With one swing, Drew Maggi erased a postseason full of frustration and sent his team to the College World Series.
Maggi hit a two-run home run to left field in the 12th inning to give ASU a 7-5 win over Arkansas in the Super Regionals, punching the Sun Devils' second straight ticket to baseball's biggest stage.
Hitting 4-for-25 this postseason entering his winning at-bat, the sophomore belted a fastball off reliever T.J. Forrest over the left-field fence, sending the Sun Devils to Omaha for the fourth time since 2005.
“I was just looking for something to hit,” Maggi said. “I just forgot everything that happened and put a good swing on it. … Me slumping, it's no big deal, as long as we win.”
Maggi recorded the final out on a fly ball to the warning track in left field to seal the game, and the team dogpiled in the middle of the infield to celebrate its first back-to-back trip to the cornfields of Nebraska since 1993-94.
ASU coach Tim Esmay, in his first season as the head of the program, pumped his fist toward the crowd, which roared chants of “Omaha!” Omaha!”
“Arkansas gave us everything they had,” Esmay said. “Those were two of the best games I've ever been a part of.”
ASU was only a strike away from winning the game in the ninth, but Brett Eibner homered an 0-2 slider off closer Jordan Swagerty to tie the game and create a second-straight extra inning thriller.
It appeared early that ASU might run away with the contest.
Sophomore Zach Wilson tattooed a fastball from Arkansas lefty ace Drew Smyly over the left field fence in the second to stake ASU (52-8) to an early 1-0 lead.
Riccio Torrez got into the act in the third with a two-run home run that hit the top of the scoreboard in left-center. Wilson made it back-to-back dingers with his second long ball of the game, a laser beam to right field.
But after making quick work of the Razorbacks through the first three frames, ASU junior starter Merrill Kelly ran into control problems in the fourth.
Kelly hit two Arkansas batters, one with the bases loaded, and walked in a run, shrinking the lead to 4-2.
An RBI double by Brett Eibner in the fifth plated first-round draft pick Zack Cox, who earlier doubled, and brought the Razorbacks to within a run.
Riccio Torrez scored on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to add what turned out to be a crucial insurance run, as Arkansas used a pair of base hits in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4, setting up Eibner's clutch homer in the ninth.
Arkansas freshman reliever DJ Baxendale was stellar in relief for the Razorbacks, pitching six-plus innings and allowing just one run in replacement of ace Smyly, who clearly didn't have his best stuff early in the contest.
After giving up the home run to Eibner, Swagerty shut down Arkansas during the heart-pounding extra innings, allowing no runners into scoring position during the extra frames while striking out seven.
ASU will begin play in the College World Series on Saturday or Sunday against either Clemson or Alabama.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
