PHOENIX – The Sun Devil baseball team fell to No. 13 Stanford, 7-5, in a tightly contested first game of the weekend series Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State (19-23, 6-13 Pac-12) fought back from several deficits over the course of the game, only to come up on the short end of the 7-5 final score.
Outfielder Andrew Shaps paced the offense for the Sun Devils, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks and a home run off the batter's eye in center field. Outfielder Gage Canning, infielders Carter Aldrete and Taylor Lane, and designated hitter Tyler Williams all contributed multi-hit games.
Right-hander Eder Erives got the start for the Sun Devils, his fourth of the season. Erives struggled to find a groove early in the contest, giving way to right-handed reliever Jake Godfrey after allowing two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings pitched.
Stanford (29-12) starting left-hander Kris Bubic held the Devils scoreless through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third. Bubic would not factor into the decision however, exiting the game after just three innings, allowing one run on four hits and walking three batters.
The Cardinal would strike first in the game, scoring one run in each of the first three innings off three different Sun Devil pitchers. Jake Godfrey would relieve the starter Erives in the second inning, getting the final two outs of the inning and completing his night. Right-handed reliever Ryan Hingst would take over for Godfrey to start the third with the Devils trailing 2-0. Hingst would allow an unearned run in the third, but settled into the game and provided a rest for the Sun Devil pitching staff with crucial innings.
Trailing Stanford 3-0, the Devils would get a run back in the bottom half of the third. Shaps led off the inning with a single followed by a walk drawn by first baseman Lyle Lin. A one-out walk from outfielder Hunter Bishop loaded the bases for the red-hot Taylor Lane. Lane delivered in a run-scoring situation, lifting a fly ball deep enough to right to score Shaps from third to get the Devils on the board.
Arizona State would continue to chip away at the Stanford lead in the fourth inning. After Hingst posted the first zero of the game on the score board in the top half of the inning, the Sun Devil offense carried the momentum over into the bottom half. Stanford right-hander Will Matthiessen came on in relief of starter Kris Bubic and quickly retired the first two batters. Gage Canning would not allow for a quick inning, as he launched a 1-0 delivery from the Cardinal right-hander well over the right-center field wall for a home run to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Stanford offense would immediately respond to the Sun Devil rally with a big inning. A pair of two-out singles and a three-run home run by first baseman Matt Winaker pushed the Stanford lead to 6-2.
Despite the big inning, the Arizona State offense was not deterred in their comeback attempt. Carter Aldrete led off the inning with a single, but the next two batters of the inning were retired. In need of a clutch two-out hit, Tyler Williams came through with a RBI-double to right field to score Aldrete and trim the Cardinal lead to 6-3.
Stanford added a solo home run in the top of the sixth to push the lead to 7-3, the last run they would manage off Sun Devil relievers. The Arizona State offense would continue to apply pressure to try to mount a late-inning comeback. A single from Tyler Williams and a stolen base placed a runner in scoring position with two-outs in the bottom of the seventh. The senior catcher Zach Cerbo came through in a big spot for the Sun Devils, lacing a single up the middle to make it a 7-4 ballgame.
Down just three runs in the eighth inning, the top of the lineup looked to provide a spark for a Sun Devil rally. They found that spark in the form of a solo home run from Andrew Shaps, reducing the Cardinal lead to 7-5.
Left-hander Garvin Alston would relieve Hingst and pitch the top of the ninth. Alston retired the Cardinal 1-2-3 to keep the offense within striking distance headed to the bottom of the ninth. The Sun Devils managed to put the first two runners on off Cardinal closer Colton Hock, but a strikeout and a double play ended the rally for Arizona State as they fell 7-5.
NOTES: Totaling three hits on the night, Andrew Shaps extended his hitting streak to eight games and now has reached base in 18 straight games…With his solo home run in the eighth inning, Andrew Shaps now has 5 home runs on the season after hitting just two in his two previous seasons with the program…Andrew Shaps recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season…After adding two more hits today, Taylor Lane is now 7-for-15 (.467) in his last four starts…Gage Canning launched his career-high fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning…Canning now has 16 multi-hit games on the season…Making his first appearance since April 4th, Garvin Alston retired the side 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
Arizona State (19-23, 6-13 Pac-12) fought back from several deficits over the course of the game, only to come up on the short end of the 7-5 final score.
Outfielder Andrew Shaps paced the offense for the Sun Devils, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks and a home run off the batter's eye in center field. Outfielder Gage Canning, infielders Carter Aldrete and Taylor Lane, and designated hitter Tyler Williams all contributed multi-hit games.
Right-hander Eder Erives got the start for the Sun Devils, his fourth of the season. Erives struggled to find a groove early in the contest, giving way to right-handed reliever Jake Godfrey after allowing two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings pitched.
Stanford (29-12) starting left-hander Kris Bubic held the Devils scoreless through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third. Bubic would not factor into the decision however, exiting the game after just three innings, allowing one run on four hits and walking three batters.
The Cardinal would strike first in the game, scoring one run in each of the first three innings off three different Sun Devil pitchers. Jake Godfrey would relieve the starter Erives in the second inning, getting the final two outs of the inning and completing his night. Right-handed reliever Ryan Hingst would take over for Godfrey to start the third with the Devils trailing 2-0. Hingst would allow an unearned run in the third, but settled into the game and provided a rest for the Sun Devil pitching staff with crucial innings.
Trailing Stanford 3-0, the Devils would get a run back in the bottom half of the third. Shaps led off the inning with a single followed by a walk drawn by first baseman Lyle Lin. A one-out walk from outfielder Hunter Bishop loaded the bases for the red-hot Taylor Lane. Lane delivered in a run-scoring situation, lifting a fly ball deep enough to right to score Shaps from third to get the Devils on the board.
Arizona State would continue to chip away at the Stanford lead in the fourth inning. After Hingst posted the first zero of the game on the score board in the top half of the inning, the Sun Devil offense carried the momentum over into the bottom half. Stanford right-hander Will Matthiessen came on in relief of starter Kris Bubic and quickly retired the first two batters. Gage Canning would not allow for a quick inning, as he launched a 1-0 delivery from the Cardinal right-hander well over the right-center field wall for a home run to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Stanford offense would immediately respond to the Sun Devil rally with a big inning. A pair of two-out singles and a three-run home run by first baseman Matt Winaker pushed the Stanford lead to 6-2.
Despite the big inning, the Arizona State offense was not deterred in their comeback attempt. Carter Aldrete led off the inning with a single, but the next two batters of the inning were retired. In need of a clutch two-out hit, Tyler Williams came through with a RBI-double to right field to score Aldrete and trim the Cardinal lead to 6-3.
Stanford added a solo home run in the top of the sixth to push the lead to 7-3, the last run they would manage off Sun Devil relievers. The Arizona State offense would continue to apply pressure to try to mount a late-inning comeback. A single from Tyler Williams and a stolen base placed a runner in scoring position with two-outs in the bottom of the seventh. The senior catcher Zach Cerbo came through in a big spot for the Sun Devils, lacing a single up the middle to make it a 7-4 ballgame.
Down just three runs in the eighth inning, the top of the lineup looked to provide a spark for a Sun Devil rally. They found that spark in the form of a solo home run from Andrew Shaps, reducing the Cardinal lead to 7-5.
Left-hander Garvin Alston would relieve Hingst and pitch the top of the ninth. Alston retired the Cardinal 1-2-3 to keep the offense within striking distance headed to the bottom of the ninth. The Sun Devils managed to put the first two runners on off Cardinal closer Colton Hock, but a strikeout and a double play ended the rally for Arizona State as they fell 7-5.
NOTES: Totaling three hits on the night, Andrew Shaps extended his hitting streak to eight games and now has reached base in 18 straight games…With his solo home run in the eighth inning, Andrew Shaps now has 5 home runs on the season after hitting just two in his two previous seasons with the program…Andrew Shaps recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season…After adding two more hits today, Taylor Lane is now 7-for-15 (.467) in his last four starts…Gage Canning launched his career-high fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning…Canning now has 16 multi-hit games on the season…Making his first appearance since April 4th, Garvin Alston retired the side 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.