PHOENIX, Ariz. – At the end of the day, only one team in the country remains undefeated as the No. 19 Sun Devil Baseball squad held on for a 6-5 victory and series sweep over Washington State on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Sun Devils moved to 19-0 on the season, matching the third-best start in program history along the 2008 Sun Devil squad. With N.C. State's loss to Florida State earlier in the afternoon, ASU remained the nation's lone undefeated team.
With the victory, ASU moved to 4-0 on the season in one-run games and 5-0 in games decided by two runs or less. This was a notable area of struggle for ASU last season as the Devils were just 4-16 in games decided by one or two runs.
ASU's middle infield combination of Alika Williams (4-for-4) and Drew Swift (3-for-4) – known more for their defensive prowess than necessarily their offensive moxie – proved that they could get things done on both sides of the plate, combining to go 7-for-8 on the afternoon with four RBIs. They also got it done defensively, combining for a double play, five defensive assists and four putouts on the afternoon.
It wasn't always pretty for the Sun Devil pitching staff, which allowed a season-high 11 hits, plunking five batters and four walks as well. But they got the pitches in pivotal moments of games, stranding an incredible 16 Washington State base runners over the course of the afternoon.
Erik Tolman earned the win today after into relief for the starter RJ Dabovich, who allowed two earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. Tolman game ASU 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit, walking two and striking out four batters.
Three times, Washington State loaded the bases but the Sun Devil pitching staff was up to task. Dabovich escaped the first jam in the third after WSU loaded the bases with no outs after scoring a pair of runs early in the frame to take a 3-2. A double play and swinging strikeout limited the damage and kept ASU within striking distance and ASU responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame to even things up.
A pivotal moment in the game came in the top of the fifth with the score tied at 3-3. WSU loaded the bases with just one out but Tolman buckled in and induced a shallow flyout to keep the runner trapped at third before getting a swinging strikeout to escape the jam unscathed.
The final moment came in the final inning of the game after Washington State again loaded the bases with just one out. Brady Corrigan hung in for one more strikeout – his third of the game – paving the way for Chaz Montoya who came in for the left-on-left matchup for the final out of the game on a swinging strikeout.
The effort gave Montoya his second save of the season (and of the week) while he also earned the win in last night's walk-off victory.
The Cougars struck first in the contest, taking advantage of a two-out error with a follow-up RBI for an early 1-0 advantage.
The Sun Devils bounced back in the second, taking advantage of an error of their own on a dropped fly ball with two out to bring one across. Drew Swift stepped to the plate for the first time since the eighth game of the season on Feb. 26 and responded with an RBI double to put ASU on top.
WSU responded by scoring two runs themselves to take back the lead, but they did not keep the lead for long as Williams hit an RBI single to tie it at 3-3 after three innings.
Drew Swift's blooper in the bottom of the fifth would bring Alika Williams across and put ASU on top for good.
The Sun Devils added a pair of runs on Hunter Bishop's RBI double in the bottom of the six, providing some much-needed insurance as the Cougars cut it back into a one-run game with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and setting up the theatrics of the ninth inning.
The Sun Devils will be back in action on Wednesday versus Cal Baptist for a midweek tilt at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time. The game will be available online through Pac-12 Networks Plus.
The Sun Devils moved to 19-0 on the season, matching the third-best start in program history along the 2008 Sun Devil squad. With N.C. State's loss to Florida State earlier in the afternoon, ASU remained the nation's lone undefeated team.
With the victory, ASU moved to 4-0 on the season in one-run games and 5-0 in games decided by two runs or less. This was a notable area of struggle for ASU last season as the Devils were just 4-16 in games decided by one or two runs.
ASU's middle infield combination of Alika Williams (4-for-4) and Drew Swift (3-for-4) – known more for their defensive prowess than necessarily their offensive moxie – proved that they could get things done on both sides of the plate, combining to go 7-for-8 on the afternoon with four RBIs. They also got it done defensively, combining for a double play, five defensive assists and four putouts on the afternoon.
It wasn't always pretty for the Sun Devil pitching staff, which allowed a season-high 11 hits, plunking five batters and four walks as well. But they got the pitches in pivotal moments of games, stranding an incredible 16 Washington State base runners over the course of the afternoon.
Erik Tolman earned the win today after into relief for the starter RJ Dabovich, who allowed two earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. Tolman game ASU 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit, walking two and striking out four batters.
Three times, Washington State loaded the bases but the Sun Devil pitching staff was up to task. Dabovich escaped the first jam in the third after WSU loaded the bases with no outs after scoring a pair of runs early in the frame to take a 3-2. A double play and swinging strikeout limited the damage and kept ASU within striking distance and ASU responded with a run in the bottom half of the frame to even things up.
A pivotal moment in the game came in the top of the fifth with the score tied at 3-3. WSU loaded the bases with just one out but Tolman buckled in and induced a shallow flyout to keep the runner trapped at third before getting a swinging strikeout to escape the jam unscathed.
The final moment came in the final inning of the game after Washington State again loaded the bases with just one out. Brady Corrigan hung in for one more strikeout – his third of the game – paving the way for Chaz Montoya who came in for the left-on-left matchup for the final out of the game on a swinging strikeout.
The effort gave Montoya his second save of the season (and of the week) while he also earned the win in last night's walk-off victory.
The Cougars struck first in the contest, taking advantage of a two-out error with a follow-up RBI for an early 1-0 advantage.
The Sun Devils bounced back in the second, taking advantage of an error of their own on a dropped fly ball with two out to bring one across. Drew Swift stepped to the plate for the first time since the eighth game of the season on Feb. 26 and responded with an RBI double to put ASU on top.
WSU responded by scoring two runs themselves to take back the lead, but they did not keep the lead for long as Williams hit an RBI single to tie it at 3-3 after three innings.
Drew Swift's blooper in the bottom of the fifth would bring Alika Williams across and put ASU on top for good.
The Sun Devils added a pair of runs on Hunter Bishop's RBI double in the bottom of the six, providing some much-needed insurance as the Cougars cut it back into a one-run game with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and setting up the theatrics of the ninth inning.
The Sun Devils will be back in action on Wednesday versus Cal Baptist for a midweek tilt at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time. The game will be available online through Pac-12 Networks Plus.