PHOENIX, Ariz. – In front of over 6,000 Sun Devil faithful, the No. 9 Sun Devil baseball team took the first game of the Territorial Cup Series, 8-2, over Arizona on Friday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Sun Devils did a little bit of everything to open the series, putting on a show for 6,059 Sun Devil fans. It was the largest crowd of the season for ASU and the second-largest crowd for the Sun Devils since returning to Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015, trailing only the 6,247 that attended the UA game on April 11, 2015.
Junior Alec Marsh set the tone for the tilt as he improved to 7-0 on the season. The right-hander went 6.1 innings, striking out four and allowing just two runs on three hits. For Marsh, it was his 11thquality start in his last 15 starts since assuming the mantle of Mr. Friday Night midway through last season. Marsh has now allowed three runs or fewer in 25 of his last 26 appearances dating back to his freshman season.
Marsh's effort was especially noticeable against a UA team that entered the weekend ranked third in the country in scoring (9.6 runs per game), 11thin batting average (.306) and fourth in total runs (231). ASU held the Wildcats to just two runs, marking only the third time this season Arizona had two or fewer runs in a game.
The Wildcats were just 4-of-31 from the plate (.129) while the Sun Devil pitchers stranded eight base runners and held Arizona to 0-for-7 hitting with runners in scoring position. The four hits were the third-lowest total by the UA this season.
Spencer Torkelson highlighted the Sun Devil offense with his 3-for-5 outing, including his fifth home run of the season. More impressively, it was his fifth home run in five career games against the school from down south, accounting for one homer in each of those contests. Hunter Bishop also added a longball - his NCAA-leading 15thof the season - while he enjoyed two intentional walks from a UA squad that did everything they could to avoid him.
Gage Workman added a 3-for-4 effort with a two-RBI single in the seventh that blew that game open. Brady Corrigan earned his first save of the season, getting a huge foul out with the bases loaded and a two-run lead in the top of the seventh against Arizona's top hitter Cameron Cannon to escape the jam and set up ASU's four-run seventh to put the game away.
The Sun Devils took no time loading the bases in the bottom of the first behind a walk, a ground-rule double by Torkelson, an intentional walk of Bishop. Carter Aldrete got enough of one for a big league fly ball that found the hole in left center and an early 1-0 for the Sun Devils.
ASU added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth behind an RBI double for Aldrete and an RBI groundout from Lyle Lin to take a 3-0 lead.
In the next inning, Bishop walloped a 415-foot solo home run to center field to give the Devils a 4-0 lead. Bishop entered the contest with the national lead in home runs and extended that lead on Friday.
Marsh was exceptional through five innings, retiring the first 10 batters he saw and not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. The Wildcats finally got a hold of him in the top of the sixth on a solo home run, followed by another solo shot in the seventh that make things interesting. Those would serve as just two of the total hits Marsh allowed on the evening as the junior masterfully worked his way around an Arizona lineup that entered the weekend ranked in the Top-5 nationally in a slew of key offensive categories
Arizona loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh after the second solo shot cut ASU's lead to 4-2. Corrigan entered the game to face Arizona's Cameron Cannon - the best hitter in the team's lineup – and needed just two pitches to induce an inning-ending foul out to Workman at third base to escape the jam.
The Sun Devils didn't hesitate to quiet the Wildcat momentum, accounting for four two-out runs in the bottom half of the inning to effectively put the game away. Torkelson got the rally going with a laser down the opposite right field line as he muscled a down-and-away curveball over the fence for his fifth homer of the year to make it 5-2.
The Devils loaded the bases and took advantage on a wild pitch on what should have been an inning-ending strikeout to plate another. Workman made the Wildcats pay for allowing the inning to stay alive with his RBI single up the middle to bring two more across and a commanding 8-2 lead.
Corrigan did the rest from there, finishing with 2.1 innings pitched with three strikeouts and one hit allowed to earn his first save of the season.
This rivalry series against Arizona continues tomorrow at 7 p.m. Arizona time. Fans can tune into the game on the Pac-12 Network Arizona and NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.
SUN DEVIL BASEBALL TICKET OPTIONS
Mini
Mini plans for the 2019 season are now available with many great games to choose from! Grab a six-game plan where you select the games you want to attend starting at just $42, or choose the flex plan which includes nine vouchers for just $90 (Vouchers not redeemable for games against Arizona or Oregon State). Get your mini plans today!
Premium
For information about 2019 premium seating options – including single game suites and the all new Coors Light Devil Deck down the right-field line – please contact Joe Jerde, Manager of Premium Seating at (480) 727-3511 or via email at Joseph.Jerde@asu.edu.
Group
Group tickets are available for parties of 15 or more people for as low as $6 per ticket. Call (480) 965-5812 or email grouptickets@asu.edu.
Single
Single game tickets are now available starting at just $7. The 2019 schedule is chock-full of big-named opponents and Top 25 teams. Don't miss matchups with Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford and the always highly-anticipated series against that team down south. Check out the schedule and get your tickets now!