PHOENIX – Outfielder Gage Canning connected on a three-run home run in the second inning as the Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 6-5 victory in the series opener against the Washington State Cougars on Friday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Canning smashed the first pitch he saw from Washington State starting left-hander A.J. Block in his second at-bat off the scoreboard in right-center field to spark the early offense for the Devils. Connor Higgins pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn his second save of the season.
Sun Devil (14-18) starting left-hander Chaz Montoya was effective once again, keeping the Cougar offense under wraps for most of his outing.
The ASU offense got things started early after Montoya worked out of trouble in the top of the first. Canning led off the game for the Sun Devils with a single and outfielder Andrew Shaps followed with a walk to give the Devils a pair of baserunners and a scoring threat. The baserunners would advance to second and third on a throwing error, setting up a run-scoring opportunity. Outfielder Tyler Williams cashed in on the chance, ripping a ball to the shortstop that was deep enough to score Canning from third and give the Sun Devils the 1-0 lead. With two outs, Taylor Lane continued swinging a hot bat, driving in Andrew Shaps with a single to extend the lead to 2-0.
Montoya came back out to the mound with the lead looking for a shutdown inning. The southpaw delivered a solid inning, working around a one-out single and more importantly, keeping the Cougars (15-15) off the board.
The lead would not stay at 2-0 for long, as the offense continued to get to Cougars starter A.J. Block. Block recorded the first out of the second inning, but then proceeded to allow singles to infielders Carter Aldrete and Jeremy McCuin to place a pair of runners on base. With Block reeling, Canning stepped up and took advantage with a first pitch, three-run home run off the scoreboard in right center to push the ASU lead to 5-0.
The Cougars would push across their first run of the ball game in the top half of the third, as first baseman James Rudkin scored outfielder Justin Harrer with two outs. Montoya would bounce back in a big way in the fourth inning, retiring the side in order on just 12 pitches.
The Sun Devils would get the run back in their half of the fourth inning. After reaching on a leadoff double, Aldrete advanced to third on an error by the WSU pitcher. The next batter, Canning, came through as he did all night, reaching on a fielder's choice in this case and driving in his career-high fourth run of the night.
With the Sun Devils leading 6-1, Montoya took the mound for the fifth inning. Despite struggling in the fifth, Montoya escaped a jam by striking out designated hitter Cory Meyer, stranding a runner in scoring position and completing the necessary fifth inning to be in line for the victory. The final line for Montoya sat at 5.0 innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs and a strikeout.
Right-hander Alec Marsh came out to start the sixth inning, trying to maintain the 6-3 ASU lead. Marsh retired two batter before giving way to left-handed reliever Connor Higgins. Higgins allowed a two-RBI single to the first batter he faced, but would settle down to retire the final batter of the sixth inning with the Sun Devils still leading 6-5.
The bullpen would not see any more activity the rest of the night, as Higgins cruised through the rest of his outing. The sophomore completed the final 3.1 innings of the night, striking out four batters. Higgins retired the final six batters he faced, including a dominant 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his second save of the season and seal the 6-5 victory for the Sun Devils.
NOTES: With his three-run home run and RBI groundout, Gage Canning drove in a career-high four runs…Canning recorded the first four-RBI game of the season for the Sun Devil offense…Canning has an RBI in four straight games…Canning also extended his hitting streak to six games and is 12-for-24 (.500) over that span…The Sun Devils scored five runs in just two innings off of Cougars starter A.J. Block…Entering the night, Cougars starting left-hander A.J. Block had allowed five total earned runs in 17 innings (2.65 ERA)…Lyle Lin has reached base in all but on contest this season (32-of-33) extended his ASU season-best reached base streak to 18 games…Lin has a hit in 27 of ASU's 33 games this season…Andrew Shaps drew a pair of walks on the night and has now reached base in eight consecutive games…Gage Canning recorded his ninth and Carter Aldrete recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season…
UP NEXT: The Sun Devils will continue the series against the Cougars on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast each tilt on NBC Sports 1060 AM and100.7 KSLX HD 2. The games will also be available through the TuneIn app on TheSunDevils.com. The game will also be live streamed for free at www.pac-12.com/live.
Canning smashed the first pitch he saw from Washington State starting left-hander A.J. Block in his second at-bat off the scoreboard in right-center field to spark the early offense for the Devils. Connor Higgins pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn his second save of the season.
Sun Devil (14-18) starting left-hander Chaz Montoya was effective once again, keeping the Cougar offense under wraps for most of his outing.
The ASU offense got things started early after Montoya worked out of trouble in the top of the first. Canning led off the game for the Sun Devils with a single and outfielder Andrew Shaps followed with a walk to give the Devils a pair of baserunners and a scoring threat. The baserunners would advance to second and third on a throwing error, setting up a run-scoring opportunity. Outfielder Tyler Williams cashed in on the chance, ripping a ball to the shortstop that was deep enough to score Canning from third and give the Sun Devils the 1-0 lead. With two outs, Taylor Lane continued swinging a hot bat, driving in Andrew Shaps with a single to extend the lead to 2-0.
Montoya came back out to the mound with the lead looking for a shutdown inning. The southpaw delivered a solid inning, working around a one-out single and more importantly, keeping the Cougars (15-15) off the board.
The lead would not stay at 2-0 for long, as the offense continued to get to Cougars starter A.J. Block. Block recorded the first out of the second inning, but then proceeded to allow singles to infielders Carter Aldrete and Jeremy McCuin to place a pair of runners on base. With Block reeling, Canning stepped up and took advantage with a first pitch, three-run home run off the scoreboard in right center to push the ASU lead to 5-0.
The Cougars would push across their first run of the ball game in the top half of the third, as first baseman James Rudkin scored outfielder Justin Harrer with two outs. Montoya would bounce back in a big way in the fourth inning, retiring the side in order on just 12 pitches.
The Sun Devils would get the run back in their half of the fourth inning. After reaching on a leadoff double, Aldrete advanced to third on an error by the WSU pitcher. The next batter, Canning, came through as he did all night, reaching on a fielder's choice in this case and driving in his career-high fourth run of the night.
With the Sun Devils leading 6-1, Montoya took the mound for the fifth inning. Despite struggling in the fifth, Montoya escaped a jam by striking out designated hitter Cory Meyer, stranding a runner in scoring position and completing the necessary fifth inning to be in line for the victory. The final line for Montoya sat at 5.0 innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs and a strikeout.
Right-hander Alec Marsh came out to start the sixth inning, trying to maintain the 6-3 ASU lead. Marsh retired two batter before giving way to left-handed reliever Connor Higgins. Higgins allowed a two-RBI single to the first batter he faced, but would settle down to retire the final batter of the sixth inning with the Sun Devils still leading 6-5.
The bullpen would not see any more activity the rest of the night, as Higgins cruised through the rest of his outing. The sophomore completed the final 3.1 innings of the night, striking out four batters. Higgins retired the final six batters he faced, including a dominant 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his second save of the season and seal the 6-5 victory for the Sun Devils.
NOTES: With his three-run home run and RBI groundout, Gage Canning drove in a career-high four runs…Canning recorded the first four-RBI game of the season for the Sun Devil offense…Canning has an RBI in four straight games…Canning also extended his hitting streak to six games and is 12-for-24 (.500) over that span…The Sun Devils scored five runs in just two innings off of Cougars starter A.J. Block…Entering the night, Cougars starting left-hander A.J. Block had allowed five total earned runs in 17 innings (2.65 ERA)…Lyle Lin has reached base in all but on contest this season (32-of-33) extended his ASU season-best reached base streak to 18 games…Lin has a hit in 27 of ASU's 33 games this season…Andrew Shaps drew a pair of walks on the night and has now reached base in eight consecutive games…Gage Canning recorded his ninth and Carter Aldrete recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season…
UP NEXT: The Sun Devils will continue the series against the Cougars on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast each tilt on NBC Sports 1060 AM and100.7 KSLX HD 2. The games will also be available through the TuneIn app on TheSunDevils.com. The game will also be live streamed for free at www.pac-12.com/live.