ASU matched its conference win total from a season ago with 16 wins and is now victorious in four-straight weekend series, winning six Pac-12 series this season. ASU has scored 162 runs in its last 14 games, going 11-3 in that span while averaging 11.6 runs per game.
Nick McLain, the reigning National Player of the Week, continued his recent tear with his seventh and eighth homers in the last eight games and his ninth multi-RBI game in the last ten. The redshirt sophomore went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Kien Vu worked three walks and made the most of his single hit in the contest – a three-run blast in the eighth that drove the nail in the coffin.
Connor Markl shook off his toughest outing of the season last week with his team-leading fourth quality start of the year. The veteran tossed 6.0 innings, scattering five hits with five strikeouts and one walk. The lone run allowed in the game came on a catcher’s balk, which unfortunately goes into the scorebook as a wild pitch. Jonah Giblin earned his first save of the year, tossing the final 3.0 innings, scoreless with five strikeouts, no walks and just one hit.
TURNING POINT
Nick McLain showed no signs of slowing down, taking advantage of a pair of leadoff walks from Ryan Campos and Kein Vu to start the game by launching his seventh homer in the last eight games into the trees in left field for an instant 3-0 lead right out the gates. He added his eighth homer in that stretch two innings later on a towering leadoff solo shot OVER those trees in left to make it 5-1 and give ASU an advantage it would never give up.
BIG MOMENT
The Sun Devil pitching staff made history, holding Stanford to just one single run for the second consecutive game. It was the lowest back-to-back tally for the Sun Devils at the Sunken Diamond in program history and trails only a two-game stretch at Packard Stadium in 1983 in which ASU held the Cardinal to a single run in back-to-back games for the lowest two-game total in the illustrious series history between the two teams, spanning over 200 games. Connor Markl led the way with a quality start, allowing just one run in 6.0 innings of action – coming on a catcher’s balk in the first inning that is ruled as a wild pitch in the official scoring. Jonah Giblin picked him up with 3.0 scoreless innings of action with just one hit to cap off the outing.
FINAL STRAW
After taking a 5-1 lead, the Sun Devil bats cooled in the middle innings with four-straight scoreless innings while the pitching held serve. ASU blew it open in the eighth inning though, loading the bases with no outs with singles from Harris Williams and Steven Ondinasandwiched around a Kevin Karstetter walk. Ryan Campos laced a ball into center to plate two and make it 7-1 and Kien Vu put the nail in the coffin with a monstrous three-run blast to right center to make it 10-1.
INNING BY INNING
First Inning
Campos and Vu drew a pair of leadoff walks and McLain rewarded them with a massive three-run shot over the trees in left center – his seventh homer in the last eight games – to give ASU a three-run lead. ASU would load the bases with one out and score on a sac fly to make it 4-0. Stanford had an answer in the bottom half, loading the bases in the first with one out thanks to a pair of seeing eye singles. But Markl was able to limit the damage to just one run and that came on a catcher’s balk, getting a strikeout to keep ASU on top 4-1.
Second Inning
The Sun Devils struck out in order. Stanford notched a two-out single to left center but Markl stranded that runner as well.
Third Inning
McLain continued his hot streak with another homer to deep left field, a no-doubt 417-footer to make it 5-1. Tobias reached on a walk but a strikeout and double play ended the inning. Markl got his first 1-2-3 inning of the game thanks to a pair of nice plays at first base by Tobias.
Fourth Inning
Karstetter recorded a one-out hustle double on a slow grounder in center field but that was the extent of the ASU offense. Stanford notched a one-out single but, again, three smooth plays from infielders Steven Ondina, Jacob Tobias and Kevin Karstetter left the Cardinal off the board. Karstetter’s came on a sweet diving stab at the hot corner and a nice throw across the diamond for the final out.
Fifth Inning
Vu led off the frame with a walk but was picked off as he tried to steal second. Back-to-back two-out singles from Tobias and Compton and a Mendoza walk allowed ASU to threaten again but Williams lined one directly at the first baseman to strand the bases loaded and ASU was unable to add to its 5-1 lead. Stanford worked a two-out walk – Markl’s first issued of the game – but a groundout got him out of the frame unscathed.
Sixth Inning
Campos got to third with a two-out double and error and Vu walked and stole second to put a pair in scoring position for McLain but a strikeout ended the threat. Markl worked another 1-2-3 frame with a pair of strikeouts and a nice play on the run by Williams at the warning track in left to keep it 5-1.
Seventh Inning
ASU went down in order to send it to the stretch. ASU went to the pen for the first time in the game and Giblin promptly gave the Sun Devils a 1-2-3 inning, capped by a pair of strikeouts.
Eighth Inning
Williams notched a leadoff single and Karstetter walked to put two on with no outs and Ondina loaded the bases with his bunt single on a perfectly placed bunt down the first-base line. Campos opened things up with a two-RBI single to center. Vu blew the game open for the second-straight game, launching a three-run homer to make it 10-1 and ASU never looked back.
Ninth Inning
The Sun Devils went down in order in the ninth. Giblin closed out his first save of the year with a 1-2-3 inning.
ON DECK
The Sun Devils will look to sweep the final Pac-12 series in program history tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. AZT. The game will be available online via the Stanford live stream.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Jeremy Hawkes
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