PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball’s evening, which began with a special pregame ceremony to honor Rick Monday and the 1965 National Championship team, ended with an 8-0 loss to Arizona on Tuesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State wore retro uniforms inspired by the ’65 team and held a number of on-field moments to commemorate the 40th anniversary of “the greatest play in baseball,” in which Monday, a Sun Devil for Life and then-Chicago Cubs center fielder, thwarted a pair of protesters from lighting the American Flag on fire on the field at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976.
Monday took a picture with the 2016 team and the American Flag from that fateful day on America’s Bicentennial, mingled with longtime teammates from different eras, threw out the ceremonial first pitch with nearly 3,000 fans in front of him and more than a dozen fellow Sun Devils for Life behind him, and was presented with a special framed uniform by head coach Tracy Smith.
The five-game Territorial Cup baseball series is tied at one game apiece and Arizona State currently leads the overall Territorial Cup standings, 9.5-6.5, with four sports still undecided.
Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on a single and a two-out double, and added a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth for a five-run lead. Two unearned runs in the eighth and a final run in the ninth stretched the Wildcats’ (27-14) advantage to eight.
The Sun Devils (23-15) were held hitless through six innings before second baseman Andrew Snow led off the seventh with a single up the middle.
Starting left-hander Reagan Todd (1-4) conceded three runs, including two earned, in 3 1/3 innings on five hits and struck out a pair in the loss. Five relievers, including a quartet of freshmen, closed out the final 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander James Ryan went the longest of the group at 2 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on six hits.
Notes: Freshman right-hander Liam Jenkins made his first career appearance in the ninth inning.
Up Next
The Devils host a three-game non-conference set with New Mexico April 29-May 1. First pitch on Friday and Saturday is set for 6:30 p.m., and Sunday is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start. All three games will be broadcast on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 with Tim Healey and Max Rossiter on the call, and will be streamed live via thesundevils.com.
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