After surrendering a five-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Sun Devils rallied back to beat the Pepperdine Waves, 10-7, Tuesday in Malibu, Calif. The win is ASU’s second on the road in 2018 and propelled the team one game over .500.
ASU trailed Pepperdine 2-1 entering the top of the third inning, but after three RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk, the Sun Devils held a 6-2 lead.
The Sun Devils built on the lead in the top half of the next inning, when sophomore infielder Carter Aldrete drove in his third run of the day with an RBI single, which ended up tying for the team lead with fellow sophomore outfielder Hunter Bishop.
However, the 7-2 Sun Devil lead would only hold up for a few minutes, as the Waves produced a five-run bottom of the fourth, which included a grand slam by second baseman Aharon Modlin.
The 7-7 deadlock did not phase ASU, as the offense went right back to work in the top of the fifth. Bishop belted an RBI double to right field, followed by an RBI single from junior outfielder Gage Canning which gave ASU a 9-7 lead.
The Sun Devils did not look back as the Waves never managed to score after the fourth inning.
ASU’s junior left hander Connor Higgins picked up his first win of the season while Pepperdine’s Kiko Garcia took his first loss of 2018.
The all-time series between the two teams is now tied 12 games apiece.
Showing some Offensive Muscle in Malibu
The Sun Devil offense once again proved its capabilities after hammering out a season-high 16 hits in Malibu. With the exception of freshman infielder Gage Workman, everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.
Six players from ASU had multi-hit games. Aldrete and Bishop led the way with three hits each.
Torkelson does it again
Freshman outfielder Spencer Torkelson, who was just named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, launched a baseball beyond the center field wall in the top of the eighth inning. It seems quite fitting for it to come in that particular inning because it was his eighth dinger of the season as the Sun Devils have now played just 13 games.
Torkelson is continuing his march toward Barry Bonds’ freshman record of 11 home runs, now needing just four to etch his name into the Sun Devil record books.
What’s next for ASU
The Sun Devils return to Tempe to begin a three-game series with the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks beginning Friday. First pitch on Friday from Phoenix Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.
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