PHOENIX – Late game heroics from Taylor Lane and Lyle Lin helped propel the Sun Devil Baseball team past UCLA, 5-4, on Saturday night in Phoenix, Ariz.
Lane, batting clean-up for the first time this season, went 3-for-4 on the evening and drove in the winning run in the seventh inning while Lin went 2-for-3 with his first career homer - sparking the Sun Devil rally twice in the contest with clutch two-out hitting. The duo finished the day 5-of-7 with three RBIs and two runs scored while ASU as a team was 7-of-15 with two outs with all of their runs coming of the two-out rally variety.
Chaz Montoya made his second career start for the Sun Devils and pitched another gem, going a career-high 6.1 innings pitched with three strikeouts and no walks on an evening where he didn't face a single three-ball count. Montoya allowed just three earned runs in the effort to earn the first quality start of his career as well.
Eder Erives came in in the bottom of the eighth, helping ASU escape a huge jam in the frame en route to the six-out save – his second save of the season.
It was a pitcher's duel early in the contest with Montoya and UCLA starter Moises Ceja trading zeros for five straight innings to open things up. The scoreless tie was broken in the middle of the sixth inning by third baseman Ryan Kreidler, as UCLA took the lead on his RBI single to break up the shutout. The run ended a streak of 17.1 consecutive innings in which Montoya had not allowed a run.
Lin responding in bottom of the sixth with two outs with his first career homer and that was just the spark the Sun Devils needed. Lane followed with a single to right field and stole second to keep the two-out rally going. A triple to right field by Ryan Lillard plated Lane to give the Devils the lead, 2-1.
Left-hander Connor Higgins came in to relieve Chaz Montoya in the top of the seventh inning after a pair of leadoff singles from the southpaw. The Bruins took the lead, however, with back-to-back doubles off of Higgins to score Michael Toglia and Nick Kern, bringing the score to 4-2.
The Sun Devils refused to go quietly into the night and mounted another two-out rally to start chipping away at the lead. With Tyler Williams on first and Carter Aldrete on third, Andrew Shaps hit a single to the left field that brought Aldrete home to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Lin followed that with a single of his own right at the first baseball that caromed into right field and gave Williams the chance to take home to tie the game at 4-4.
Lane's big night continued as he knocked a sharply hit ball past a diving third baseman to bring Shaps home and give ASU the lead, 5-4, after seven innings.
The Bruins battled back in the top of the eighth with a pair of singles with no outs, prompting Erives' entry into the game. The senior lefty induced a flyout to center for the first out and followed that by helping turn a 1-6-3 double play to negate the run coming home from third and get out of the inning unscathed.
Erives came back out to the bump in the bottom of the ninth looking to protect the one run lead , stranding a one-out walk as Lane caught a foul out that would end the game without much theatrics and bringing about tomorrow's rubber match at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 12:30 p.m.
UP NEXT: The two teams will compete for the series victory in tomorrow's rubber match at 12:30 p.m. PT. Fans will be able to the contest via the Pac-12 Network Live Stream, available for free at http://pac-12.com/live/. The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast the finale on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM and 100.7 KSLX HD 2.
NOTES: Lyle Lin has now reached base in 24 of his 25 games this year after reaching base three times for the second consecutive night…Lin has now reached base in 11 consecutive games, his second on-base streak of 10+ games in the first 25 games…Lin also extended his hitting streak to a career-long eight games…Lin is the first freshman since AT LEAST 2000 to have multiple hits in 12 of his first 25 games as a Sun Devil…His 12 multi-hit games are six more than any other Sun Devil his six multi-RBI games are three more than any of his teammates….Lin has a team-leading eight two-out RBIs this season Gage Canning now has a five-game hitting streak…Zach Cerbo through out two runners attempting to steal a base on Saturday, moving his season total to six – good for first on the team and tied for third in the Pac-12….Montoya's streak of 17.1 consecutive innings without allowing a run came to an end in the sixth inning tonight…Connor Higgins earned his second win in the last three games, and had his streak of 9.1 innings without allowing an earned run come to an end on the evening…Each of Eder Erives' last two outings have resulted in multi-inning saves, a 3.1 IP effort against USC followed tonight's six-out variety….Taylor Lane is now batting .467 in Pac-12 action (7-of-15) after having just eight hits total in non-conference action….
Join the conversation all season
Twitter: @ASU_Baseball | Facebook: Sun Devil Baseball | Instagram: ASU_Baseball
2017 Season Tickets
Sun Devil Baseball season tickets are on sale now, and fans can purchase by calling 480-965-5812 or click here for more information and to purchase
5-Game Mini Plans
This plan allows fans to choose five (5) games in the 2017 season to create their own customized schedule. Click here for more information and to purchase.
Flex Plans
This plan gives fans the ultimate flexibility with eight (8) vouchers redeemable for tickets to any home game. Fans can use all nine tickets at one game, or one ticket at nine different games; simply present your voucher to the ticket office whenever you decide to attend. Tickets are at a 20-33 percent discount and in the Infield Reserved Seating sections. Click here for more information and to purchase.
Single-Game Tickets
Single-game tickets for the team's non-conference slate are on sale now. Call 480-727-0000 or click here for more information and to purchase.
Lane, batting clean-up for the first time this season, went 3-for-4 on the evening and drove in the winning run in the seventh inning while Lin went 2-for-3 with his first career homer - sparking the Sun Devil rally twice in the contest with clutch two-out hitting. The duo finished the day 5-of-7 with three RBIs and two runs scored while ASU as a team was 7-of-15 with two outs with all of their runs coming of the two-out rally variety.
Chaz Montoya made his second career start for the Sun Devils and pitched another gem, going a career-high 6.1 innings pitched with three strikeouts and no walks on an evening where he didn't face a single three-ball count. Montoya allowed just three earned runs in the effort to earn the first quality start of his career as well.
Eder Erives came in in the bottom of the eighth, helping ASU escape a huge jam in the frame en route to the six-out save – his second save of the season.
It was a pitcher's duel early in the contest with Montoya and UCLA starter Moises Ceja trading zeros for five straight innings to open things up. The scoreless tie was broken in the middle of the sixth inning by third baseman Ryan Kreidler, as UCLA took the lead on his RBI single to break up the shutout. The run ended a streak of 17.1 consecutive innings in which Montoya had not allowed a run.
Lin responding in bottom of the sixth with two outs with his first career homer and that was just the spark the Sun Devils needed. Lane followed with a single to right field and stole second to keep the two-out rally going. A triple to right field by Ryan Lillard plated Lane to give the Devils the lead, 2-1.
Left-hander Connor Higgins came in to relieve Chaz Montoya in the top of the seventh inning after a pair of leadoff singles from the southpaw. The Bruins took the lead, however, with back-to-back doubles off of Higgins to score Michael Toglia and Nick Kern, bringing the score to 4-2.
The Sun Devils refused to go quietly into the night and mounted another two-out rally to start chipping away at the lead. With Tyler Williams on first and Carter Aldrete on third, Andrew Shaps hit a single to the left field that brought Aldrete home to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Lin followed that with a single of his own right at the first baseball that caromed into right field and gave Williams the chance to take home to tie the game at 4-4.
Lane's big night continued as he knocked a sharply hit ball past a diving third baseman to bring Shaps home and give ASU the lead, 5-4, after seven innings.
The Bruins battled back in the top of the eighth with a pair of singles with no outs, prompting Erives' entry into the game. The senior lefty induced a flyout to center for the first out and followed that by helping turn a 1-6-3 double play to negate the run coming home from third and get out of the inning unscathed.
Erives came back out to the bump in the bottom of the ninth looking to protect the one run lead , stranding a one-out walk as Lane caught a foul out that would end the game without much theatrics and bringing about tomorrow's rubber match at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 12:30 p.m.
UP NEXT: The two teams will compete for the series victory in tomorrow's rubber match at 12:30 p.m. PT. Fans will be able to the contest via the Pac-12 Network Live Stream, available for free at http://pac-12.com/live/. The Sun Devil Sports Radio Network is scheduled to broadcast the finale on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM and 100.7 KSLX HD 2.
NOTES: Lyle Lin has now reached base in 24 of his 25 games this year after reaching base three times for the second consecutive night…Lin has now reached base in 11 consecutive games, his second on-base streak of 10+ games in the first 25 games…Lin also extended his hitting streak to a career-long eight games…Lin is the first freshman since AT LEAST 2000 to have multiple hits in 12 of his first 25 games as a Sun Devil…His 12 multi-hit games are six more than any other Sun Devil his six multi-RBI games are three more than any of his teammates….Lin has a team-leading eight two-out RBIs this season Gage Canning now has a five-game hitting streak…Zach Cerbo through out two runners attempting to steal a base on Saturday, moving his season total to six – good for first on the team and tied for third in the Pac-12….Montoya's streak of 17.1 consecutive innings without allowing a run came to an end in the sixth inning tonight…Connor Higgins earned his second win in the last three games, and had his streak of 9.1 innings without allowing an earned run come to an end on the evening…Each of Eder Erives' last two outings have resulted in multi-inning saves, a 3.1 IP effort against USC followed tonight's six-out variety….Taylor Lane is now batting .467 in Pac-12 action (7-of-15) after having just eight hits total in non-conference action….
Join the conversation all season
Twitter: @ASU_Baseball | Facebook: Sun Devil Baseball | Instagram: ASU_Baseball
2017 Season Tickets
Sun Devil Baseball season tickets are on sale now, and fans can purchase by calling 480-965-5812 or click here for more information and to purchase
5-Game Mini Plans
This plan allows fans to choose five (5) games in the 2017 season to create their own customized schedule. Click here for more information and to purchase.
Flex Plans
This plan gives fans the ultimate flexibility with eight (8) vouchers redeemable for tickets to any home game. Fans can use all nine tickets at one game, or one ticket at nine different games; simply present your voucher to the ticket office whenever you decide to attend. Tickets are at a 20-33 percent discount and in the Infield Reserved Seating sections. Click here for more information and to purchase.
Single-Game Tickets
Single-game tickets for the team's non-conference slate are on sale now. Call 480-727-0000 or click here for more information and to purchase.