PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball dropped the series finale against No. 15 Arizona, 9-5, Saturday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Sun Devils honored seniors Zach Cerbo and Eder Erives prior to the game, two young men who have spent the last four years with the Sun Devil program. The team also welcomed back members from the 1977 Sun Devil NCAA Championship roster, a group that included Bob Horner and Hubie Brooks as well as Pat Brock, the wife of the late Sun Devil head coach Jim Brock.
In the final game of the regular season, the Sun Devils (23-29, 8-19) could not capitalize on multiple scoring threats in the loss against the rival Wildcats. Two errors in the first three innings led to four runs and a subsequent Arizona 4-0 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Left-hander Chaz Montoya got the start on the hill for the Sun Devils, his ninth start of the season. Montoya was the starting pitcher in the Devils 14-13 midweek victory over the Wildcats on May 9th. The freshman was tagged with three runs in the first inning, allowing the only earned run of his start as the Wildcats staked claim to a 3-0 lead. Montoya would bounce back to throw a solid second inning before being relieved with one out in the third inning. The final line for Montoya rested at 2.2 innings pitched allowing four runs, only one of which was earned while walking four runs. The Devils would use a combination of five relievers to complete the game.
Offensively, the Sun Devils managed to occupy the base paths frequently, but were unable to come up with the timely hit with runners in scoring position. Outfielder Gage Canning contributed three hits to the cause, all of them extra base hits, while driving in a pair. First baseman Lyle Lin went 1-for-4 on the day, plating a pair of runs. Freshman infielder Carter Aldrete continued his strong finish the season, knocking two hits in four at bats. Catcher Nick Cheema recorded his first career hit and RBI as a Sun Devil, a double down the left field line in the ninth inning.
Arizona (36-17, 15-12) starting right-hander Cody Deason gave the Wildcats a solid outing, pounding the strike zone with command of all his pitches much of the night. The sophomore right-hander allowed just one run on eight hits in his six innings of work. Deason worked out of trouble on many occasions, utilizing his defense and locating his pitches well.
Arizona would strike first in the first inning off Devils starter Chaz Montoya. A RBI-triple from catcher Ryan Haug followed by a double from clean-up hitter Alfonso Rivas that scored Haug made it 2-0 Wildcats early. With two outs in the inning, second baseman Kyle Lewis added a run to the lead with an RBI-single to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
Arizona State looked to respond in the bottom half of the inning with Gage Canning attempting to start a rally with a lead-off double. Deason worked around the double, retiring the next three batters in order.
Montoya settled in to work around a one-out walk, throwing a scoreless second inning. An error and a walk allowed the first two batters to reach in the third inning, placing runners on the corners with no outs. Montoya limited the damage, getting the next batter to roll into a double play, but the runner scored from third to push the lead to 4-0. Right-handed reliever Ryan Hingst would relieve Montoya and retire the final batter of the inning.
The Arizona State offense would battle and get a run back in the bottom half of the third. Infielder Andrew Snow drew a one out walk and advanced to second on a Gage Canning double, putting two Devils in scoring position. Next batter, first baseman Lyle Lin delivered a deep fly ball to center, far enough to score Snow from third and cut the lead to 4-1.
Arizona added another run in the top of the fourth thanks to a RBI-double from first baseman J.J. Matijevic. Right-handed reliever Alec Marsh took over for Hingst and recorded the final two outs of the inning on one pitch, a double play limiting the damage.
With the score now 5-1, the Sun Devils threatened to cut into the lead with a pair of singles in the bottom half of the fourth. Deason got outfielder Myles Denson to pop out into foul territory to escape the jam.
Both clubs would remain scoreless thanks to strong relief effort from Alec Marsh. Marsh went 3.1 innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out three.
A walk with the bases loaded in the seventh inning would allow another Wildcat run to score, extending their lead to 6-1. The Sun Devils looked to respond with a run scoring rally of their own. Back-to-back singles from Myles Denson and Andrew Snow to lead off the inning set the table for the top of the order. Arizona reliever Rio Gomez got the Wildcats out of trouble with three consecutive outs to end the inning.
With left-handed reliever Connor Higgins on the mound, the Sun Devils prevented the Wildcats from adding to their lead with a scoreless eighth inning.
Left-handed reliever Garvin Alston and right-hander reliever James Ryan combined to complete the ninth inning, allowing three runs to make it a 9-1 contest in favor of the Wildcats.
The Sun Devils refused to go down without a fight, battling back until the very last out. Jeremy McCuin led the ninth inning off with a single to begin the comeback attempt. Pinch-hitter Nick Cheema recorded his first career hit and RBI with a line drive double down the left field line to score McCuin and cut the lead to 9-2. Gage Canning would tack on another run for the Devils with an RBI-triple to right center, driving in Andrew Snow and Cheema to reduce the lead down to 9-4. The Devils were not done rallying yet, as Lyle Lin singled up the middle to drive in Canning and trim the lead to 9-5. The next three batters were retired by reliever Tylor Megill to give the Wildcats the 9-5 victory.
NOTES: With three hits on the day, Gage Canning recorded his 10th game of the season with three or more hits…Canning's is the first Sun Devil to record double-digit games of 3+ hits in a season since Jason Kipnis in 2009 (13)…Canning also hit his 8th triple of the season, the most for a Sun Devil since Zack MacPhee hit 14 in 2010…Canning now has 14 career triples, six shy of cracking the top-five all-time career list at ASU…Carter Aldrete and Hunter Bishop each extended their hitting streak to a season-high six games…Aldrete now has 16 multi-hit games on the season, tied for second most on the team…Bishop has at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games and Andrew Snow has at least one hit in nine of his last ten games…With a pair of double plays induced on the night, the Sun Devils are now tied for the conference lead in total double plays turned…Lyle Lin notched his ninth multi-RBI game of the season, tying him with Hunter Bishop for the team lead.
The Sun Devils honored seniors Zach Cerbo and Eder Erives prior to the game, two young men who have spent the last four years with the Sun Devil program. The team also welcomed back members from the 1977 Sun Devil NCAA Championship roster, a group that included Bob Horner and Hubie Brooks as well as Pat Brock, the wife of the late Sun Devil head coach Jim Brock.
In the final game of the regular season, the Sun Devils (23-29, 8-19) could not capitalize on multiple scoring threats in the loss against the rival Wildcats. Two errors in the first three innings led to four runs and a subsequent Arizona 4-0 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Left-hander Chaz Montoya got the start on the hill for the Sun Devils, his ninth start of the season. Montoya was the starting pitcher in the Devils 14-13 midweek victory over the Wildcats on May 9th. The freshman was tagged with three runs in the first inning, allowing the only earned run of his start as the Wildcats staked claim to a 3-0 lead. Montoya would bounce back to throw a solid second inning before being relieved with one out in the third inning. The final line for Montoya rested at 2.2 innings pitched allowing four runs, only one of which was earned while walking four runs. The Devils would use a combination of five relievers to complete the game.
Offensively, the Sun Devils managed to occupy the base paths frequently, but were unable to come up with the timely hit with runners in scoring position. Outfielder Gage Canning contributed three hits to the cause, all of them extra base hits, while driving in a pair. First baseman Lyle Lin went 1-for-4 on the day, plating a pair of runs. Freshman infielder Carter Aldrete continued his strong finish the season, knocking two hits in four at bats. Catcher Nick Cheema recorded his first career hit and RBI as a Sun Devil, a double down the left field line in the ninth inning.
Arizona (36-17, 15-12) starting right-hander Cody Deason gave the Wildcats a solid outing, pounding the strike zone with command of all his pitches much of the night. The sophomore right-hander allowed just one run on eight hits in his six innings of work. Deason worked out of trouble on many occasions, utilizing his defense and locating his pitches well.
Arizona would strike first in the first inning off Devils starter Chaz Montoya. A RBI-triple from catcher Ryan Haug followed by a double from clean-up hitter Alfonso Rivas that scored Haug made it 2-0 Wildcats early. With two outs in the inning, second baseman Kyle Lewis added a run to the lead with an RBI-single to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
Arizona State looked to respond in the bottom half of the inning with Gage Canning attempting to start a rally with a lead-off double. Deason worked around the double, retiring the next three batters in order.
Montoya settled in to work around a one-out walk, throwing a scoreless second inning. An error and a walk allowed the first two batters to reach in the third inning, placing runners on the corners with no outs. Montoya limited the damage, getting the next batter to roll into a double play, but the runner scored from third to push the lead to 4-0. Right-handed reliever Ryan Hingst would relieve Montoya and retire the final batter of the inning.
The Arizona State offense would battle and get a run back in the bottom half of the third. Infielder Andrew Snow drew a one out walk and advanced to second on a Gage Canning double, putting two Devils in scoring position. Next batter, first baseman Lyle Lin delivered a deep fly ball to center, far enough to score Snow from third and cut the lead to 4-1.
Arizona added another run in the top of the fourth thanks to a RBI-double from first baseman J.J. Matijevic. Right-handed reliever Alec Marsh took over for Hingst and recorded the final two outs of the inning on one pitch, a double play limiting the damage.
With the score now 5-1, the Sun Devils threatened to cut into the lead with a pair of singles in the bottom half of the fourth. Deason got outfielder Myles Denson to pop out into foul territory to escape the jam.
Both clubs would remain scoreless thanks to strong relief effort from Alec Marsh. Marsh went 3.1 innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out three.
A walk with the bases loaded in the seventh inning would allow another Wildcat run to score, extending their lead to 6-1. The Sun Devils looked to respond with a run scoring rally of their own. Back-to-back singles from Myles Denson and Andrew Snow to lead off the inning set the table for the top of the order. Arizona reliever Rio Gomez got the Wildcats out of trouble with three consecutive outs to end the inning.
With left-handed reliever Connor Higgins on the mound, the Sun Devils prevented the Wildcats from adding to their lead with a scoreless eighth inning.
Left-handed reliever Garvin Alston and right-hander reliever James Ryan combined to complete the ninth inning, allowing three runs to make it a 9-1 contest in favor of the Wildcats.
The Sun Devils refused to go down without a fight, battling back until the very last out. Jeremy McCuin led the ninth inning off with a single to begin the comeback attempt. Pinch-hitter Nick Cheema recorded his first career hit and RBI with a line drive double down the left field line to score McCuin and cut the lead to 9-2. Gage Canning would tack on another run for the Devils with an RBI-triple to right center, driving in Andrew Snow and Cheema to reduce the lead down to 9-4. The Devils were not done rallying yet, as Lyle Lin singled up the middle to drive in Canning and trim the lead to 9-5. The next three batters were retired by reliever Tylor Megill to give the Wildcats the 9-5 victory.
NOTES: With three hits on the day, Gage Canning recorded his 10th game of the season with three or more hits…Canning's is the first Sun Devil to record double-digit games of 3+ hits in a season since Jason Kipnis in 2009 (13)…Canning also hit his 8th triple of the season, the most for a Sun Devil since Zack MacPhee hit 14 in 2010…Canning now has 14 career triples, six shy of cracking the top-five all-time career list at ASU…Carter Aldrete and Hunter Bishop each extended their hitting streak to a season-high six games…Aldrete now has 16 multi-hit games on the season, tied for second most on the team…Bishop has at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games and Andrew Snow has at least one hit in nine of his last ten games…With a pair of double plays induced on the night, the Sun Devils are now tied for the conference lead in total double plays turned…Lyle Lin notched his ninth multi-RBI game of the season, tying him with Hunter Bishop for the team lead.