PHOENIX – Trailing visiting California, 4-3, entering the bottom of the ninth, the Sun Devils proved in need of late inning of heroics. Enter sophomores Lyle Lin and Hunter Bishop.
Lin notched an RBI double to tie the game before Bishop brought across the game-winning run in walk-off fashion, sparking a celebration on the infield to open the final weekend of the season with a 5-4 victory at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Courtesy of the walk-off victory, the Sun Devils handed the visiting Golden Bears just their second loss in 30 games when leading after eight innings. Freshman right-hander Brady Corrigan earned the first victory of his collegiate career, after the shutting down Cal in a pivotal top of the ninth.
In the outing, sophomore pitcher Alec Marsh recorded his fifth quality start of the season - all coming on Friday nights in Pac-12 action. Marsh complete 6.1 innings of work, allowing just three runs while striking out six.
Freshman slugger Spencer Torkelson reached base on two occasions, extending his reached base streak to 37 consecutive games - the 10th-longest active streak in the nation.
Gage Workman got the offense going in the second inning, taking a 1-0 pitch deep to left field for his first homer of the season as a right-handed batter. The switch-hitting now has three home runs on the season and has done so from each side of the plate.
The two-run shot gave ASU an early 2-0 advantage, but Cal came right back with a solo shot of its own to lead off the third inning to cut the deficit to one.
ASU responded in the form of Aldrete in the bottom half of the frame, as the sophomore recorded his seventh consecutive game with an RBI after ripping a two-out pitch down the left field line to score Torkelson from first to make it 3-1 in favor of ASU.
The pitcher's duel continued for a couple innings from there with neither team providing much of a threat until Marsh issued a pair of free passes with one out in frame that resulted in a two-out RBI single from Cal to crawl back within a run at 3-2.
The Sun Devil pitching staff lost control of its command in the top of the seventh, unfortunately, allowing two runs to scored without a Cal recording a hit in the frame to put ASU in a 4-3 hole.
Entering the game in relief, Corrigan pitched a scoreless top half off the ninth to shift the momentum in the Maroon and Gold's favor. Over his last 6.2 innings pitched, Corrigan has not allowed an earned run in the three-game span.
Faced off with California's standout closer Tanner Dodson and looking to spearhead an Arizona State rally, Aldrete sparked the Sun Devil offense, hustling down the line to beat a bang-bang play at first. Falling behind in the count 0-2, Lin played equalizer by lacing a double to center to score the tying run from first. The next batter, Bishop delivered the knockout punch, finding a hole up the middle to score Lin.
Up next, Arizona State hosts California for the remaining two games of the three-game set. Friday's tilt is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch, followed by a 6 p.m. start on Saturday. All games in the series will be broadcast through the Pac-12 Network and also available at pac-12.com/live. Daron Sutton and Andy Lopez will be on the call for the weekend.
Lin notched an RBI double to tie the game before Bishop brought across the game-winning run in walk-off fashion, sparking a celebration on the infield to open the final weekend of the season with a 5-4 victory at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Courtesy of the walk-off victory, the Sun Devils handed the visiting Golden Bears just their second loss in 30 games when leading after eight innings. Freshman right-hander Brady Corrigan earned the first victory of his collegiate career, after the shutting down Cal in a pivotal top of the ninth.
In the outing, sophomore pitcher Alec Marsh recorded his fifth quality start of the season - all coming on Friday nights in Pac-12 action. Marsh complete 6.1 innings of work, allowing just three runs while striking out six.
Freshman slugger Spencer Torkelson reached base on two occasions, extending his reached base streak to 37 consecutive games - the 10th-longest active streak in the nation.
Gage Workman got the offense going in the second inning, taking a 1-0 pitch deep to left field for his first homer of the season as a right-handed batter. The switch-hitting now has three home runs on the season and has done so from each side of the plate.
The two-run shot gave ASU an early 2-0 advantage, but Cal came right back with a solo shot of its own to lead off the third inning to cut the deficit to one.
ASU responded in the form of Aldrete in the bottom half of the frame, as the sophomore recorded his seventh consecutive game with an RBI after ripping a two-out pitch down the left field line to score Torkelson from first to make it 3-1 in favor of ASU.
The pitcher's duel continued for a couple innings from there with neither team providing much of a threat until Marsh issued a pair of free passes with one out in frame that resulted in a two-out RBI single from Cal to crawl back within a run at 3-2.
The Sun Devil pitching staff lost control of its command in the top of the seventh, unfortunately, allowing two runs to scored without a Cal recording a hit in the frame to put ASU in a 4-3 hole.
Entering the game in relief, Corrigan pitched a scoreless top half off the ninth to shift the momentum in the Maroon and Gold's favor. Over his last 6.2 innings pitched, Corrigan has not allowed an earned run in the three-game span.
Faced off with California's standout closer Tanner Dodson and looking to spearhead an Arizona State rally, Aldrete sparked the Sun Devil offense, hustling down the line to beat a bang-bang play at first. Falling behind in the count 0-2, Lin played equalizer by lacing a double to center to score the tying run from first. The next batter, Bishop delivered the knockout punch, finding a hole up the middle to score Lin.
Up next, Arizona State hosts California for the remaining two games of the three-game set. Friday's tilt is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch, followed by a 6 p.m. start on Saturday. All games in the series will be broadcast through the Pac-12 Network and also available at pac-12.com/live. Daron Sutton and Andy Lopez will be on the call for the weekend.