FULLERTON, Calif. – Back-to-back home runs sparked a late offensive charge as No. 2 seed Sun Devil Baseball opened the Fullerton Regional with a 7-4 win against No. 3 seed Clemson on Friday afternoon at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif.
First baseman Joey Bielek drove a two-run homer to left-center field in the seventh inning to put the Sun Devils (35-21) ahead of Clemson, 3-2, and catcher Brian Serven followed with a solo shot on the next pitch. Arizona State never relinquished its lead over the final 11 outs.
The Sun Devils face the winner of the second game of the Fullerton Regional between No. 1 seed Cal State Fullerton and No. 4 seed Pepperdine at 8:05 pm PT on Saturday at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif. It is scheduled to air on ESPNU, but is subject to change.
Starting left-hander Ryan Kellogg (9-2) allowed just two runs on six hits in seven innings, and tallied a single-game postseason-best six strikeouts en route to his first career postseason victory. He gave up a leadoff single to the first batter of the game and proceeded to retire the next nine Tigers in order. He conceded two hits in the fifth inning, including a two-out, two-single, before he put together consecutive scoreless frames.
Right-hander Darin Gillies took over in the eighth inning and retired the heart of the Tigers lineup in order to keep the Devils’ two-run lead intact. The Sun Devils added three runs in the bottom of the inning, including a RBI from shortstop Colby Woodmansee and a two-run triple by right fielder Trever Allen, to give ASU a 7-2 advantage heading into the ninth.
The Tigers (32-28) scored a pair runs in the final frame and put the tying run at the plate with runners on the corners and two outs before right-hander Ryan Burr (14) entered the game and issued a looking strikeout on a full count to send the Devils into the winner’s bracket.
Allen drove in three runs on two hits and scored a pair of runs to pace ASU, Bielek hit his third home run in the past four games, and Serven secured his team-high sixth home run of the season.
Both teams were held to just three combined hits through four scoreless innings before the Tigers and the Devils each scored in the fifth.
Clemson struck first in the top of the fifth as the frame started with a walk to catcher Chris Okey, who advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a single by third baseman Weston Wilson, and ended with a two-out, two-run single by first baseman Andrew Cox.
Allen led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to put the Devils on the board and cut their deficit to one. Second baseman Andrew Snow added a two-out double down the left-field line for ASU’s second extra-base hit of the inning, but a 10-pitch at-bat to third baseman Jordan Aboites resulted in a fly ball to left field to end the threat.
Clemson starting left-hander Matthew Crownover (10-3) conceded four runs, including three in the seventh, to take just his third loss of the season. He did not allow a base runner until left fielder Jake Peevyhouse’s one-out single in the bottom of the fourth inning, and gave up five hits and a walk with nine strikeouts in seven innings.
NOTES
ASU moved to 4-1 against the Tigers, with all of the meetings in the postseason…the Devils picked up their 167th NCAA tournament win…Kellogg became just the seventh pitcher in school history with 47 or more career starts…Kellogg's 321 career innings pitched rank 10th in school history…Peevyhouse recorded his fourth career postseason hit…Allen has eight hits, including two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI in seven career postseason games…the Devils hit three home runs in a game for the second time this season (vs. Stanford on March 29)…Burr tied the single-season saves record with his 14th save of the year and upped his career-best saves mark to 38…Kellogg’s 28 career wins rank 10th in school history.
FULLERTON REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 29, 2015
Game 1: No. 2 Arizona State 7, No. 3 Clemson 4
Game 2: 7:05 p.m. PT – No. 4 Pepperdine (30-27) at No. 1 Cal State Fullerton (34-22) - ESPN3/WatchESPN
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Game 3: 4:05 p.m. PT - No. 3 Clemson vs loser of Game 2
- ESPN3/WatchESPN
Game 4: 8:05 p.m. PT - No. 2 Arizona State vs. winner of Game 2
- ESPNU/ESPN3
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Game 5: 4:05 p.m. PT - Winner of Game 3 and Loser of Game 4 - ESPN3/WatchESPN
Game 6: 8:05 p.m. PT - Winners of Game 4 and Game 5 - ESPNU/ESPN3
Monday, June 1, 2015
*Game 7: 8:05 p.m. PT - *If necessary (repeat of Game 6 teams) - ESPNU/ESPN3
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