PHOENIX – Drew Swift remained hot, Gage Workman and Trevor Hauver had huge hits and Erik Tolman bounced back from a slow start to earn his first win of the season as No. 8 Sun Devil Baseball swept its midweek series against Cal State Fullerton in a 9-3 decision on Wednesday night at Goodwin Field.
Swift had his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, going 4-for-5, while Workman and Hauver each record three RBIs in the contest.
Erik Tolman struggled with his command early as Fullerton jumped to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. But the sophomore rebounded admirable and was otherwise unhittable – literally - with the two second inning hits being the only ones he would allow for the remainder of the contest. Tolman went on to toss 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing the offense to get hot and pull away down the stretch to earn his first win of the year.
Nate Baez recorded his first career home run, avoiding the controversy of Tuesday night when his original first career homer was called back. Baez's monster shot over the netting in the eighth gave the Sun Devil some late insurance before Hauver recorded his fifth dinger of the year on a laser shot to leadoff the ninth and solidify the Sun Devil win.
The Big Moment
ASU trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the third and Fullerton had a pair of runners on with two outs Trevor Cadd sent a deep fly ball to center field that looked like it would clear Dusty Garcia's head at the warning track but the sophomore centerfielder made a diving grab in the dirty to save two runs and keep ASU within a run. ASU rallied behind the play at the top of the fourth one a one-out Gage Workman RBI single to score Drew Swift and Trevor Hauver and put the Sun Devils on top the stay.
Hauv Stays Hot
Still holding on to a one-run lead in the fifth, Trevor Hauver gave the Sun Devils some breathing room behind a masterful two-out rally. The junior fell into a quick 0-2 hole before working the count event and fouling off several balls to stay alive. Hauver, the team leader in RBIs, added to that total with a line drive double into right to score Alika Williams and Dusty Garcia and give ASU a 5-2 lead. Drew Swift tacked on an RBI single immediately after and the Sun Devils cruised to victory from there.
The Daggers
ASU had a five-run lead sitting at 7-2 in the eighth inning and still logically within striking distance but Nate Baez and Trevor Hauver put an end to that. The duo led off the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with impressive solo shots to squash any hope of a Fullerton comeback. For Baez, it was the first of his career while Hauver tacked on his fifth of the season.
The Unsung Hero
Erik Tolman did not have his best stuff early and the Titans jumped on him with a pair of runs and an early lead in the second. Garcia's heroic play in center to end the third seemed to settle the sophomore down as he cruised through six innings of work for his second quality start of the season, striking out eight in the process and not allowing any hits outside the two given up in the second.
The Real MVP
The Sun Devil tradition of rewarding a "Win Shirt" to the MVP of the contest took a humorous detour on Wednesday as long-time Director of Community Relations Armando Flores received the honor. In the latter stages of the game, a particularly mouthy Fullerton fan had some choice words for the Sun Devils to which the normally mild-manned Flores promptly left his normal perch at the end of the dugout to share some particularly colorful dialogue of his own, silencing the heckler and likely providing the juice necessary for Baez and Hauver's homers to drive the nail in coffin at the end of the game.
Notables
INNING-BY-INNING
First inning
Both sides went down without a score.
Second inning
A leadoff Drew Swift double led to ASU getting on the board on a Gage Workman error two batters later. Unfortunately, Fullerton responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame as Erik Tolman struggled to find the zone.
Third inning
There was nothing doing for the Sun Devils and Fullerton threatened again, putting a pair of runners on and looking like they would bring both across on a deep fly ball to center. Dusty Garcia made an incredible play in the outfield to save the hit and send ASU back to the dugout still trailing by just a run.
Fourth inning
Hauver reached on an error and Swift singled and both moved into scoring position on Hunter Jump's sac bunt. Workman brought the duo home with an RBI single to put ASU on top 3-2 – a lead it would not relinquish. Tolman locked in and struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning as he found his groove.
Fifth inning
Hauver previously mentioned two-out, two-strike heroics helped ASU blow the game open and take a 6-2 lead. Tolman again provided a harmless inning without a runner in scoring position.
Sixth inning
ASU threated with a pair of baserunners in scoring position with one out but couldn't capitalize. Tolman finished out the day with another hitless frame.
Seventh Inning
More two-out moxie as Spencer Torkelson reached on a walk and stole second, setting things up for an RBI single from Swift to give ASU some insurance and a 7-2 lead. Cam Dennie entered and saw a pair of runners reach scoring position but held on to strike out the side and keep ASU in control.
Eighth inning
Baez joined the #BashBros with a towering leadoff shot and his first career homer. Fullerton tacked one back on in the frame but ASU maintained a five-run lead.
Ninth inning
Hauver needed one swing of the bat to crush any hopes of a Fullerton comeback, sucking the life from the stadium with a laser line drive to right field for his fifth homer of the year. RJ Dabovich entered and was electric, running the radar gun up to 98 miles per hour and working around a one-out error to get out of the inning unscathed and give ASU its eighth win in the last nine games.
Up Next
The Sun Devils return home for a three-game non-conference series against last year's Mountain West champions, Fresno State, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. AZT. The weekend series will be streamed live through the Pac-12 Network Live Stream.
Swift had his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, going 4-for-5, while Workman and Hauver each record three RBIs in the contest.
Erik Tolman struggled with his command early as Fullerton jumped to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. But the sophomore rebounded admirable and was otherwise unhittable – literally - with the two second inning hits being the only ones he would allow for the remainder of the contest. Tolman went on to toss 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing the offense to get hot and pull away down the stretch to earn his first win of the year.
Nate Baez recorded his first career home run, avoiding the controversy of Tuesday night when his original first career homer was called back. Baez's monster shot over the netting in the eighth gave the Sun Devil some late insurance before Hauver recorded his fifth dinger of the year on a laser shot to leadoff the ninth and solidify the Sun Devil win.
The Big Moment
ASU trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the third and Fullerton had a pair of runners on with two outs Trevor Cadd sent a deep fly ball to center field that looked like it would clear Dusty Garcia's head at the warning track but the sophomore centerfielder made a diving grab in the dirty to save two runs and keep ASU within a run. ASU rallied behind the play at the top of the fourth one a one-out Gage Workman RBI single to score Drew Swift and Trevor Hauver and put the Sun Devils on top the stay.
Hauv Stays Hot
Still holding on to a one-run lead in the fifth, Trevor Hauver gave the Sun Devils some breathing room behind a masterful two-out rally. The junior fell into a quick 0-2 hole before working the count event and fouling off several balls to stay alive. Hauver, the team leader in RBIs, added to that total with a line drive double into right to score Alika Williams and Dusty Garcia and give ASU a 5-2 lead. Drew Swift tacked on an RBI single immediately after and the Sun Devils cruised to victory from there.
The Daggers
ASU had a five-run lead sitting at 7-2 in the eighth inning and still logically within striking distance but Nate Baez and Trevor Hauver put an end to that. The duo led off the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with impressive solo shots to squash any hope of a Fullerton comeback. For Baez, it was the first of his career while Hauver tacked on his fifth of the season.
The Unsung Hero
Erik Tolman did not have his best stuff early and the Titans jumped on him with a pair of runs and an early lead in the second. Garcia's heroic play in center to end the third seemed to settle the sophomore down as he cruised through six innings of work for his second quality start of the season, striking out eight in the process and not allowing any hits outside the two given up in the second.
The Real MVP
The Sun Devil tradition of rewarding a "Win Shirt" to the MVP of the contest took a humorous detour on Wednesday as long-time Director of Community Relations Armando Flores received the honor. In the latter stages of the game, a particularly mouthy Fullerton fan had some choice words for the Sun Devils to which the normally mild-manned Flores promptly left his normal perch at the end of the dugout to share some particularly colorful dialogue of his own, silencing the heckler and likely providing the juice necessary for Baez and Hauver's homers to drive the nail in coffin at the end of the game.
Notables
- Erik Tolman now has 30 strikeouts in just 18.0 innings pitched while opponents are batting a paltry .143 against him in the process.
- Drew Swift has been on an unreal tear over his last five games, recording five-straight multi-hit efforts and two of those being four-hit contests. In the five-game stretch, Swift has gone 15-of-23 with a team-best 11 RBIs. The 15 hits are seven more than any other player on the team in the stretch.
- Trevor Hauver has proven to be as dangerous protection for Spencer Torkelson in the lineup as he could in the last nine games. The junior is batting .400 in that time with all five of his season home runs and a team-best 19 RBIs – five more than any other player on the roster. He has reached base at a .553 clip in that span with an incredible 14 walks in the process. ASU has gone 8-1 behind Hauver's hot streak.
- Hauver extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 games during the trip to Fullerton. He has a team-high 7 multi-RBI games this season in just 14 games.
INNING-BY-INNING
First inning
Both sides went down without a score.
Second inning
A leadoff Drew Swift double led to ASU getting on the board on a Gage Workman error two batters later. Unfortunately, Fullerton responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame as Erik Tolman struggled to find the zone.
Third inning
There was nothing doing for the Sun Devils and Fullerton threatened again, putting a pair of runners on and looking like they would bring both across on a deep fly ball to center. Dusty Garcia made an incredible play in the outfield to save the hit and send ASU back to the dugout still trailing by just a run.
Fourth inning
Hauver reached on an error and Swift singled and both moved into scoring position on Hunter Jump's sac bunt. Workman brought the duo home with an RBI single to put ASU on top 3-2 – a lead it would not relinquish. Tolman locked in and struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning as he found his groove.
Fifth inning
Hauver previously mentioned two-out, two-strike heroics helped ASU blow the game open and take a 6-2 lead. Tolman again provided a harmless inning without a runner in scoring position.
Sixth inning
ASU threated with a pair of baserunners in scoring position with one out but couldn't capitalize. Tolman finished out the day with another hitless frame.
Seventh Inning
More two-out moxie as Spencer Torkelson reached on a walk and stole second, setting things up for an RBI single from Swift to give ASU some insurance and a 7-2 lead. Cam Dennie entered and saw a pair of runners reach scoring position but held on to strike out the side and keep ASU in control.
Eighth inning
Baez joined the #BashBros with a towering leadoff shot and his first career homer. Fullerton tacked one back on in the frame but ASU maintained a five-run lead.
Ninth inning
Hauver needed one swing of the bat to crush any hopes of a Fullerton comeback, sucking the life from the stadium with a laser line drive to right field for his fifth homer of the year. RJ Dabovich entered and was electric, running the radar gun up to 98 miles per hour and working around a one-out error to get out of the inning unscathed and give ASU its eighth win in the last nine games.
Up Next
The Sun Devils return home for a three-game non-conference series against last year's Mountain West champions, Fresno State, starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. AZT. The weekend series will be streamed live through the Pac-12 Network Live Stream.