PHOENIX – Rallying behind three home runs, 16th-ranked Arizona State baseball came back from a three-run deficit late with an 8-7 win over No. 1 UCLA to salvage the series finale and move to 33-12 on the season and 14-10 in Pac-12 action.
The three home runs came the way of Spencer Torkelson, Gage Workman and Hunter Bishop - who hit a grand slam to start the game. Despite the long balls, Carter Aldrete's clutch pinch-hit RBI single off the bench in the bottom of the eighth put the Devils on top for good and he helped the cause by recording two of the three flyouts in right field in the ninth inning to lock up the victory for the Sun Devils.
It was RJ Dabovich who induced those flyouts as he weaved around some control issues to record the final three outs against the heart of the UCLA order and earn his second save in as many Sundays. Blake Burzell also settled nicely after struggling against the first couple batters he faced as he earned the victory to move to 4-0 behind 3.0 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.
While ASU did commit four errors, the team also recorded four double plays, one shy of tying the school record. Even wiping those runners of the board, the Sun Devil pitching staff helped to strand nine UCLA batters on the evening.
It wasn't always pretty as the Sun Devils squandered an early 4-0 lead as the top-ranked Bruins scored seven unanswered to claim a 7-4 lead after six innings. But the Sun Devils scored the final four runs of the game – capped by a three-run eighth inning – to get a pivotal win as the Sun Devils head toward the final stretch on the regular season.
It was Workman's sixth-inning solo shot with two outs that stopped the bleeding after UCLA had taken a 7-4 lead as the sophomore was 2-for-3 on the day while also being responsible for the game-tying sac fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Torkelson homered for the 16thtime of the season and 41sttime in his career, moving within 15 home runs of Bob Horner's ASU school record of 56. Torkelson's line drive shot to dead center field in the bottom of the eighth was the catalyst for the comeback as he finished 2-for-4 with two runs. With the big fly, Torkelson has now homered in every Pac-12 series this season – a streak of seven consecutive weekends.
Arizona State were the ones to strike first today, and they struck in a big way. With the Sun Devils loading up the bases, Bishop smacked a grand slam to dead center field for his Pac-12-leading 19thhome run of the season and first career home run to give the Devils an early 4-0 lead.
UCLA would not let ASU run away with this one , however, as it took advantage of a couple of walks and an error to bring home three runs to bring the Bruins back within one run in the second inning.
The Bruins loaded the bases up in the fifth inning but were only able to score a run as the game was now tied at four each.
The wheels appeared to come undone in the sixth inning with a pair of walks and another Sun Devil error eventually leading to three runs for UCLA and the Bruins' first advantage of the game at 7-4. Workman wouldn't let ASU roll over, however, battling back from 1-2 to launch his sixth home run of the season to keep the Devils within striking distance.
Burzell settled in nicely after that spotty sixth inning, posting a pair of scoreless frames and inducing two pivotal double plays to give the Sun Devils a chance to rally in the eighth.
Torkelson's solo bomb to lead off the eighth made it a one-run game at 7-6. Arizona State tied it on a Workman sac fly with the bases loaded, and then Carter Aldrete came off the bench and delivered a game-winner with a single that put ASU in front by one.
RJ Dabovich entered the ninth and gave up a leadoff walk, but rallied to retire the next three batters to earn the save as Arizona State walked away with the win.
The Sun Devils travel down south for a game against Arizona on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PST. The game can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks or heard on the radio on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.
The three home runs came the way of Spencer Torkelson, Gage Workman and Hunter Bishop - who hit a grand slam to start the game. Despite the long balls, Carter Aldrete's clutch pinch-hit RBI single off the bench in the bottom of the eighth put the Devils on top for good and he helped the cause by recording two of the three flyouts in right field in the ninth inning to lock up the victory for the Sun Devils.
It was RJ Dabovich who induced those flyouts as he weaved around some control issues to record the final three outs against the heart of the UCLA order and earn his second save in as many Sundays. Blake Burzell also settled nicely after struggling against the first couple batters he faced as he earned the victory to move to 4-0 behind 3.0 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.
While ASU did commit four errors, the team also recorded four double plays, one shy of tying the school record. Even wiping those runners of the board, the Sun Devil pitching staff helped to strand nine UCLA batters on the evening.
It wasn't always pretty as the Sun Devils squandered an early 4-0 lead as the top-ranked Bruins scored seven unanswered to claim a 7-4 lead after six innings. But the Sun Devils scored the final four runs of the game – capped by a three-run eighth inning – to get a pivotal win as the Sun Devils head toward the final stretch on the regular season.
It was Workman's sixth-inning solo shot with two outs that stopped the bleeding after UCLA had taken a 7-4 lead as the sophomore was 2-for-3 on the day while also being responsible for the game-tying sac fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Torkelson homered for the 16thtime of the season and 41sttime in his career, moving within 15 home runs of Bob Horner's ASU school record of 56. Torkelson's line drive shot to dead center field in the bottom of the eighth was the catalyst for the comeback as he finished 2-for-4 with two runs. With the big fly, Torkelson has now homered in every Pac-12 series this season – a streak of seven consecutive weekends.
Arizona State were the ones to strike first today, and they struck in a big way. With the Sun Devils loading up the bases, Bishop smacked a grand slam to dead center field for his Pac-12-leading 19thhome run of the season and first career home run to give the Devils an early 4-0 lead.
UCLA would not let ASU run away with this one , however, as it took advantage of a couple of walks and an error to bring home three runs to bring the Bruins back within one run in the second inning.
The Bruins loaded the bases up in the fifth inning but were only able to score a run as the game was now tied at four each.
The wheels appeared to come undone in the sixth inning with a pair of walks and another Sun Devil error eventually leading to three runs for UCLA and the Bruins' first advantage of the game at 7-4. Workman wouldn't let ASU roll over, however, battling back from 1-2 to launch his sixth home run of the season to keep the Devils within striking distance.
Burzell settled in nicely after that spotty sixth inning, posting a pair of scoreless frames and inducing two pivotal double plays to give the Sun Devils a chance to rally in the eighth.
Torkelson's solo bomb to lead off the eighth made it a one-run game at 7-6. Arizona State tied it on a Workman sac fly with the bases loaded, and then Carter Aldrete came off the bench and delivered a game-winner with a single that put ASU in front by one.
RJ Dabovich entered the ninth and gave up a leadoff walk, but rallied to retire the next three batters to earn the save as Arizona State walked away with the win.
The Sun Devils travel down south for a game against Arizona on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PST. The game can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks or heard on the radio on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.