Sun Devil Baseball took down rival Arizona, 10-4, in front of the biggest crowd of the season in the first of five games against the Wildcats this season.
Arizona State (12-4) got big performances from players up and down the lineup to secure the victory, as three players had multi-hit nights and three players had multiple RBIs. Additionally, the Sun Devils stole three bases and homered twice.
The offense got Arizona State on the board quickly, as back-to-back hits by pitches and a single loaded the bases with no outs, allowing Austen Roellig to drive in a run with a sac fly. Arizona tied the game up in the first, but the Sun Devil pitching staff was able to hold the Wildcats at bay long enough for the offense to heat up.
A big fourth inning saw Arizona State score five runs, and the Sun Devils tacked on runs in the sixth and seventh, and two runs in the eighth.
On the pitching side, after Colin Linder opened the game and threw 2.0 innings, Taylor Penn came in and tossed 3.0 innings of one-hit ball, earning the win. Jaden Alba struggled giving up three runs without recording an out, but Sean Fitzpatrick came up big, pitching 3.0 innings with just one hit allowed. Derek Schaefer then came in to pitch the ninth, sealing the win with a scoreless frame.
“It's more than just a win, even though it counts as just one in the win column. It's nice to jump out and get the first one against those guys. They're a solid team, and for us to come away with the win, obviously, we played pretty well on most facets of the game tonight, and it's a big step for us to get that win tonight.”
Turning point
Locked in a 1-1 duel early, the Sun Devils posted one of their vaunted crooked numbers in the bottom of the fourth inning. A Roellig single set the table for Dean Toigo’s third home run in as many games to make it a 3-1 lead. A pair of doubles from Dominic Smaldino and Beckett Zavorek brought another run in before an inevitable Landon Hairston did what he does best, launching an electric two run home to give ASU its 13 half-inning this season with at least five runs.
Big moment
Things got a little hairy for the Sun Devils as Arizona got right back into the game with a three-run missile with no outs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 6-4. Sean Fitzpatrick was called upon to save the day and did so with the best performance of his career. The captain gave ASU 3.0 innings of scoreless relief in an outing that tied for the longest of his career. Fitzpatrick struck out four with no walks and just one hit allowed.
Final straw
While Fitzpatrick did his part, the Sun Devil offense did theirs. Hairston singled and stole second and scored on a Moutzouridis RBI single to get one run back in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-4. Heads up-base running would plate another in the bottom of the seventh as Dominic Smaldino scored from second on a two-out error on what should have been a routine 6-3 groundout where the throw was rushed due to Brody Briggs’ hustle down the line. The big knock came with two outs in the bottom of the eight as ASU effectively put the game away on Roellig’s two-RBI single up the middle to make it 10-4. Derek Schaefer was unfazed by a leadoff single in the ninth and stranded two runners with a pair of strikeouts to seal the victory.
The big number
6 - Since being thrown into the fire as a pinch runner after Nu’u Contrades had to leave Sunday’s finale against LMU in the first inning with an injury, Austen Roellig has answered the call with six hits in his eight at-bats since that moment. He has scored six runs and added three RBIs and has only had two plate appearances where he didn’t reach base OR have an RBI.
