SEATTLE – Fourth-ranked Sun Devil Baseball used a pinch-hit double from Zach Cerbo in the top of the 10th inning to score the go-ahead run and win its sixth Pac-12 series of the year against Washington, 6-5, on Sunday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
The Sun Devils (25-11, 13-5) moved to 6-0 in conference series’ for the first time since 2009, and improved to 13-5 in one-run games and 5-0 in extra innings this season.
Designated hitter RJ Ybarra led off the 10th inning with a single to left field and a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Andrew Snow moved pinch runner David Graybill to second. Cerbo followed with a RBI double to right-center field to plate the eventual game-winning run and send ASU to its third Pac-12 road series victory.
Right-hander Ryan Burr (7-1) earned the win after he issued a looking strikeout with two outs and the tying run on third base in the bottom of the 10th inning. He inherited a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning, but allowed a solo home run that pushed the game to extra innings. He struck out five in two innings of relief to notch his seventh win of the year.
Center fielder Chris Beall tied a career high with two RBI, catcher Brian Serven notched his team-leading fifth home run of the season and Snow added a pair of hits and a RBI to lead the Devils at the plate.
Right-handed reliever Eder Erives tied a career high with five strikeouts and allowed just one run, a solo homer, on two hits in three innings. He took over with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, and induced a groundout and a swinging strikeout to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.
ASU took an early 2-0 lead after registering six hits in the first two innings, but the Huskies (21-16, 7-11) countered with three runs in the bottom half of the second to move ahead, 3-2. The Devils scored a pair of unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and added one in the eighth, but UW scored once in both the bottom half of the eighth and ninth to send the game into extra innings.
The Devils loaded the bases on three straight singles in the top of the first before third baseman David Greer drove home the first run of the game with a RBI base hit to right field. A pair of freshmen pushed ASU’s advantage to two in the top of the second on a leadoff single by designated hitter Ryan Lillard and a RBI double by Snow.
UW third baseman Alex Schmidt opened the bottom half of the second inning with a solo home run and the Huskies added two more in the frame via a single, double, wild pitch and a RBI groundout to take a 3-2 lead.
ASU scored two runs on two hits in the fifth and sixth innings to re-establish its advantage, 4-3. Serven’s solo home run in the top of the fifth knotted the game at three runs apiece, and right fielder Trever Allen led off the sixth with a double to left-center field and scored four batters later on a RBI groundout from Beall.
Beall knocked a two-out double down the right-field line in the top of the eighth to score Snow, who reached on his second hit of the game and stole second, and push ASU’s lead to a pair, 5-3. UW’s second baseman Josh Cushing led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to cut their deficit to one, but right-handed reliever Eric Melbostad induced a pair of groundouts and first baseman Joey Bielek made a great defensive play on a hard-hit ball down the line to end the frame.
Starting left-hander Brett Lilek conceded three runs, all in the second inning, and scattered six hits and two walks across 4 1/3 innings. UW starting right-hander Ryan Schmitten was chased after two batters in the top of the second inning and allowed two runs on six hits in a no-decision.
Notes
The Devils have hit 20 home runs in 36 games this season (they did not hit their 20th home run until their 49th game of the season in 2014)…shortstop Colby Woodmansee set a career high with three walks.
Up Next
The Sun Devils head to Tucson for a midweek Territorial Cup Series game with Arizona on April 22 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks and broadcast on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. ASU hosts Tennessee Tech April 24-26, with first pitch on Friday and Saturday set for 6:30 p.m., and Sunday slated for a 12:30 p.m. start. All three games will be live streamed via thesundevils.com and Saturday’s will be broadcast on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.
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The Family Section, located in Section 20 on the third-base line near the picnic area, does not permit alcohol or inappropriate language. A general admission ticket is the only requirement to gain entry into the section. Family Four Pack’s include four tickets to the game, four big hot dogs and four 32 oz. fountain drinks, and start at just $60. Family Four Packs are available for all home mid-week and Sunday games. Click here to purchase.
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