FULLERTON, Calif. — After starting the game at first base, junior David Greer moved to the mound to keep a 0-0 game level and help a thin bullpen, and ended up pitching two scoreless innings to do just that. But his biggest act was yet to come.
Leading off the top of the 14th inning against Gavin Velasquez, he smacked a go-ahead home run over the center field fence, eliciting roars from the ASU dugout and the fans sitting behind it. Then, junior shortstop Colby Woodmansee drew a walk before junior catcher Brian Serven's RBI double - his only hit of the night - made it 2-0 Sun Devils.
Greer (1-0) finished 3-for-6 at the plate, pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts to earn a win on the mound, and even made a few nifty plays at first base. It was a true all-around performance.
"That'll be a special memory for him, I promise you he'll remember that the rest of his life," ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. "He's a big-time player. Big-time players make big-time plays and do things to help their team win."
ASU summoned junior Seth Martinez to shut the door. While he faced some trouble and even allowed a run, he eventually got the final outs and stranded two runners to secure a 2-1 win and a series sweep on the road over No. 23 Cal State Fullerton (6-6).
Alas, ASU (10-3) finally found itself on the favorable side of a 14-inning game at Goodwin Field after losing one 3-2 to Cal State Fullerton on May 30, 2015 in the Fullerton Regional.
"That's a grinder game there," Smith said. "Both teams I thought played very well, pitched very well on both sides. That's just one where you have to outlast the other guy and it's a shame somebody has to lose that game...I was very proud of our guys, that was a team effort all around because so many guys contributed to that win."
ASU used eight pitchers on Wednesday night, which was almost like walking on eggshells due to a thin bullpen.
After senior Jordan Aboites' strong outing on Tuesday, freshman James Ryan took advantage of his first career start as a Sun Devil, tossing four innings of one-hit ball while striking out a pair on 50 total pitches.
Cal State Fullerton sophomore left-hander John Gavin had a strong showing as well. Gavin, who entered the game with a 5.02 ERA in 14.1 innings of work, pitched five scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Freshman Fitz Stadler pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Sun Devils after Ryan's exit.
Perhaps the game's most tense moment came in the bottom of the 10th inning when sophomore Reagan Todd faced a bases-loaded jam with one out and Cal State Fullerton leadoff hitter Josh Vargas at the plate. With the game on the line, Todd got a fly out and a pop up to escape the inning.
ASU faced a fair amount of adversity on Wednesday night, and while Smith said he obviously would've preferred a 1-2-3 inning, it was nice to see his team remain calm.
"I think lesser athletes, lesser guys that aren't confident maybe cave into that pressure," he said. "That's a good baseball team that we just beat...When you do stuff like this against a good team on the road and still find a way to win, all that does is log away in that confidence bank, and that hopefully will come out in future games."
Cal State Fullerton's Dylan Prohoroff and Chad Hockin each threw three innings of relief.
Following Tuesday night's win, Smith emphasized ASU's focus on sweeping the midweek road series. After two consecutive series sweeps — three total this season — the Sun Devils have presumably strengthened their case to keep nearing the top 25 polls. For now, ASU will return home for a there-game series against UC Davis.
"I guess by the pundits, we're a little irrelevant this year on a national scene," Smith said. "We felt it important to come and make a statement on the road...Hopefully make some people take notice that we're still playing baseball in Tempe."
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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