ASU baseball scored in just one inning on Saturday night, but the Sun Devils made the most of it against Cal State Bakersfield.
The Sun Devils (18-19, 5-10 Pac-12) secured their second straight series victory with a 4-2 win over the Roadrunners at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. ASU scored all four of its runs in the fifth inning.
"You just kind of find a way to win, three innings total of scoring between the two teams," ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. "We were fortunate to get some big two-out hits, Gage Canning again getting it done. I thought Eli did his job, settled in very nicely. Let us hang around until we finally cracked it there in the fifth, but just a really good baseball game all the way around."
Before the Sun Devils' bats heated up, the Roadrunners had an early advantage. Junior left fielder Andrew Penner started the scoring for CSU Bakersfield with a RBI groundout in the third inning. The Roadrunners added a second run the next inning with a RBI single from senior designated hitter Mahlik Jones.
But the Sun Devils came back with a resounding response in the fifth. Sophomore outfielder Tyler Williams and sophomore third baseman Jeremy McCuin both cranked RBI singles to tie the game at two.
Then came sophomore right fielder Gage Canning, who demolished a two-run home run that was a no-doubter the instant it flew off the bat.
B5 | Who needs a triple when you can hit one 400+?https://t.co/ERoZwOzEwW
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 23, 2017
While the home run was a certainty, Canning wasn't sure if it was his longest home run ever.
"I don't know, it's hard to gauge how far it really is," he said. "It's definitely one of them, though."
Canning has been on fire lately, as this game was his third straight game with at least three hits. Consequently, Canning leads ASU with a .349 batting average. He and Smith both mentioned how his decreased strikeouts have been beneficial for him as well.
Canning wasn't the only star in the Sun Devils, as junior starting pitcher Eli Lingos had a masterful outing.
Lingos only allowed one earned run, struck out six batters and gave up just two walks over 7 2/3 innings pitched. He upped his record to 5-3 on the year and lowered his earned run average to 3.39.
On Saturday, Lingos said his curveball was the difference-maker.
"I had good command of my curveball which helped a lot, getting it over early," he said. "By the end of that game I felt like I was practically throwing only curveballs. That was probably the biggest fact, just being able to get ahead with it and changing speeds with it. It threw off their timing."
As a side note, ASU honored the 1967 team that won the National Championship. In attendance was the coach of the 1967 team, 87-year-old Bobby Winkles.
From one ASU Skip to another pic.twitter.com/MSrVK5lOpf
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 23, 2017
The Sun Devils will finish up the series with the CSU Bakersfield on Sunday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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