Oregon State looked as if it had a grasp on its first Pac-10 series win of the year, but watched the Sun Devils rally from behind as they dropped to 22-26 overall and 6-15 in league play.
"This was a big win and really wakes us up for the rest of the season," said ASU head coach Pat Murphy. "We couldn't do anything right for seven innings and we felt as bad as we have all year. But this is a testament to our players and their toughness. They never gave up, never doubted themselves and just kept fighting. We got some big at-bats from Tuffy Gosewisch and Mike Guerrero and that carried us."
Junior closer Ryan Schroyer picked up the win out of the bullpen to improve to 5-2, giving up one run and three hits in three and two-thirds innings. The preseason All-American struck out four and was dominant after inheriting a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior lefty Carlos Arguello also gave a commendable effort giving up one hit and one unearned run in two and a third innings. Senior starter Jered Liebeck was roughed up for five hits and three runs in two-plus innings of work.
"Carlos and Ryan really came in and did their job and kept us in the game," added Murphy. "Bryce (Kartler) also came in and did a nice job getting a double-play ball, but we made an error on the play."
Scoring in double-digits for the 29th time this year, Arizona State totaled 17 hits, with 10 coming in the last two innings. Gosewisch, ASU's sophomore starting catcher, led the way for the Devils going 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles and reached base in all five of his at-bats also adding two walks. He hit his second career home run with his two-run homer in the eight-run eighth innings. Junior second baseman Steve Garrabrants added two hits with a double and plated the eventual game-winning run with a two-run double in eighth. Dustin Pedroia and Nick Walsh each went 3-for-6 at the top of the ASU batting order. Pedroia notched his 35th multi-hit game of the year to raise his season batting average to a Pac-10 best .423 (102-for-241) and became only the 22nd Sun Devil to surpass 100 hits in a season.
Looking as if the Devils would walk away from Coleman Field for the second straight time with a series loss, the Devils rallied late for the come-from-behind win. The Beavers built a 6-3 lead behind three Sun Devil fielding errors and a lackluster starting pitching performance from senior and Pac-10 ERA leader Liebeck. After scoring three runs in the first two innings to build a 3-0 lead, OSU scored six unanswered runs before the Devils went on the eight-inning tear.
A leadoff walk to Andre Ethier and an infield single by Jeff Larish started the rally. Guerrero followed with a pinch-hit single greeted reliever Nathan Pendley (1-3) with a run-scoring single and then third baseman Frank Mesa slapped a ball into left field to cut the OSU lead to one run. Garrabrants then put ASU ahead for good with a double to center field to score Guerrero and Mesa, giving ASU the 7-6 lead. Gosewisch then followed with a towering home run to left field that extended ASU's lead to 9-6. Going through four OSU pitchers in the inning, the Sun Devils totaled eight runs off seven hits. With one out in the inning after Jeremy West moved Ethier and Larish into scoring position, six straight Devils (Guerrero, Mesa, Garrabrants, Gosewisch, Pedroia, Walsh) recorded hits.
The Devils jumped out to an early lead scoring a run in the first and a pair of two-out runs in the second. Larish plated a run in the first frame with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Walsh. After Copeland recorded the first two outs in the second, consecutive singles from Mesa and Garrabrants started the two-out rally. Gosewisch followed with a double down the left field line and Pedroia staked the Devils to the 3-0 lead with a single up the middle.
Oregon State cut into ASU's lead with two runs in the second. Catcher Paul Richie drove home the first run on a single up the middle with runners in motion and then third baseman Brad Mellinger followed with a safety squeeze bunt to score the second run of the frame.
OSU tied the game in the third on a leadoff home run from freshman second baseman Chris Kunda to chase Liebeck from the game. The Beavers then rallied for two more unearned runs in the inning, aided by a trio of fielding mistakes by the Sun Devil outfield. Ethier dropped a fly ball that would have been the second out of the inning and also threw wide on throw to home plate that was well in time to beat the runner. Richie then singled with two outs to shallow left field, but Walsh double-clutched and failed to throw to any base as the Beavers pulled ahead 5-3. OSU added a run to its lead in the sixth with another unearned run and completed the scoring with a solo home run from leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury in the ninth inning.
Arizona State continues its six-game, eight-day road trip in the Pacific Northwest with a three-game series at the University of Washington starting Saturday (May 17) at 1 p.m. at Husky Ballpark. Arizona State 12, Oregon State 7 (May 14, 2003 at Corvallis, Ore.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona State....... 120 000 081 - 12 17 3 (46-10, 12-6 PAC-10) Oregon State........ 023 001 001 - 7 12 0 (22-26, 6-15 PAC-10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Arizona State - Liebeck; Bordes(3); Arguello(4); Kartler(6); Schroyer(6). Oregon State - Copeland; Clark(6); Koller(6); Anderson(7); Pendley(8); Kline(8); Baldwin(8); Steele(9). Win-Schroyer(5-2) Loss-Pendley(1-3) T-3:53 A-986 HR ASU - Gosewisch (2). HR OSU - Ellsbury; Kunda. --Sun Devil Baseball--