PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball thwarted the UNLV Rebels' high-powered offense in a 6-3 victory Tuesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
UNLV came in averaging more than 17 runs per game in 2023. ASU held the Rebels scoreless through six innings and built a 4-0 lead behind the strong arms of Josh Hansell and Matt Tieding and home runs off the booming bats of Ryan Campos, Ethan Long, and Wyatt Crenshaw.
ASU hit back-to-back homers in the first inning from Campos and Long, never relinquishing the lead en-route to victory.
THE TURNING POINT
UNLV mounted a rally in top of the seventh, notching a pair of runs and having runners on first and second with no outs to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Catcher Ryan Campos made the play of the game as he lasered a ball to Luke Hill to complete a back pick at second to shortstop Luke Hill to get the first out of the inning and take a runner out of scoring position. The Sun Devils then caught a fly ball and left runners stranded on first and second with a groundout to close the inning and maintain a two-run lead.
THE BIG MOMENT
After Josh Hansell stranded a pair of runners in the top of the first, the Sun Devils' first frame at bat proved flashy with Ryan Campos and Ethan Long hitting back-to-back solo homers with two outs in the inning to notch a lead it would not relinquish throughout.
THE FINAL STRAW
After closing out UNLV's two-run inning in the seventh, the Sun Devils began their frame with two doubles from Luke Keaschall and Wyatt Crenshaw, and added an RBI fly out to keep their lead at four runs. This stymied the Rebels' hopes of late-game heroics. NOTABLES
First Inning
A few defensive mishaps for the Sun Devils in the top half allowed runners to reach 1st and 2nd, but a huge two-out punch out from Josh Hansell got them out of the jam. There was no score after the first frame.
In the bottom half, Ryan Campos and Ethan Long got the night going offensively with back-to-back solo home runs. This was the third game this season where the Sun Devils had at least one home run in the first inning. At the end of the first, the Sun Devils led 2-0.
Second Inning
Hansell began the inning with a hit batter, however a couple groundouts and a strikeout had nothing doing for UNLV. ASU led 2-0.
The bottom half started with a Luke Hill single that stayed in the infield. A stolen base moved him into scoring position, but the Sun Devils could not bring him home and left him stranded at second. ASU continued to lead 2-0.
Third Inning
A lone single for UNLV was all they had going for them in the top half. Another strikeout for Hansell as the Sun Devils continued to lead 2-0. Hansell's night pitching ended with a statline of 3.0 IP 1H 3K's & 1 BB with 53 pitches.
In the bottom half, Wyatt Crenshaw extended the lead for the Sun Devils with a solo home run of his own. Ethan Long had a single that followed, but he was stranded. The Sun Devils extended their lead 3-0.
Fourth Inning
A very quick 1-2-3 inning for Matt Tieding, who entered the game in relief for the starter Josh Hansell. The Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
In the bottom half, Luke Hill started the Sun Devils' offense with a double and Kien Vu was hit-by-pitch immediately following. However, a lineout double play ended the Sun Devils' threat. They continued to lead 3-0.
Fifth Inning
A single and another hit-by-pitch had UNLV threatening, however a two-out forceout at third eliminated the threat and the Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
Nothing for the Sun Devils in the bottom half, a couple of groundouts and a flyout had them quiet. The Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
Sixth Inning
Blake Pivaroff entered the game for the Sun Devils. He recorded a couple of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning for the Sun Devils. They continued to lead 3-0.
Ethan Long, Will Rogers had back-to-back singles to open up the inning. Fittingly, Jonny Weaver made it three singles in a row that brought Long home to extend the Sun Devils lead. A passed ball brought Rogers and Weaver into scoring position. However, the Sun Devils could not add on any more. They extended their lead 4-0.
Seventh Inning
UNLV began their threat early with a lead-off walk followed by a ground-rule double. They brought in their first run of the night with a RBI single in the ensuing at-bat. UNLV added on with another RBI single. A 2-6 pickoff recorded the first out of the inning. With runners on first & second with two outs, the Sun Devils were able to record the final out of the inning to limit the damage. The Sun Devils still lead 4-2.
In the bottom half, Luke Keaschall and Wyatt Crenshaw started the inning with back-to-back doubles which extended the Sun Devils lead. With runners on first and second with one out, Crenshaw stole third base. In the ensuing at-bat, Will Rogers hit an RBI sac-fly. The inning ended on a flyout. The Sun Devils extended their lead to 6-2.
Eighth Inning
UNLV started their inning with a double, followed by a one out RBI-single which cut their deficit to three. However, back-to-back strikeouts from Nolan Lebamoff ended any further damage. The Sun Devils still led 6-3.
Not much going for the Sun Devils in the bottom half with only a couple of walks. The Sun Devils still led 6-3.
Ninth Inning
Jonah Giblin entered the ninth for Lebamoff and was pulled after giving up a one out single. Brock Peery came in and shut the door for his first save of the season pop up and a swinging strikeout. ON DECK
Arizona State hits the road to Mississippi State, facing the Bulldogs in a three game set Friday-Sunday. First pitches are set for 3:00, 4:00 and 12:00 MST.
QUOTABLES
On winning tonight ahead of first road season of the year…
"The big takeaways for me are in my mind we have not played very well, but we are 4-0 and have found ways to win each game. I think our pitching has done an outstanding job not giving up free bases and the defense has done a good job on not making a lot of errors. Offensively we have to get a lot better in every aspect of the game from two-strike hitting situations to sacrifice bunts and baserunning. We have to get a lot better if we want to be the team that we want to be. At the end of the day, it is a lot easier to address that stuff after you win, so the facts are I'm proud that the guys are continuing to battle and figure out ways to win even though we have not played that well."
On all starting pitchers performance so far in the season…
"Our pitching staff has worked extremely hard. The biggest thing is that we are not giving up free bases which is outstanding. We only had two walks today, so that wins a lot of games when you do not give up free runners all the time. We will continue hopefully to attack the strike zone and force some teams to swing the bats to beat us."
Arizona State Infielder Luke Hill
On his mindset and handling the pressure of good performance…
"I'm taking it with ease. There's no real pressure, to be honest with you. After the first pitch of the Friday night game against San Diego everything flushed out of the system. I'm as confident as can be, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be like that for that rest of the year. My head's on straight and I'm ready to go. It's pretty cool."
Arizona State Infielder Ethan Long
On approach…
"I got back to just doing me, making it simple. Opening weekend I wasn't really getting a lot of fastballs so I got out of my approach. I realized that and went back to doing what I do."
UNLV came in averaging more than 17 runs per game in 2023. ASU held the Rebels scoreless through six innings and built a 4-0 lead behind the strong arms of Josh Hansell and Matt Tieding and home runs off the booming bats of Ryan Campos, Ethan Long, and Wyatt Crenshaw.
ASU hit back-to-back homers in the first inning from Campos and Long, never relinquishing the lead en-route to victory.
THE TURNING POINT
UNLV mounted a rally in top of the seventh, notching a pair of runs and having runners on first and second with no outs to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Catcher Ryan Campos made the play of the game as he lasered a ball to Luke Hill to complete a back pick at second to shortstop Luke Hill to get the first out of the inning and take a runner out of scoring position. The Sun Devils then caught a fly ball and left runners stranded on first and second with a groundout to close the inning and maintain a two-run lead.
THE BIG MOMENT
After Josh Hansell stranded a pair of runners in the top of the first, the Sun Devils' first frame at bat proved flashy with Ryan Campos and Ethan Long hitting back-to-back solo homers with two outs in the inning to notch a lead it would not relinquish throughout.
THE FINAL STRAW
After closing out UNLV's two-run inning in the seventh, the Sun Devils began their frame with two doubles from Luke Keaschall and Wyatt Crenshaw, and added an RBI fly out to keep their lead at four runs. This stymied the Rebels' hopes of late-game heroics. NOTABLES
- With the win, Sun Devil Baseball has won its opening four games of the season for the first time since 2019 and just the fifth time since 2010.
- The ASU pitching staff has a 21-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in its last two games.
- In the last three games, ASU has allowed opponents to score in only three of the 27 innings (six total runs).
- ASU has scored in three of the four first innings it has played this season.
- The back-to-back home runs were the first since Joe Lampe (2-run) and Drew Swift in a 9-6 victory over Hawai'i on Feb. 9, 2021.
- Ryan Campos' first inning home run was the third total blast of his career.
- Luke Hill swiped second base in the second inning, the first steal of his career.
- Hill also went 3-3 at the dish with an RBI double and a walk, his third multi-hit game and first career three-hit game just four contests into his freshman campaign.
- Christian Bodlovich inherited runners on first and third in the seventh inning with no outs, allowing just one to score. They were the 63rd and 64th inherited runners of his career. He has allowed just 17-of-64 to score, including 11-of-37 in 2022 and 1-5 in 2023.
- Ethan Long was 2-2 with two walks, the third time in his career he has been on a base four times.
- UNLV was held to season-low three runs scored. UNLV entered the game averaging 17.7 runs per game in its first three games.
- Sun Devil Baseball pitching held the Rebels to seven scoreless frames, more than their entire first three games combined (6).
- Additionally, ASU tied UNLV's season high in runs allowed with six.
- Josh Hansel tossed a Sun Devil career best three innings and three strikeouts.
- In four games this season, starting pitchers for Sun Devil Baseball have been electric. In four games, they have combined for 16.1 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 17 and allowing just seven hits and six walks. Additionally, no ASU starting pitcher has given up more than two hits in an outing, with Hansell's one knock allowed against UNLV.
- Matt Tieding earned his first Division I win, hurling two shutout, one-hit innings in relief of Hansel.
- A key metric for both teams was attacking early in counts. ASU's offense was 4-9 on first pitches in play with three runs scored. UNLV was 2/8 on first pitches in play with zero runs scored.
- ASU's offense put its best hitters in position to succeed, as leadoff hitter Keaschall started four innings for ASU as the first batter.
- Sun Devil Baseball had 10 hits, the second time this season ASU has had double-digit knocks.
- Wyatt Crenshaw went 2-4 with a homer and two runs scored. He is seeing a beachball at the plate, hitting .571 with one homer and three RBI. Two of the RBI and the home run came against UNLV.
- ASU is 4-0 in games decides by three runs or less this season. It was 14-16 in such games last year.
- Brock Peery, the Pac-12 leader in saves last season, earned his second of the year on Tuesday.
First Inning
A few defensive mishaps for the Sun Devils in the top half allowed runners to reach 1st and 2nd, but a huge two-out punch out from Josh Hansell got them out of the jam. There was no score after the first frame.
In the bottom half, Ryan Campos and Ethan Long got the night going offensively with back-to-back solo home runs. This was the third game this season where the Sun Devils had at least one home run in the first inning. At the end of the first, the Sun Devils led 2-0.
Second Inning
Hansell began the inning with a hit batter, however a couple groundouts and a strikeout had nothing doing for UNLV. ASU led 2-0.
The bottom half started with a Luke Hill single that stayed in the infield. A stolen base moved him into scoring position, but the Sun Devils could not bring him home and left him stranded at second. ASU continued to lead 2-0.
Third Inning
A lone single for UNLV was all they had going for them in the top half. Another strikeout for Hansell as the Sun Devils continued to lead 2-0. Hansell's night pitching ended with a statline of 3.0 IP 1H 3K's & 1 BB with 53 pitches.
In the bottom half, Wyatt Crenshaw extended the lead for the Sun Devils with a solo home run of his own. Ethan Long had a single that followed, but he was stranded. The Sun Devils extended their lead 3-0.
Fourth Inning
A very quick 1-2-3 inning for Matt Tieding, who entered the game in relief for the starter Josh Hansell. The Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
In the bottom half, Luke Hill started the Sun Devils' offense with a double and Kien Vu was hit-by-pitch immediately following. However, a lineout double play ended the Sun Devils' threat. They continued to lead 3-0.
Fifth Inning
A single and another hit-by-pitch had UNLV threatening, however a two-out forceout at third eliminated the threat and the Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
Nothing for the Sun Devils in the bottom half, a couple of groundouts and a flyout had them quiet. The Sun Devils continued to lead 3-0.
Sixth Inning
Blake Pivaroff entered the game for the Sun Devils. He recorded a couple of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning for the Sun Devils. They continued to lead 3-0.
Ethan Long, Will Rogers had back-to-back singles to open up the inning. Fittingly, Jonny Weaver made it three singles in a row that brought Long home to extend the Sun Devils lead. A passed ball brought Rogers and Weaver into scoring position. However, the Sun Devils could not add on any more. They extended their lead 4-0.
Seventh Inning
UNLV began their threat early with a lead-off walk followed by a ground-rule double. They brought in their first run of the night with a RBI single in the ensuing at-bat. UNLV added on with another RBI single. A 2-6 pickoff recorded the first out of the inning. With runners on first & second with two outs, the Sun Devils were able to record the final out of the inning to limit the damage. The Sun Devils still lead 4-2.
In the bottom half, Luke Keaschall and Wyatt Crenshaw started the inning with back-to-back doubles which extended the Sun Devils lead. With runners on first and second with one out, Crenshaw stole third base. In the ensuing at-bat, Will Rogers hit an RBI sac-fly. The inning ended on a flyout. The Sun Devils extended their lead to 6-2.
Eighth Inning
UNLV started their inning with a double, followed by a one out RBI-single which cut their deficit to three. However, back-to-back strikeouts from Nolan Lebamoff ended any further damage. The Sun Devils still led 6-3.
Not much going for the Sun Devils in the bottom half with only a couple of walks. The Sun Devils still led 6-3.
Ninth Inning
Jonah Giblin entered the ninth for Lebamoff and was pulled after giving up a one out single. Brock Peery came in and shut the door for his first save of the season pop up and a swinging strikeout. ON DECK
Arizona State hits the road to Mississippi State, facing the Bulldogs in a three game set Friday-Sunday. First pitches are set for 3:00, 4:00 and 12:00 MST.
QUOTABLES
On winning tonight ahead of first road season of the year…
"The big takeaways for me are in my mind we have not played very well, but we are 4-0 and have found ways to win each game. I think our pitching has done an outstanding job not giving up free bases and the defense has done a good job on not making a lot of errors. Offensively we have to get a lot better in every aspect of the game from two-strike hitting situations to sacrifice bunts and baserunning. We have to get a lot better if we want to be the team that we want to be. At the end of the day, it is a lot easier to address that stuff after you win, so the facts are I'm proud that the guys are continuing to battle and figure out ways to win even though we have not played that well."
On all starting pitchers performance so far in the season…
"Our pitching staff has worked extremely hard. The biggest thing is that we are not giving up free bases which is outstanding. We only had two walks today, so that wins a lot of games when you do not give up free runners all the time. We will continue hopefully to attack the strike zone and force some teams to swing the bats to beat us."
Arizona State Infielder Luke Hill
On his mindset and handling the pressure of good performance…
"I'm taking it with ease. There's no real pressure, to be honest with you. After the first pitch of the Friday night game against San Diego everything flushed out of the system. I'm as confident as can be, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be like that for that rest of the year. My head's on straight and I'm ready to go. It's pretty cool."
Arizona State Infielder Ethan Long
On approach…
"I got back to just doing me, making it simple. Opening weekend I wasn't really getting a lot of fastballs so I got out of my approach. I realized that and went back to doing what I do."