PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball dropped a tightly contested tilt against #15 Arizona, 6-5, on Thursday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State (23-27, 8-17) fought back from several deficits, keeping the game competitive to the final out.
Designated hitter Zach Cerbo and outfielder Gage Canning each hit towering home runs, their fourth and sixth of the season, respectively, to pace the Sun Devil offense. A pair of freshmen, infielder Carter Aldrete and outfielder Hunter Bishop, added multi-hit games.
Right-hander Eder Erives got his sixth start for the Sun Devils and had command of his pitches early. The righty kept a dangerous Arizona offense off the board through the first three innings, mixing his speeds and pitches well, helping him create weak contact. Some tough luck and defensive miscues helped the Wildcats score three runs over the fourth and fifth innings. With the Devils trailing 3-0, Erives would continue to battle, pitching into the seventh. Erives finished with a final line of 6.0 innings pitched, allowing six runs, only three of which were earned.
Arizona (34-17, 13-12) starting left-hander and ace JC Cloney kept the Devils off balance early in the game while pounding the strike zone. The Devils offense finally scratched a run across against Cloney in the fourth, adding two more in the fifth to tie the game at three. Cloney would pitch into the sixth before being removed with a runner in scoring position and one out. The final line on Cloney closed at 5.1 innings pitched, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven. The Sun Devils started to see Cloney better as the game went on, as he struggled locating later in the game leading to a walk in each of his final three full innings of work.
In a bit of a deviation from the previous game the two teams played last Tuesday, a 14-13 Sun Devils victory, both teams remained scoreless through the first three innings of the game. The Wildcats would strike first off Erives in the fourth. Leadoff batter Cal Stevenson reached on a double to center field that Canning lost in the sky. Stevenson would later score on a similar play, as a pop up hit by clean-up hitter Alfonso Rivas fell in no-man's land to score Stevenson and spot the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Sun Devils would answer right back in the bottom of the fourth after falling behind for the first time. Cerbo drew a one-out walk and Aldrete followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Infielder Andrew Snow lifted a ball deep enough to right to score Cerbo from third without a throw to knot the game up at one.
With the contest now tied, Arizona would retake the lead in the top half of the fifth inning. Wildcats first baseman J.J. Matijevic drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double off the right field wall to put the Wildcats ahead 3-1.
The lead would not last long, as the Devils would respond immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Canning cut the lead in half with one swing of the bat, a drive to right-center field that bounced on top of the scoreboard beyond the right-center field fence to make it a 3-2 ballgame. A walk from infielder Taylor Lane and singles from Bishop and Cerbo loaded the bases with two outs. Cloney spiked one in the dirt with Cerbo alertly sprinting home once the ball bounced away from catcher Cesar Salazar, tying the game back up at 3.
It would remain tied at three until the seventh, when Erives would take the bump again after a 1-2-3 sixth inning. After the first three runners reached base in the inning, left-hander Connor Higgins took over looking to get the Sun Devils out of the jam. Higgins would face Wildcats three-hitter J.J. Matijevic, who had drove in a pair of runs earlier with a double. Higgins would be unfazed by the pressure, striking out the All-American candidate on three pitches for a big first out. Solid execution on a squeeze bunt and aggressive baserunning allowed two Arizona runs to score as they would retake the lead, 5-3. Another run would be tacked on after a fielding error, pushing the Wildcat lead to 6-3.
Despite trailing and running out of outs, the Sun Devils never quit, chipping away at the lead. Cerbo stepped up in his final Territorial Cup Series, launching a two-strike delivery from Wildcats reliever Michael Flynn off the batter's eye in center field to trim the lead to 6-4.
Relievers Grant Schneider and Garvin Alston combined to keep the Wildcats from adding to their lead, holding them scoreless over the final two innings.
Arizona State would have one final opportunity to come back, trailing 6-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. A bunt single from Hunter Bishop put a runner on base to lead off the inning and created some momentum for the Sun Devil offense. Down to the last out, Carter Aldrete singled to center to place runners on the corners. A passed ball on the next pitched allowed Bishop to score from third and Aldrete to move up to second, making it a 6-5 contest. Andrew Snow would pop out to the second baseman to end the threat and the game by a final of 6-5.
NOTES: Carter Aldrete recorded his second three-hit game of the season and 15th multi-hit game of the season…With a home run and two more hits tonight, Zach Cerbo has now reached base in 10 straight contests…After a 2-for-5 day at the plate for Hunter Bishop, he now has a hit in nine of his last 10 games…Reliever Garvin Alston has allowed one run in his last five innings pitched…Adding two more hits on the evening, Carter Aldrete has now recorded multiple hits in six of his last nine games…
Arizona State (23-27, 8-17) fought back from several deficits, keeping the game competitive to the final out.
Designated hitter Zach Cerbo and outfielder Gage Canning each hit towering home runs, their fourth and sixth of the season, respectively, to pace the Sun Devil offense. A pair of freshmen, infielder Carter Aldrete and outfielder Hunter Bishop, added multi-hit games.
Right-hander Eder Erives got his sixth start for the Sun Devils and had command of his pitches early. The righty kept a dangerous Arizona offense off the board through the first three innings, mixing his speeds and pitches well, helping him create weak contact. Some tough luck and defensive miscues helped the Wildcats score three runs over the fourth and fifth innings. With the Devils trailing 3-0, Erives would continue to battle, pitching into the seventh. Erives finished with a final line of 6.0 innings pitched, allowing six runs, only three of which were earned.
Arizona (34-17, 13-12) starting left-hander and ace JC Cloney kept the Devils off balance early in the game while pounding the strike zone. The Devils offense finally scratched a run across against Cloney in the fourth, adding two more in the fifth to tie the game at three. Cloney would pitch into the sixth before being removed with a runner in scoring position and one out. The final line on Cloney closed at 5.1 innings pitched, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven. The Sun Devils started to see Cloney better as the game went on, as he struggled locating later in the game leading to a walk in each of his final three full innings of work.
In a bit of a deviation from the previous game the two teams played last Tuesday, a 14-13 Sun Devils victory, both teams remained scoreless through the first three innings of the game. The Wildcats would strike first off Erives in the fourth. Leadoff batter Cal Stevenson reached on a double to center field that Canning lost in the sky. Stevenson would later score on a similar play, as a pop up hit by clean-up hitter Alfonso Rivas fell in no-man's land to score Stevenson and spot the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Sun Devils would answer right back in the bottom of the fourth after falling behind for the first time. Cerbo drew a one-out walk and Aldrete followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Infielder Andrew Snow lifted a ball deep enough to right to score Cerbo from third without a throw to knot the game up at one.
With the contest now tied, Arizona would retake the lead in the top half of the fifth inning. Wildcats first baseman J.J. Matijevic drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double off the right field wall to put the Wildcats ahead 3-1.
The lead would not last long, as the Devils would respond immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Canning cut the lead in half with one swing of the bat, a drive to right-center field that bounced on top of the scoreboard beyond the right-center field fence to make it a 3-2 ballgame. A walk from infielder Taylor Lane and singles from Bishop and Cerbo loaded the bases with two outs. Cloney spiked one in the dirt with Cerbo alertly sprinting home once the ball bounced away from catcher Cesar Salazar, tying the game back up at 3.
It would remain tied at three until the seventh, when Erives would take the bump again after a 1-2-3 sixth inning. After the first three runners reached base in the inning, left-hander Connor Higgins took over looking to get the Sun Devils out of the jam. Higgins would face Wildcats three-hitter J.J. Matijevic, who had drove in a pair of runs earlier with a double. Higgins would be unfazed by the pressure, striking out the All-American candidate on three pitches for a big first out. Solid execution on a squeeze bunt and aggressive baserunning allowed two Arizona runs to score as they would retake the lead, 5-3. Another run would be tacked on after a fielding error, pushing the Wildcat lead to 6-3.
Despite trailing and running out of outs, the Sun Devils never quit, chipping away at the lead. Cerbo stepped up in his final Territorial Cup Series, launching a two-strike delivery from Wildcats reliever Michael Flynn off the batter's eye in center field to trim the lead to 6-4.
Relievers Grant Schneider and Garvin Alston combined to keep the Wildcats from adding to their lead, holding them scoreless over the final two innings.
Arizona State would have one final opportunity to come back, trailing 6-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. A bunt single from Hunter Bishop put a runner on base to lead off the inning and created some momentum for the Sun Devil offense. Down to the last out, Carter Aldrete singled to center to place runners on the corners. A passed ball on the next pitched allowed Bishop to score from third and Aldrete to move up to second, making it a 6-5 contest. Andrew Snow would pop out to the second baseman to end the threat and the game by a final of 6-5.
NOTES: Carter Aldrete recorded his second three-hit game of the season and 15th multi-hit game of the season…With a home run and two more hits tonight, Zach Cerbo has now reached base in 10 straight contests…After a 2-for-5 day at the plate for Hunter Bishop, he now has a hit in nine of his last 10 games…Reliever Garvin Alston has allowed one run in his last five innings pitched…Adding two more hits on the evening, Carter Aldrete has now recorded multiple hits in six of his last nine games…