PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball (11-3) came off a two-game series sweep of #23 Cal State Fullerton to defeat UC Davis (4-8), 6-5 in 11 inning,s at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday night.
The Devil defense locked down the Aggies keeping them scoreless for eight innings, but sputtered in the ninth when the Aggies tied the score, 5-5.
Starting left-handed sophomore pitcher Eli Lingos was dominant on the mound against the UC Davis, pitching for six innings with five strikeouts. He conceded four hits and kept UC Davis scoreless.
Freshman right fielder Gage Canning went 3-for-3 and had three RBI while junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee went 4-for-5. Junior catcher Brian Serven recorded two hits on the night, including the final walk off single to win the game.
Junior Eder Erives (2-0) held UC Davis to one hit and finished the game with three strikeouts to take the win. Blake Peters recorded his first loss of the season for UC Davis (0-1).
The Devils found their rhythm quickly and recorded three hits in the bottom of the first. Freshman third baseman Jeremy McCuin advanced to third on a throwing error by UC Davis and was brought home on a sacrifice fly to center by junior first baseman David Greer. Arizona State left the bases loaded at the end of the first, leading the Aggies, 1-0.
UC Davis had one hit in the top of the second, but was unable to bring him across the plate. Lead off hitter Canning attempted to bring in another run in the bottom of the second with a double to left field but was left stranded on third as the inning ended.
Arizona State continued to dominate UC Davis at the plate with two singles and a triple by Canning, which brought three across and extended the lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back Woodmansee and Serven singles put runners on first and second. Arizona State was able to advance into scoring position off of a UC Davis balk and bring Woodmansee home with a sacrifice fly to center by sophomore left fielder Ryan Lillard. The Sun Devils entered the sixth inning, 5-0.
Lingos ended his night on the mound keeping UC Davis scoreless through six innings. Freshman right-handed pitcher Chris Isbell came in to pitch at the top of the seventh. Isbell pitched for one inning and gave up two hits.
Freshman left-handed pitcher, Connor Higgins followed Isbell on the mound as he recorded his first career strikeout in his second Arizona State appearance.
The Aggies reversed the Devil domination in the top of the ninth, as they scored five consecutive runs to tied the game 5-5. Freshman right-handed pitcher Gio Lopez entered at the start of the inning, which marked his first appearance for the Sun Devils. Allowing only one hit, Lopez walked the only other batter he faced at the plate.
Senior right handed pitcher, Eric Melbostad, faced two batters in the top of the ninth before junior right handed pitcher Eder Erives took over for the rest of the game.
The Devils were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, which brought the game into extra innings.
Both teams were unable to bring runners across the plate in the tenth inning.
In the bottom of the eleventh, Greer singled to the right side to put the first runner on base since rolling into extra innings. Woodmansee followed Greer’s lead with a single to the right side to land runners on first and third. Serven brought Woodmansee home in a walk off single up the middle, which sealed the win for Arizona State, 6-5.
Up Next
The Devils host game two against UC Davis at Phoenix Muni on March 12. First pitch is set for 6:30pm and will be live streamed via thesundevils.com. All times are AZ/MT.
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