If there's one lesson worth learning about baseball, it's that the end result of a game is often shaped by anomalous external factors and unpredictable idiosyncrasies.
How else could you explain Cal being held scoreless by ASU baseball through the first four innings Friday, despite pounding out 15 total hits, eight of them occurring in the fourth and fifth alone?
Or how in the three run fifth inning from the Sun Devils (29-13, 14-5 Pac-12) did Cal starter Daulton Jefferies managed to strike out the side, even while allowing doubles to junior center fielder Johnny Sewald and senior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse?
Redshirt senior right fielder Trever Allen was responsible for the seventh ASU hit of the night, cranking a decisive two-run home run to left with the game tied at three in the ninth off senior right-hander Dylan Nelson in a 5-3 win Friday night at Evans Diamond in Berkley.
So a guy (we think) just ran to center field w/ a unicorn mask (we think) & then ran off the field through a gate...yep we're in Berkeley
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) May 2, 2015
Jefferies, the sophomore right-hander, allowed just four hits and three earned runs, striking out eight in six innings pitched but did not factor in the decision.
The Golden Bears (27-1, 13-9 Pac-12) stranded 13 base runners, and went 0 for 2 in situations with runners on third and less than two outs.
Sophomore right-hander Seth Martinez also earned a no-decision, lasting just 4.2 innings and surrendering 10 hits on 71 pitches.
His struggles were mitigated by the stability of sophomore right-hander Eder Erives and senior Darin Gillies, who managed to keep a red-hot Cal lineup at bay long enough for the middle of ASU's order to finally come around and deliver a late-inning dagger.
The sophomore Sun Devils in the 3-4-5 spots: shortstop Colby Woodmansee, catcher Brian Serven (returned to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday's game in Tucson due to a sore back) and third baseman David Greer combined to go 0 for 12 Friday.
"We got the timely hits, and it's not how many you get, it's when you get them," head coach Tracy Smith said in a postgame radio interview. "Whoever says the numbers don't lie, they lied tonight."
Senior first baseman Joey Bielek snapped his hitless night with a one-out single on an 0-2 count, setting up Allen's blast to help seal a road conference victory.
Of course, ASU fans have come to know that the game is far from over, even when holding a lead in the ninth.
Junior closer Ryan Burr walked senior first baseman Chris Paul (who hit a two-run home run in the fifth) on four pitches to leadoff the inning, and walked junior left fielder Mitchell Kranson with one out.
He retired the next two batters he faced in order to earn his Pac-12 leading 13th save of the season.
Smith has consistently delivered the same message to his club, and he knew it was time to heighten the urgency in the dugout.
His speech was short, and tactful.
"We need this thing," Smith said. "We needed (to win) tonight."
And as they'd done 28 times prior tonight, the Sun Devils found a way to make that happen.
Ryan Mason (5-2, 3.12 ERA) will face Ryan Kellogg (7-1, 3.67 ERA) on Saturday at 6 p.m. from Evans Diamond in Berkeley.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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