TUCSON – The Sun Devil Baseball team twice rebounded from game-tying three-run home runs from in-state rival and 13th-ranked Arizona, coming away with a 14-13 victory in a thriller on Tuesday night in Tucson.
Carter Aldrete and Tyler Williams each had career-high four-RBI games while every member of the Sun Devil starting lineup finished with at least one hit and one run. Williams had a double and a triple and two stolen bases while also drawing an RBI hit-by-pitch to kick off a four-run inning in the decisive ninth.
Williams would also bounce back from an error in left field earlier in the contest to make a game-saving snag in the ninth on a long fly ball from Arizona's Jared Oliva before sprinting to nearly center field to make the final out of the contest.
Lyle Lin had a career-best four hits on 4-of-6 hitting while Hunter Bishop was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and drawing two intentional walks as he reached base in his final five plate appearances of the game.
The Sun Devils scored four runs in the ninth inning after Arizona tied things up at 10-10 in the bottom of the eighth on Nick Quintana's three-run blast. ASU would need all four of the runs, the final coming on a Jeremy McCuin sacrifice fly as the Wildcats stormed back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the ninth before Eder Erives induced the game-ending flyout to earn his first victory of the season.
Chaz Montoya got the start for the Devils, going 4.1 solid innings as he allowed just three earned runs against a potent Wildcat offense, striking out five. Alec Marsh spelled Montoya in the fifth inning, giving the Devils much needed middle relief as he matched his career-long outing at 3.0 IP.After stranding five through the first two innings, the Devils finally capitalized in the top of the third. Bishop singled and moved to third following a stolen base and field error and put ASU on the board behind a Tyler Williams triple for the early 1-0 advantage.
The Devils kept their foot on the pedal in the fourth, scoring a pair on a Lyle Lin two-out RBI single for a 3-0 edge.
The Wildcats threatened in the bottom half of the fourth, plating a pair to open the frame on a single and fielding error by the ASU defense. Montoya limited the damage to just a single unearned run in the frame however, making a nice play on a force out at third following an attempted sac bunt before getting a strikeout and fielder's choice to end the threat.
The Devils backed their starter up with another run in the top of the fifth, as Canning plated Aldrete with a two-out single to make it a 4-0 ball game.
The Wildcats would tie things up on a three run homer in the bottom half of the frame before the Sun Devils unleashed with a five-run sixth inning with a little help from a two-RBI triple from Bishop and a two-RBI double from Aldrete later in the frame.
After Arizona picked up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to three, Williams picked up his third RBI of the game in the top of the seventh to make it 10-6.
The Wildcats stormed back with a four-run eighth inning, capped by Quintana's three-run blast to make it a new game heading into the ninth.
Taylor Lane walked and Lyle Lin singled to set up an intentional walk for Hunter Bishop, loading the bases for Williams. Williams wore the 2-2 pitch of his at bat off the hand for an RBI hit by pitch. Two batters later, Aldrete laced a single up the middle to score to more before McCuin followed thing with his sac fly to make it 14-10.
The Wildcats brought the game-winning run to the plate in the bottom half of the inning but Erives was able to escape the jam to earn the victory.
NOTES: Zach Cerbo had a career best four walks in the contest…Taylor Lane improved his hitting streak to seven games – the longest of his career…Lyle Lin had his fourth game of the season with three or more hits, moving him into a tie for seventh among all ASU freshmen since 2000…Carter Aldrete had a career-high four RBI in the game, his fourth game this season with three or more RBIs…No other Sun Devil has more than two such games…Tyler Williams had a career best four RBIs as well…Prior to the game, ASU had just two players all SEASON with four RBIs in a game, let alone two in the same game…Every member of the Sun Devil lineup had at least one hit and one run scored in the game…The Sun Devils have 31 runs in their last three games, all against a top-15 ranked team…The previous three-game best was 28 runs (Washington State, UNLV, CSU Bakersfield)…
UP NEXT: The Sun Devils head to Seattle for a weekend series against Washington...The game will get underway Friday evening at 6 p.m. PT...The tilt will be aired on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM in Phoenix with Tim Healey and Max Rossiter on the call...