LINCOLN, NEB. – In a pitcher's duel in Lincoln, Neb., the Sun Devil Baseball team struggled to find the big hit in a 2-1 loss to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon.
After erupting for 15 runs on 21 hits on Friday night, the Sun Devil offense was stymied on Saturday and held to a season-low one run while striking out 14 times. ASU outhit the Huskers 8-7 on the afternoon, but the bounces went Nebraska's way at the end of the day.
The lack of offense was tough to swallow on a day where Boyd Vander Kooi pitched what might have been his best game of the season. The sophomore went seven innings with seven strikeouts and just two runs allowed. Neither one of those runs was particularly flashy, with Nebraska managing to put some balls into play and a couple happed to find their way into the outfield.
The Sun Devils managed to strikeout 10 Cornhuskers in total, with Brady Corrigan striking out the side in his lone inning of work.
Spencer Torkelson notched his 19thhome run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning to get ASU on the board. It was his fourth straight game with a home run and the 44thhome run of his career as he moved into a tie for sixth in Sun Devil school history.
Torkelson's moonshot was the extent of the Sun Devil offensive threat, however, as ASU stranded nine runners on the day. ASU was 1-for-17 with runners on the basepath and 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
ASU's inability to put the ball into play would prove to be its downfall, striking out 14 times on the afternoon.
Nebraska's didn't do much offensively, but it did put the ball into play in key situations and that was the difference in the game. The Huskers pushed one across in the third on a bloop single to center that centerfielder Hunter Bishop attempting to making a sliding catch. Instead, he trapped the ball in his glove but not before it hit the ground and a runner scored for second on the play.
In the fourth, Nebraska scored another runner from second by simply putting the ball into play. A skipping grounder to Gage Workman at third took a wicked hop at the most inopportune time, clipping over his head and into left field to allow another runner to score.
That would prove to be all Nebraska needed as Vander Kooi settled in with three scoreless frames after that second run – including a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
Torkelson's shot in the sixth led off the inning and singles from Hunter Bishop and Lyle Lin with one out had ASU in business. After a strikeout, ASU loaded the bases with two outs but a force on a fielder's choice ended the threat.
ASU put another leadoff runner in scoring position in the eighth inning as Alika Williams singled, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. But a trio of strikeouts from ASU's 4, 5 and 6 hitters stranded him there.
ASU threatened one final time in the ninth with a leadoff single from Carter Aldrete. With one out on the board, Drew Swift absolutely smoked a ball to deep left field but Husker left fielder Mojo Hagge made a leaping highlight reel catch to steal extra bases and potentially the game-tying run and a strikeout ended the game.
ASU will have a shot at taking the series in the rubber match tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. Arizona time. The game can be streamed online through btn2go.com for those with a paid subscription. The game will also be available over the airwaves on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM.
After erupting for 15 runs on 21 hits on Friday night, the Sun Devil offense was stymied on Saturday and held to a season-low one run while striking out 14 times. ASU outhit the Huskers 8-7 on the afternoon, but the bounces went Nebraska's way at the end of the day.
The lack of offense was tough to swallow on a day where Boyd Vander Kooi pitched what might have been his best game of the season. The sophomore went seven innings with seven strikeouts and just two runs allowed. Neither one of those runs was particularly flashy, with Nebraska managing to put some balls into play and a couple happed to find their way into the outfield.
The Sun Devils managed to strikeout 10 Cornhuskers in total, with Brady Corrigan striking out the side in his lone inning of work.
Spencer Torkelson notched his 19thhome run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning to get ASU on the board. It was his fourth straight game with a home run and the 44thhome run of his career as he moved into a tie for sixth in Sun Devil school history.
Torkelson's moonshot was the extent of the Sun Devil offensive threat, however, as ASU stranded nine runners on the day. ASU was 1-for-17 with runners on the basepath and 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
ASU's inability to put the ball into play would prove to be its downfall, striking out 14 times on the afternoon.
Nebraska's didn't do much offensively, but it did put the ball into play in key situations and that was the difference in the game. The Huskers pushed one across in the third on a bloop single to center that centerfielder Hunter Bishop attempting to making a sliding catch. Instead, he trapped the ball in his glove but not before it hit the ground and a runner scored for second on the play.
In the fourth, Nebraska scored another runner from second by simply putting the ball into play. A skipping grounder to Gage Workman at third took a wicked hop at the most inopportune time, clipping over his head and into left field to allow another runner to score.
That would prove to be all Nebraska needed as Vander Kooi settled in with three scoreless frames after that second run – including a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
Torkelson's shot in the sixth led off the inning and singles from Hunter Bishop and Lyle Lin with one out had ASU in business. After a strikeout, ASU loaded the bases with two outs but a force on a fielder's choice ended the threat.
ASU put another leadoff runner in scoring position in the eighth inning as Alika Williams singled, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. But a trio of strikeouts from ASU's 4, 5 and 6 hitters stranded him there.
ASU threatened one final time in the ninth with a leadoff single from Carter Aldrete. With one out on the board, Drew Swift absolutely smoked a ball to deep left field but Husker left fielder Mojo Hagge made a leaping highlight reel catch to steal extra bases and potentially the game-tying run and a strikeout ended the game.
ASU will have a shot at taking the series in the rubber match tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. Arizona time. The game can be streamed online through btn2go.com for those with a paid subscription. The game will also be available over the airwaves on NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM.