SALT LAKE CITY – Sun Devil Baseball dropped a close match that saw four lead changes in their final game of the season against the University of Utah, 11-10, on Sunday afternoon at Smith's Ballpark.
The Sun Devils (23-32, 8-22) jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind a pair of monster home runs from a couple of freshmen.
Rightfielder Hunter Bishop got things going in the top of the first inning with his one-out blast to straightaway center field, a two-run long ball that went over 430 feet to get ASU on the board.
Utah centerfielder DeShawn Keirsey, Jr. was involved in a scary collision with the outfield wall as he attempted to track the ball, injuring his hip, leading to a 30-minute delay in the contest while he was attended to and eventually removed from the field via ambulance.
After the delay, designated hitter Nick Cheema followed Bishop's effort in the top of the second with an absolutely mammoth bomb to left center that traveled well over 450 feet for his first career homer in his second career start.
The Devils added to their lead with a four-run third inning that was aided by a pair of Ute errors to take a 7-0 advantage.
Utah came storming back in the bottom half of the frame, however, batting around the order and adding a grand slam to square things up at 7-7.
The Devils would retake the lead in the top of the sixth as Spencer Van Scoyoc scored off a wild pitch a couple of plays after recording his first collegiate hit -- a single -- as the Devils went up 8-7.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Utah took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the seventh, plating two on an infield single in a dramatic play at the plate and some aggressive base running. Despite being called out originally because it was ruled he did not touch the plate, the Utah baserunner was called safe following a conference among the umpires to give the Utes a 9-8 lead.
ASU came roaring back in the top of the eighth as Nick Cheema knocked and infield single and pinch runner Garvin Alston Jr. scored from first on an Andrew Snow doubled immediately after that to knot the score at 9.
Jeremy McCuin moved Snow to third with a sac bunt before coming home on a single to center from pinch hitter Myles Denson to retake the lead, 10-9.
Utah threatened in the bottom half of the inning, putting two on with no outs and prompting a call to the pen for Reagan Todd. The lefty promptly issued a double play and a groundout to escape the jam and keep the Devils on top.
The Devils would go down quickly in order in the top of the ninth frame, prompting Todd back out for another inning of work. Running into trouble early on, Todd allowed four straight Utes to reach base to again even the score.
Already past the designated drop dead time and unable to start a new inning, the game could only end in a tie or with a Utah victory. Unfortunately, the latter happened when the Utes laced a first pitch single through the ride side, scoring the game winning run and sealing the 11-10 walk-off loss for the Devils.
The Sun Devils (23-32, 8-22) jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind a pair of monster home runs from a couple of freshmen.
Rightfielder Hunter Bishop got things going in the top of the first inning with his one-out blast to straightaway center field, a two-run long ball that went over 430 feet to get ASU on the board.
Utah centerfielder DeShawn Keirsey, Jr. was involved in a scary collision with the outfield wall as he attempted to track the ball, injuring his hip, leading to a 30-minute delay in the contest while he was attended to and eventually removed from the field via ambulance.
After the delay, designated hitter Nick Cheema followed Bishop's effort in the top of the second with an absolutely mammoth bomb to left center that traveled well over 450 feet for his first career homer in his second career start.
The Devils added to their lead with a four-run third inning that was aided by a pair of Ute errors to take a 7-0 advantage.
Utah came storming back in the bottom half of the frame, however, batting around the order and adding a grand slam to square things up at 7-7.
The Devils would retake the lead in the top of the sixth as Spencer Van Scoyoc scored off a wild pitch a couple of plays after recording his first collegiate hit -- a single -- as the Devils went up 8-7.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Utah took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the seventh, plating two on an infield single in a dramatic play at the plate and some aggressive base running. Despite being called out originally because it was ruled he did not touch the plate, the Utah baserunner was called safe following a conference among the umpires to give the Utes a 9-8 lead.
ASU came roaring back in the top of the eighth as Nick Cheema knocked and infield single and pinch runner Garvin Alston Jr. scored from first on an Andrew Snow doubled immediately after that to knot the score at 9.
Jeremy McCuin moved Snow to third with a sac bunt before coming home on a single to center from pinch hitter Myles Denson to retake the lead, 10-9.
Utah threatened in the bottom half of the inning, putting two on with no outs and prompting a call to the pen for Reagan Todd. The lefty promptly issued a double play and a groundout to escape the jam and keep the Devils on top.
The Devils would go down quickly in order in the top of the ninth frame, prompting Todd back out for another inning of work. Running into trouble early on, Todd allowed four straight Utes to reach base to again even the score.
Already past the designated drop dead time and unable to start a new inning, the game could only end in a tie or with a Utah victory. Unfortunately, the latter happened when the Utes laced a first pitch single through the ride side, scoring the game winning run and sealing the 11-10 walk-off loss for the Devils.