PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball secured a critical win for its NCAA Tournament hopes as freshman Nick McLain blasted a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning and the bullpen allowed one hit in 6.2 innings of work en-route to a 2-1 victory.
Arizona State (31-22, 16-13 Pac-12) has now won or drawn seven of its 10 season series in Pac-12 play. ASU will await the result of tonight's contest in Tucson between USC and Arizona to determine if it is the fourth or fifth seed in the conference tournament, beginning Tuesday at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz.
McLain's go-ahead stroke was his eighth home run of the season and came with two outs and the bases empty. ASU only had three hits, including McLain's bomb and a solo shot by Ryan Campos in the fourth.
ASU pitching stifled UCLA (27-23-1, 12-16-1 Pac-12) as a whole, striking out five batters and walking none. The Sun Devil bullpen allowed just one hit and the five hits for the Bruins was the second-lowest total for UCLA all season. Khristian Curtis got the start, throwing 2.2 innings of one-run baseball. He made one mistake, a solo home run to right-center field in the second inning, while striking out three and walking none.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Campos muscled a solo home run to dead center, knotting the contest at one.
BIG MOMENT
Both bullpens were nearly perfect in the contest, until McLain changed everything with a solo home run to left field, giving ASU the edge it would not relinquish.
FINAL STRAW
Owen Stevenson shut the door with two innings of dynamite closing, striking out one in the eighth and ninth innings for the win.
NOTABLES
First Inning
Khristian Curtis navigated into and out of trouble early, striking out one and recording consecutive line outs after two singles led off the top of the first. The Sun Devils went down in order.
Second Inning
UCLA drew first blood on a two-out solo home run off Khristian Curtis, but that was the only baserunner in the frame for either side.
Third Inning
Curtis got the first two outs before being relieved out of pitch count necessity for the Pac-12 Tournament. He was spelled by Jonah Giblin, who retired the side without difficulty. Bronson Balhom was ASU's first baserunner as he was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Wyatt Crenshaw flew out.
Fourth Inning
Giblin retired the side in order. The Bruins went to a new pitcher in the bottom half. With one out, Ryan Campos lifted a solo home run to dead center field, knotting the contest at one heading into the fifth.
Fifth Inning
After UCLA went down in order in the fifth, the Sun Devils threatened in the home half. Isaiah Jackson and Nu'u Contrades walked, setting up Bronson Balhom's hit by pitch that loaded the bases. The bottom of the order gave ASU a chance, but the top was stifled as Crenshaw and Nick McLain were unable to get the ball out of the infield.
Sixth Inning
Nolan Lebamoff entered in the sixth for his final appearance at Phoenix Muni, recording two outs and leaving a runner on second for Blake Pivaroff, who forced a 3-1 putout to end the top of the sixth. The heart of the Sun Devil order - Campos, Luke Keaschall and Jacob Tobias - were dusted aside in the bottom half.
Seventh Inning
Pivaroff sent the Sun Devils to the seventh inning stretch with a 1-2-3 top half and the Sun Devils obliged in the same manner after the stretch.
Eighth Inning
Owen Stevenson entered, setting down the Bruins without a hit. In the bottom half, everything changed for Arizona State as McLain belted a solo home run down the left field line with two outs.
Ninth Inning
Now pitching with a lead, Stevenson set down the Bruins in order to clinch the ball game.
ON DECK:
Sun Devil Baseball will await the results of the last regular season Pac-12 game in Tucson between USC and Arizona for the Pac-12 bracket to be finalized.
Arizona State (31-22, 16-13 Pac-12) has now won or drawn seven of its 10 season series in Pac-12 play. ASU will await the result of tonight's contest in Tucson between USC and Arizona to determine if it is the fourth or fifth seed in the conference tournament, beginning Tuesday at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz.
McLain's go-ahead stroke was his eighth home run of the season and came with two outs and the bases empty. ASU only had three hits, including McLain's bomb and a solo shot by Ryan Campos in the fourth.
ASU pitching stifled UCLA (27-23-1, 12-16-1 Pac-12) as a whole, striking out five batters and walking none. The Sun Devil bullpen allowed just one hit and the five hits for the Bruins was the second-lowest total for UCLA all season. Khristian Curtis got the start, throwing 2.2 innings of one-run baseball. He made one mistake, a solo home run to right-center field in the second inning, while striking out three and walking none.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Campos muscled a solo home run to dead center, knotting the contest at one.
BIG MOMENT
Both bullpens were nearly perfect in the contest, until McLain changed everything with a solo home run to left field, giving ASU the edge it would not relinquish.
FINAL STRAW
Owen Stevenson shut the door with two innings of dynamite closing, striking out one in the eighth and ninth innings for the win.
NOTABLES
- Two of the three hits for Sun Devil Baseball left the ball yard.
- ASU has now won or tied seven of its 10 series this season in the Conference of Champions. Two of the three losses came on the road to top-seeded Stanford, at USC and at Oregon.
- Nick Mclain cranked the go-ahead solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, his eighth home run of the season, the first go-ahead knock of his career.
- Ryan Campos has reached base safely in 76-of-84 (90.4%) of games with the Sun Devils overall and all but two games this season. He went 1-3 with a solo homer.
- The homer was his eighth of the season and first since April 8th, the series finale against WSU.
- ASU now has 81 homers on the year, fourth most since the 1998 season.
- Owen Stevenson improved to 6-3 on the season with the win.
- Jonah Giblin did not allow a baserunner over 2.1 innings of relief, striking out one. He threw an efficient 32 pitches in the effort. It was the second time this season Giblin has not allowed a runner aboard and Saturday marked the longer of the two.
- In fact, ASU's bullpen was electric, tossing 6.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball. Sun Devil pitchers did not walk a batter and struck out five.
- It is the first time Sun Devil pitchers did not walk a batter in conference play since 5/25/2019 at Stanford.
- Hits were hard to come by in the contest for both sides, as there were eight total 1-2-3 innings.
- In all three games in this series, the winning team was outhit. ASU is now 5-18 when being outhit this season.
- Arizona State is now 7-3 in one-run games, notable as the squad was a mere 1-7 last season. Additionally, the Sun Devils are 18-8 in games decided by three runs or less.
- The win marked the 3,000th in program history for Sun Devil Baseball.
- Prior to the start, ASU honored six Sun Devils for life on Senior Day, as Jonny Weaver, Jesse Wainscott, Nolan Lebamoff, Wyatt Crenshaw, Willie Cano and Bronson Balholm were recognized for the last home game of their collegiate careers.
- UCLA's five hits were its second-lowest of the season.
- The Sun Devils have trailed at some point in 17 of the teams last 22 victories and 19 wins overall. ASU trailed 1-0 in the contest against UCLA.
First Inning
Khristian Curtis navigated into and out of trouble early, striking out one and recording consecutive line outs after two singles led off the top of the first. The Sun Devils went down in order.
Second Inning
UCLA drew first blood on a two-out solo home run off Khristian Curtis, but that was the only baserunner in the frame for either side.
Third Inning
Curtis got the first two outs before being relieved out of pitch count necessity for the Pac-12 Tournament. He was spelled by Jonah Giblin, who retired the side without difficulty. Bronson Balhom was ASU's first baserunner as he was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Wyatt Crenshaw flew out.
Fourth Inning
Giblin retired the side in order. The Bruins went to a new pitcher in the bottom half. With one out, Ryan Campos lifted a solo home run to dead center field, knotting the contest at one heading into the fifth.
Fifth Inning
After UCLA went down in order in the fifth, the Sun Devils threatened in the home half. Isaiah Jackson and Nu'u Contrades walked, setting up Bronson Balhom's hit by pitch that loaded the bases. The bottom of the order gave ASU a chance, but the top was stifled as Crenshaw and Nick McLain were unable to get the ball out of the infield.
Sixth Inning
Nolan Lebamoff entered in the sixth for his final appearance at Phoenix Muni, recording two outs and leaving a runner on second for Blake Pivaroff, who forced a 3-1 putout to end the top of the sixth. The heart of the Sun Devil order - Campos, Luke Keaschall and Jacob Tobias - were dusted aside in the bottom half.
Seventh Inning
Pivaroff sent the Sun Devils to the seventh inning stretch with a 1-2-3 top half and the Sun Devils obliged in the same manner after the stretch.
Eighth Inning
Owen Stevenson entered, setting down the Bruins without a hit. In the bottom half, everything changed for Arizona State as McLain belted a solo home run down the left field line with two outs.
Ninth Inning
Now pitching with a lead, Stevenson set down the Bruins in order to clinch the ball game.
ON DECK:
Sun Devil Baseball will await the results of the last regular season Pac-12 game in Tucson between USC and Arizona for the Pac-12 bracket to be finalized.