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Baseball defeats UWM, 6-2, in Regional opener

ASU pitcher Merrill Kelly lifts his hat to the crowd as he and his teammates make their way off the field after defeating the Milwaukee Panthers Friday night. Kelly now has record of 9-2 with and ERA of 3.75. (Photo by Scott Stuk)
ASU pitcher Merrill Kelly lifts his hat to the crowd as he and his teammates make their way off the field after defeating the Milwaukee Panthers Friday night. Kelly now has record of 9-2 with and ERA of 3.75. (Photo by Scott Stuk)

Things couldn't have started off much much worse for Merrill Kelly in the ASU baseball team's NCAA Regional opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Friday night.

In his first Division I postseason start, the junior right-hander gave up a first-inning single, committed an error and watched a runner reach on another ASU error to load the bases.

Not exactly how the No. 1 Sun Devils hoped their playoff run would begin.

Kelly was hardly phased though, in front of the sold out and initially nervous crowd of 4,371 at Packard Stadium. After a groundout allowed a run to cross for the Panthers, Kelly dropped the hammer, getting out of the inning without further damage on his way to a stellar outing that paced a 6-2 win for ASU (48-8).

The Sun Devils will face Hawaii in a winner's bracket contest Saturday at 7 p.m.

“It think it was kind of just first playoff jitters,” Kelly said of the first-inning shortcomings. “I think I was excited a little too much. I just had to slow the game down and take it one pitch at a time.”

Kelly (10-2) was markedly efficient in his first postseason start, quickly mowing through batters in his eight innings of work like a one-man assembly line. He struck out eight Panther hitters, with the majority of the rest retiring on ground balls, a result of Kelly's constantly pounding batters inside.

“I usually try to [work inside],” said Kelly, who retired 11 straight hitters during one stretch. “I like to challenge them and say, 'If you're going to hit it, you're going to have to hit it inside.”

The Sun Devils released the pressure valve on Kelly with several big hits early. Freshman Deven Marrero made the most of his first career postseason at-bat by delivering a two-out double in the second that scored sophomores Johnny Ruettiger and Zach Wilson and gave ASU a lead that would not be threatened.

Kole Calhoun blew the game open in the third with a towering three-run blast onto Rural Road to put ASU up 5-1.

“It was a change up belt high, and usually those things are going to happen,” said UWM starting pitcher Chad Pierce, who was pulled after giving up five runs in three innings.

The Sun Devils added another run in the sixth on an RBI double by Riccio Torrez, who was 2-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to 21 games.

After Kelly surrendered his only earned run of the night on a two-out double by Dan Buchholtz, sophomore Mitchell Lambson closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Kelly's eight innings of labor (112 pitches) meant the Sun Devils were able to shelve the arms of their relievers, something ASU coach Tim Esmay said is crucial as the postseason wears on.

“The name of the game is whoever is fresh at the end,” Esmay said. “By us not having to go to the bullpen, and only using [Lambson] at the end, that's a great job for our arms for [Saturday].”

Esmay also lamented several base-running mistakes that cost the Sun Devils a handful of opportunities to stretch their lead.

Calhoun, Ruettiger and Riccio Torrez were each picked off the base paths and sophomore Zack MacPhee was thrown out trying to stretch a double in the seventh.

“I think we were a little overzealous on the base paths tonight,” Esmay said. “We gave some free outs away.”

With this year's ASU team, though, when one facet of the game is lacking, several others are elevated. Kelly's performance was aided several defensive gems including a particular sequence in the seventh when Marrero ranged deep in the hole to his right and delivered a powerful throw to out Buchholtz. MacPhee closed the inning with an impressive dig of a sharply hit grounder that started a 4-6-3 double play.

“Both of those were game savers,” Kelly said. “It's nice to have a defense like that behind you.”

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu


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