BERKELEY – Sun Devil Baseball deftly dodged a bases-loaded jam in extra innings, riding the momentum to
Spencer Torkelson's game-winning RBI single in the 11
th inning as Arizona State downed Cal, 6-5, in the series opener on Friday in Berkeley, Calif.
ASU rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take its first lead in the 8
th inning, only for Cal to come back and tie it on a solo shot in the bottom half of the frame to inevitably send the game to the gripping set of extra innings.
Torkelson had a monster night at the plate, going 4-for-6 and launching his 20
th home run of the season before lacing a laser two-out single directly into the chest of the Cal third baseman in the top of the 11
th. The ball careened into the outfield, allowing
Carter Aldrete to score the go-ahead run from second.
Torkelson's 20
th long ball gives him 20 home runs in consecutive seasons as he joins Bob Horner as the only other Sun Devil in history to accomplish the feat. He also became just the second player in NCAA baseball's BBCOR batting era (since 2011) to log 20+ home runs in consecutive seasons and the Sun Devils became the first Power Five program in the BBCOR era to have two players on the same team reach 20 home runs (
Hunter Bishop/22).
The 45
th home run of Torkelson's career moves him into a tie for fourth in program history with Sun Devil legends Barry Bonds and Brett Wallace. He is now within 11 home runs of Horner's career school record of 56.
Still, his late-inning theatrics could not have been made possible without a monumental defensive stand after Bears loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 10
th inning, simply needing a single ball to leave the infield to walk it off. The Sun Devils wouldn't grant them that luxury.
ASU brought
Trevor Hauver in from left field to play as a fifth infielder and
RJ Dabovich delivered the pitches he needed to get the Devils out of the frame.
Alika Williams snagged back-to-back grounders in the six-hole, making accurate throws to
Lyle Lin at home for a pair of force outs to bring the Sun Devil faithful to their feet in anticipation. Dabovich issued an inning-ending strikeout, viciously pumping his chest en route to the dugout and bringing all of the game's momentum with him.
Carter Aldrete knocked a one-out double to right center in the top of the 11
th to put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but a
Drew Swift pop out proceeded a quick 0-2 count to Torkelson as the Devils were down to their final strike of the frame. Torkelson's presence in the box was on full display as he worked the count full before sitting back on a breaking ball and ripping it directly at the Cal third baseman.
The ball one-hopped off his chest and into left field, allowing Aldrete to score and putting the Devils in control for the final half inning.
Brady Corrigan answered the call with a flourish, striking out the side to avoid any drama and sending the Devils back to the hotel with the victory.
The late-inning drama overshadowed what was a masterful outing from
Alec Marsh. The junior ace recorded 10 strikeouts for the second consecutive game – matching his career high – while shaking off some defensive lapses behind him to allow just two earned runs over 6.0 innings pitched.
Marsh made only one real mistake on the day, leaving a ball up in the zone in the second that resulted in a three-run home run for the Bears. But he locked back in after that, keeping the potent Cal lineup off balance enough to allow the Devils to climb back into the game.
All told, the Sun Devil pitchers struck out a season-best 16 batters and stranded nine Cal runners on the basepath. Dabovich earned the win to move to 6-0 on the season, allowing just one run in 3.0 innings of work.
Blake Burzell had a flawless inning of action with a strikeout while Corrigan capped things off with his second save.
Carter Aldrete was 2-for-5 on the day, including his sixth home run of the season. His solo shot in the fifth inning got the Devils on the board.
Trevor Hauver extended his team-best hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI double later in the fifth to plate Torkelson and bring ASU back within 3-2.
Cal took advantage of a numerous free bases in the sixth, loading the bases behind a pair of walks and an infield error and capitalizing with a run on a wild pitch strike three to add some insurance to make things 4-2.
Torkelson had the respond in the top of the seventh with a two-out homer to bring ASU back within one and
Gage Workman finally put ASU on top in the eighth with a two-out, two RBI triple to make it 5-4 in favor of the Devils. But Cal All-American Andrew Vaughn immediately tied things up with a solo shot off Dabovich to leadoff the bottom of the eighth and setting up the extra-inning showdown.
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow with Game Two of the series scheduled for 1 p.m. PT. The forecast for the day calls for heavy rain throughout the entire day, however, and fans are encouraged to follow @ASU_Baseball on Twitter for continued schedule updates throughout the day.
