Joey Bielek's 10th-inning RBI single helped No. 6 ASU baseball complete the comeback and edge by Utah 6-5, tallying its fourth series win in as many tries in conference play.
A night removed from a three-run ninth inning and a comeback attempt that fell just short, the Sun Devils (21-7, 9-3 Pac-12) trailed 5-3 in the ninth on Sunday.
Johnny Sewald (3-for-6, RBI), who was slumping until Friday night, tallied his eighth hit of the series at the most opportune time. Down to the last ASU out, his RBI single to center brought ASU within a run before a wild pitch tied the game.
ASU scored first once again with David Greer's two-run double to right field in the top of the first inning.
After holding a no-hitter through six innings in his last outing, junior Brett Lilek only gave up two hits in 4.2 innings pitched on Saturday, but his four batters walked and three batters hit led to four earned runs. Surprisingly enough, he also struck out six in an outing marred by control issues.
On the flip side, Utah's Jayson Rose, who utilized his changeup throughout the game, gave up three runs on six hits while fanning six batters in his six innings of work.
Although scoring without a hit, Utah (10-19, 4-8 Pac-12) got one back in the second when Lilek hit Max Schuman, who advanced to second on an error, stole third and then scored on a groundout.
However, Utah took the lead with Josh Rose's two-out triple that brought home two runs and made it 3-2 Utes.
In the top of the fifth inning, freshman Andrew Snow doubled, advanced to third on a Sewald single, then scored on a wild pitch by Rose to tie the game.
Lilek revered to a past mistake in the bottom half, though, as he hit Kody Davis with a 3-1 pitch. After being advanced with a sacrifice bunt, Davis stole third and an errant throw allowed him to score and give Utah its first lead of the game.
After Lilek hit his third batter of the game and walked his fourth, freshman Ryan Hingst took over on the mound. Hingst, who has taken over the role of pitching in the midweek games, struck out two in 1.2 innings pitched.
Schuman, a graduate of Arcadia High School in Phoenix, hit a solo shot to right field off ASU senior Darin Gillies to make it 5-3 Utes in the eight inning, appearing to seal a victory before the comeback.
ASU junior Ryan Burr (5-0) had a runner on second with an out in the bottom of the ninth, but managed to escape the inning unscathed before picking up the win.
Utah sophomore lefty Hunter Rodriguez gave up two runs in 2.2 innings of relief work.
Saturday's win became ASU's sixth victory when trailing after the sixth inning.
ASU continues its road trip with a one-game pit stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, against UNLV on April 7 before a three-game home series against Arizona with a Territorial Cup point on the line.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter.
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