Baseball rallies back to edge Arizona
In a low-scoring, well played series and season series clinching game in Tucson, #3 Arizona State played small ball to beat Arizona 4-2 on Monday night. The Devils scored a run in the seventh and added two more in the ninth to secure the win, moving them to 43-6, 16-5 in Pac-10 play.
With the victory on Monday, Arizona State earns the baseball point in the State Farm Territorial Cup Series.
Sun Devil starter Jake Borup limited the Wildcats to only one run in his 5.2 innings of work, striking out four and allowing only one run. He did not factor into the decision. Mitchell Lambson earned the win out of the bullpen, upping his record to 6-2. He went 2.1 innings, allowing no runs and striking out five. Jordan Swagerty pitched the ninth to earn his 11th save of the year.
Arizona State pushed the first run of the game across in the top of the sixth, using some trickery to take a 1-0 lead. With Austin Barnes on third and Kole Calhoun at first and two outs, Calhoun broke for second before the pitch was thrown. Arizona pitcher Daniel Workman threw to second to get Calhoun in a run down. Barnes broke home, sliding in safely with a steal of home. Calhoun ended up on second.
The lead was short-lived, as the Wildcats tied things up against Jake Borup and Mitchell Lambson in the bottom of the sixth. An RBI single by Cole Frenzel off Lambson scored Rafael Valenzuela from second to tie the game. Valenzuela led off the inning by drawing a walk off Borup.
ASU grabbed the lead back in the seventh on a two-out RBI single by Andrew Aplin that scored Johnny Ruettiger to make it 2-1. The Devils would then add some big insurance runs in the ninth. With the bases loaded and one out, Aplin drew a walk to force in a run, then Austin Barnes was hit by a pitch to force in another run and make it 4-1.
The Wildcats scored a run in the ninth to cut it to 4-2, but Swagerty got out of a jam thanks to the glove of Deven Marrero, who started a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to secure the ASU victory.
Riccio Torrez and Aplin each had a pair of hits, with Aplin driving in two.
Arizona State opens its final home series of 2010 on Friday night when the Oregon State Beavers visit Packard Stadium.