PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Sun Devil Baseball team fell to USC, 8-4, in the rubber match of the three-game weekend Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Freshmen Spencer Torkelson and Gage Workman were two bright spots offensively for the Sun Devils. Torkelson smashed his 15th home run of the season, continuing to add to his own freshman single season home run record and remaining in first in the nation in the category. The freshman added an RBI-single, finishing the game 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI's - his team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the season. Workman tallied the first home run of his career, a solo shot well over the right-center field wall in the seventh inning.
In his second appearance of the weekend, Jake Godfrey provided the Sun Devils 1.2 innings of scoreless relief after picking up his first save of the season on Friday.
The Trojans struck first, putting up one run in the first frame and another in the third to take an early 2-0 lead.
Carter Aldrete got the Sun Devils on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of the wind blowing out to right field with a leadoff solo shot for his first home run of the season to bring ASU back within 2-1.
An unearned run in the fifth would bring an end to Sam Romero's day as he finished with 4.1 innings pitched, two earned runs allowed and five strikeouts.
USC tallied a pair of runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-1 before Workman's first career home run in the bottom of the seventh brought ASU back within three runs. The solo shot sailed well over the National Champions sign in right-center field. Workman would add a single in the ninth to give him nine multi-hit performances this season.
The Trojans again responded with three runs of their own in the top of the eighth before the Sun Devil bats finally came alive late in the game. Torkelson attempted to spark a Sun Devil rally, leading off the frame with his 15th home run of the season for ASU's third big fly of the contest.
The Devils would threaten in the eighth inning, putting runners on second and third behind a Hunter Bishop double. The next batter, Alika Williams scored Carter Aldrete on an RBI groundout to make it 8-4.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Colby Davis made his first career appearance for Arizona State, retiring the Trojans in order in the ninth. ASU would put two more runners on base in the bottom of the frame, but the comeback attempt fell short.
Up next, the Sun Devils travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in a one-game midweek series on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:05 p.m. MST. Following the matchup against the Rebels, ASU will then head to Stanford, California for a three-game weekend series against the Cardinal beginning Friday at 6:05 P.M.
Freshmen Spencer Torkelson and Gage Workman were two bright spots offensively for the Sun Devils. Torkelson smashed his 15th home run of the season, continuing to add to his own freshman single season home run record and remaining in first in the nation in the category. The freshman added an RBI-single, finishing the game 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI's - his team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the season. Workman tallied the first home run of his career, a solo shot well over the right-center field wall in the seventh inning.
In his second appearance of the weekend, Jake Godfrey provided the Sun Devils 1.2 innings of scoreless relief after picking up his first save of the season on Friday.
The Trojans struck first, putting up one run in the first frame and another in the third to take an early 2-0 lead.
Carter Aldrete got the Sun Devils on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of the wind blowing out to right field with a leadoff solo shot for his first home run of the season to bring ASU back within 2-1.
An unearned run in the fifth would bring an end to Sam Romero's day as he finished with 4.1 innings pitched, two earned runs allowed and five strikeouts.
USC tallied a pair of runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-1 before Workman's first career home run in the bottom of the seventh brought ASU back within three runs. The solo shot sailed well over the National Champions sign in right-center field. Workman would add a single in the ninth to give him nine multi-hit performances this season.
The Trojans again responded with three runs of their own in the top of the eighth before the Sun Devil bats finally came alive late in the game. Torkelson attempted to spark a Sun Devil rally, leading off the frame with his 15th home run of the season for ASU's third big fly of the contest.
The Devils would threaten in the eighth inning, putting runners on second and third behind a Hunter Bishop double. The next batter, Alika Williams scored Carter Aldrete on an RBI groundout to make it 8-4.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Colby Davis made his first career appearance for Arizona State, retiring the Trojans in order in the ninth. ASU would put two more runners on base in the bottom of the frame, but the comeback attempt fell short.
Up next, the Sun Devils travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in a one-game midweek series on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:05 p.m. MST. Following the matchup against the Rebels, ASU will then head to Stanford, California for a three-game weekend series against the Cardinal beginning Friday at 6:05 P.M.