PHOENIX – Ninth-ranked Sun Devil Baseball homered four times, but came up just short against No. 3 Oregon State, dropping the Saturday evening game 6-4 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
All of ASU's runs on the evening came from solo home runs by the quartet of Gage Workman - who also went 3-for-4 for the game – and Trevor Hauver, Spencer Torkelson and Hunter Bishop, who went back-to-back-to-back in the sixth inning.
Oregon State's starting pitcher, Bryce Fehmel, had only given up two home runs all year, before giving up four home runs today. The back-to-back-to-back effort by Hauver, Torkelson and Bishop to leadoff the sixth inning marked the first time that had happened since May 5, 2013.
On the flip side, the Sun Devils could not take advantage of runners on base throughout the game, leaving seven total runners stranded - four of which would have given Arizona State the lead had they scored.
Boyd Vander Kooi was solid as the starting, going 6.2 innings pitched with four runs allowed and six strikeouts to keep ASU within striking distance despite trailing for the first five innings of the game.
Brady Corrigan was gutsy in relief, escaping a jam in the seventh with a pivotal strikeout before falling victim to an extremely questionable non-check swing call in the eighth that inevitably led to Oregon State's game winning hit. Corrigan struck out four in 1.2 innings of action while allowing two runs.
With runners at the corners and one out for the Beavers in the second inning, Oregon State executed a perfect squeeze bunt bring the first run of the game across.
The Beavers brought across two more in the third before Workman broke through with his fourth homer of a the season, a solo home run to make 3-1 after three innings. OSU tagged one more run on an RBI single to left center in the fifth inning to make it 4-1, but the game was still in reach.
Arizona State delivered a message with three straight solo home runs by Hauver, Torkelson and Bishop in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at four within a ten-pitch sequence. Torkelson's put him into double digits with his 10thof the season and fourth in his last five games. Bishop's was the 17thof his season after entering the weekend second in the country in the category
With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Oregon State's Joe Casey hit a timely single with a full count in an epic at-bat against Corrigan. Corrigan came out on the short end of a question non-check swing call that looked to be an inning-ending strike three, and Casey took advantage with a two-run single through the right side to give the Beaver's the final margin of victory.
The Sun Devils threatened in the bottom half of the frame, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. But some confusion on the base path led to an untimely double play to end the threat without any damage and Oregon State took advantage with a 1-2-3 inning from closer Jake Mulholland.
The Sun Devils return to action tomorrow for the rubber match with the start time scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Arizona time. The game can be viewed on Facebook Live through the Sun Devil's Pac-12 Plus Live Stream or listened on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.
All of ASU's runs on the evening came from solo home runs by the quartet of Gage Workman - who also went 3-for-4 for the game – and Trevor Hauver, Spencer Torkelson and Hunter Bishop, who went back-to-back-to-back in the sixth inning.
Oregon State's starting pitcher, Bryce Fehmel, had only given up two home runs all year, before giving up four home runs today. The back-to-back-to-back effort by Hauver, Torkelson and Bishop to leadoff the sixth inning marked the first time that had happened since May 5, 2013.
On the flip side, the Sun Devils could not take advantage of runners on base throughout the game, leaving seven total runners stranded - four of which would have given Arizona State the lead had they scored.
Boyd Vander Kooi was solid as the starting, going 6.2 innings pitched with four runs allowed and six strikeouts to keep ASU within striking distance despite trailing for the first five innings of the game.
Brady Corrigan was gutsy in relief, escaping a jam in the seventh with a pivotal strikeout before falling victim to an extremely questionable non-check swing call in the eighth that inevitably led to Oregon State's game winning hit. Corrigan struck out four in 1.2 innings of action while allowing two runs.
With runners at the corners and one out for the Beavers in the second inning, Oregon State executed a perfect squeeze bunt bring the first run of the game across.
The Beavers brought across two more in the third before Workman broke through with his fourth homer of a the season, a solo home run to make 3-1 after three innings. OSU tagged one more run on an RBI single to left center in the fifth inning to make it 4-1, but the game was still in reach.
Arizona State delivered a message with three straight solo home runs by Hauver, Torkelson and Bishop in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at four within a ten-pitch sequence. Torkelson's put him into double digits with his 10thof the season and fourth in his last five games. Bishop's was the 17thof his season after entering the weekend second in the country in the category
With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Oregon State's Joe Casey hit a timely single with a full count in an epic at-bat against Corrigan. Corrigan came out on the short end of a question non-check swing call that looked to be an inning-ending strike three, and Casey took advantage with a two-run single through the right side to give the Beaver's the final margin of victory.
The Sun Devils threatened in the bottom half of the frame, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. But some confusion on the base path led to an untimely double play to end the threat without any damage and Oregon State took advantage with a 1-2-3 inning from closer Jake Mulholland.
The Sun Devils return to action tomorrow for the rubber match with the start time scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Arizona time. The game can be viewed on Facebook Live through the Sun Devil's Pac-12 Plus Live Stream or listened on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.