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Three-Run Eighth Rallies ASU To 4-2 Win Over Tennessee In CWS

Three-Run Eighth Rallies ASU To 4-2 Win Over Tennessee In CWSThree-Run Eighth Rallies ASU To 4-2 Win Over Tennessee In CWS

June 19, 2005

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OMAHA, Neb. - Arizona State scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to erase a 2-1 deficit and sophomore reliever Pat Bresnehan threw 3.1 scoreless innings to rally the Sun Devils to a 4-2 victory over Tennessee in an elimination game at the 59th College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Trailing 2-1 after seven innings, ASU rallied for just its second win of the season (now 2-19) when trailing after seven innings. After a two-out RBI single by junior Travis Buck got the Sun Devils on the board in the seventh, consecutive singles by catcher Tuffy Gosewisch (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and designated hitter Zechry Zinicola (San Bernadino, Calif.) and a double by third baseman Joey Hooft (Reno, Nev.) tied the game at 2-2. Second baseman Seth Dhaenens (Chandler, Ariz.) followed with a double to the left field gap to score pinch-runner Rocky Laguna (Yuma, Ariz.) and center fielder J.J. Sferra (Phoenix, Ariz.) added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.

With the victory, ASU secures its 27th 40-win season in school history by improving to 40-24. The Sun Devils will play Nebraska on Tuesday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN. Tennessee is eliminated from the College World Series and finished the season 46-21.

Bresnehan (Sherborn, Mass.) allowed only two hits and did not walk a batter in 3.1 scoreless frames to improve to 5-4 on the season. In two CWS appearances, Bresnehan has not allowed a run and struck out three in four innings. Junior left-handed starter Erik Averill (Orange, Calif.) had another solid start giving up eight hits and two runs in 5.2 innings, but did not factor into the decision. He struck out three and walked one to remain 10-4 on the season.

Tennessee starter James Adkins allowed only four hits and one run through the first seven innings, but was roughed up for four hits and three runs in the decisive eighth frame. The freshman left hander was saddled with the loss giving up eight hits and four runs to fall to 10-5. Reliever Sean Watson allowed one hit and walked two in 1.2 scoreless innings.

Junior right fielder Travis Buck (Richland, Wash.) paced the Sun Devil offense going 4-for-5 with one RBI. Hooft added two hits and is hitting .500 (3-for-6) in the CWS and is a career .412 (7-for-17) hitter in three appearances in Omaha (2003, 2004 with Miami).

Associated Press Story:

Arizona State head coach Pat Murphy paced, jawed with the umpires and called meetings on the mound, refusing to sit still Sunday as the Sun Devils were on the verge of elimination.

Known for his sense of humor, Murphy jokingly said he was already taking notes on the 2006 season with his team trailing 2-0.

But the Sun Devils responded again, rallying for three eighth-inning runs to beat Tennessee 4-2 Sunday and eliminate the Volunteers from the College World Series.

"Why don't you just play good from the first inning instead of just driving me crazy?" Murphy said. "I almost quit in the seventh inning, I was making the '06 lineup up and working on recruiting. I swear I was. I wasn't any use to them."

The Sun Devils (40-24) were on the verge of elimination last weekend in their super regional at defending national champion Cal State Fullerton. After losing the opener when a balk on an intentional walk allowed the winning run to score, ASU came back and won the next two games to earn a trip to Omaha.

Blanked for six innings Sunday by Adkins and trailing 2-0, the Sun Devils got one back in the seventh and then took the lead in the eighth.

"The first couple of innings he (Adkins) was real sharp and toward the end of the game we started taking more pitches and the guys just started hitting the ball where it was pitched," said Buck, who had four hits and was tagged out trying to steal home in the ninth.

Buck had an RBI single in the seventh to make it 2-1, and then Dhaenens, who didn't start, doubled in the go-ahead run in the three-run eighth.

"Once we got one on the board, we weren't going to stop," Buck added.

Gosewisch and Zinicola opened the seventh with opposite-field singles and then Joey Hooft chopped a ball over first baseman Alex Suarez's head for a double that tied it at 2.

Dhaenens, who'd entered the game in the sixth and made an error in the seventh, then doubled to left center to put the Sun Devils ahead Sferra hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-2 cushion.

"Seth has been struggling. So it was nice to see him go into the game and get the bit hit," Murphy said.

It was just the second time in 21 games the Sun Devils won when trailing after seven innings.

"In these types of games Murphy shuts up about the seventh," Hooft joked.

"And that's when we get going," he said. "It's just how we are preached to all year. It's about playing for the finish where the good things or bad things happen."

Adkins (10-5) threw 125 pitches. The lanky 6-5 freshman gave up eight hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings.

Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico decided to stick with his young pitcher, even after he'd surrendered a run in the seventh and was over 100 pitches.

"He's pretty much been at 125 or 127. They only hit one ball hard that inning (the eighth) and got three hits where they just found holes. He was still throwing well," Delmonico said.

Adkins wanted to stay in and finish up, but the Sun Devils finally solved him in the late innings.

"I stayed in the game the best I could," he said. "I tried to make them hit my pitches and that's what they did and they found the holes. It went their way. It's baseball," he said.

Tennessee got two singles in the eighth and had runners on second and third with two outs before ASU first baseman Jeff Larish (Tempe, Ariz.) made a diving catch of Suarez's foul pop near the tarp.

Tennessee, which lost to Florida in the opening round, finished 46-21.

J.P. Arencibia, who broke Todd Helton's freshman record of 11 homers set for the Vols in 1993, connected for his 14th in the first off Averill.

Tennessee added a run for a 2-0 lead in the fifth on back-to-back one-out doubles by Suarez and Josh Alley. After the Vols loaded the bases on a hit batsman and walk, Averill retired Eli Iorg on a fielder's choice bouncer to short.

Game Notes:

  • ASU Plays Without Garrison -- Freshman right-handed pitcher Seth Garrison underwent emergency appendectomy surgery early Sunday morning at Bergan-Mercy Hospital in Omaha. Garrison is doing fine and was back at the team hotel to watch the game on TV. ASU's players scribbled #17 into their hats with white-out and Garrison's #17 jersey also was hung in the dugout.
  • Mr. Omaha -- Senior third baseman Joey Hooft entered the College World Series hitting only .125 (2-for-16) in the NCAA Tournament this season. But, Hooft has caught fire while making his third trip to the College World Series (2003 and 2004 with Miami, Fla.). He is 3-for-6 (.500) at the CWS this season and 7-for-17 (.412) in career in Omaha.
  • Multi-Hit Buck -- Junior Travis Buck notched his 35th multi-hit game of the year and his 12th with three or more hits by going 4-for-5... he now has 107 hits to move into a tie for 12th place in the ASU single-season record books with Chris Bando (1978)... Buck now has hits in 53 of 64 games this season and in 25 of the last 28. Buck also stole his team-leading 27th base.
  • Larish Nearing 200 Walks -- Senior first baseman Jeff Larish recorded his 48th career multi-walk game and now has 197 career walks... Larish ranks second in school history behind Alvin Davis (207)... Larish also moved into fourth place with 839 career at-bats.
  • Dominating Tennessee -- With the victory, Arizona State improved to 11-1 all-time against the University of Tennessee and have won five of the last six meetings dating back to 2001... ASU is also 3-0 against the Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament and has eliminated UT in 1994 (regional) and 2005 (CWS).
  • Survivor -- Arizona State has now won at least one game in 17 of its 19 College World Series appearances. ASU has only gone 0-2 twice, in 1987 and 1993. ASU also improved to 3-0 this season in an elimination game.
  • Late Inning Heroics -- Arizona State improved to 2-19 this season when trailing after seven innings. Meanwhile, Tennessee was 36-1 in games in which the Vols led after seven innings. ASU's comeback victory marked its third in the postseason (while trailing at least after four innings) and is the first time since June 15, 2003 that a team won a CWS game when trailing after seven innings.
  • Playing Late -- Today's game with Tennessee marked the second-latest game an ASU squad has participated in program history. The record was set in 1969 when the Sun Devils played in the College World Series title game and defeated Tulsa, 10-1, on June 20. The victory over the Vols guaranteed the Sun Devils of at least one more game, slated for June 21. That game will set the record for latest game played by an ASU team.
  • Four Straight Hits -- With four hits in a row and no outs, the Sun Devils scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. The last time the team recorded three or more hits in a row to tie or take the lead: three hits in a row for three runs to tie the game at seven in Game 3 of the Super Regional Series at Cal State Fullerton. The Sun Devils went on to win, 9-8, and stave off elimination for their 19th College World Series appearance.
  • Happy Father's Day -- The Sun Devils wished Dad's everywhere a Happy Father's Day, but it was even more special for head coach Pat Murphy and assistant coaches Jay J. Sferra, Tim Esmay and Jack Krawczyk. Murphy has had his son (Kai Joseph) and daughter (Keli) in attendance for all eight postseason game and both were on the field before Sunday's win over Tennessee. Sferra's son, J.J., is ASU's starting center fielder and recorded a "Happy Father's Day" message for ESPN. Esmay is also spending the week with his son (and batboy) Tucker and Krawczyk has been accompanied by his wife (Cindy) and son (Cole).
  • Quick Notes -- In three postseason starts, junior Erik Averill is 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings (6 earned runs)... catcher Tuffy Gosewisch went 1-for-4 with a run scored to extend his hitting streak to four games... Gosewisch is hitting .438 (14-for-32) in the NCAA Tournament... ASU improves to 56-31 all-time in the College World Series and 73-39 in the month of June (dating back to 1959). Arizona State 4, Tennessee 2 (Jun 19, 2005 at Omaha, Neb.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona State....... 000 000 130 - 4 9 1 (40-24) Tennessee........... 100 010 000 - 2 10 1 (46-21) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Arizona State - Averill; Bresnehan(6). Tennessee - Adkins; Watson(8). Win-Bresnehan(5-4) Loss-Adkins(10-5) T-3:27 A-17000 HR UT - Arencibia (14).