FORT WORTH, Texas – Gonzaga jumped out to a five-run lead through the first third of the game and No. 2 seed Sun Devil Baseball was unable to close the deficit as they fell, 5-1, in the opening game of the Fort Worth Regional on Friday afternoon at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
Left-handed reliever Eli Lingos retired six straight to begin his outing and 12 consecutive to finish out the game as he allowed just two base runners across six straight scoreless innings.
The Sun Devils (34-22) fell into a 2-0 hole in the opening frame behind three hits and a fielding error, and the Zags (36-19) added two more in the second and one in the third for an early 5-0 advantage.
Arizona State will play at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday at Lupton Stadium against the loser of the second game of the Fort Worth Regional between No. 1 seed TCU and No. 4 seed Oral Roberts.
Starting right-hander Seth Martinez was chased with one out and two on in the third inning to mark his shortest start of the season. He was responsible for a season-high five runs on nine hits and a walk, and struck out three in 2 1/3 frames.
Left-hander Connor Higgins replaced Martinez, and issued a groundout and a walk before he made way for Lingos, who was able to end the inning with the bases loaded thanks in part to a nice play on a grounder to third by Andrew Snow. Lingos struck out four of the 21 batters he faced and gave up a two-out single in the fifth and a leadoff walk in the sixth.
Center fielder Andrew Shaps and catcher Brian Serven each tallied a pair of hits, and left fielder Ryan Lillard drove in the Devils’ sole run.
ASU crossed the plate in the bottom of the fourth to cut its deficit, 5-1, via Shaps’ second single of the day, a base hit from Serven and a RBI fielder’s choice from Lillard, who beat the throw at first to avoid a potential inning-ending double play.
Designated hitter Tyler Williams and second baseman Jordan Aboites led off the fifth with back-to-back singles to put the tying run on-deck with no outs, but two strikeouts and a flyout ended the threat.
FORT WORTH REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3, 2016
Game 1: No. 3 Gonzaga 5, No. 2 Arizona State 1
Game 2: 4:30 p.m. PT – No. 1 TCU (42-15) vs. No. 4 Oral Roberts (38-19)
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Game 3: 9 a.m. PT – No. 2 Arizona State vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 4: 4:30 p.m. PT – No. 3 Gonzaga vs. Winner of Game 2
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Game 5: 12 p.m. PT - Winner of Game 4 and loser of Game 4
Game 6: 4:30 p.m. PT - Winners of Game 4 and Game 5
Monday, June 6, 2016
Game 7: 1 p.m. PT - If necessary (repeat of Game 6 teams)
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