Deven Marrero sat behind a table during the post-game conference wearing an ear-to-ear grin and a Superman wristband.
Both the facial expression and the attire were appropriate.
That's because the freshman played superhero with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning to give ASU a 7-6, come-from-behind victory over Arkansas in Game 1 of the teams' best-of-three Super Regional series, leaving the No. 1 Sun Devils (51-8) just one win away from their second straight trip to the College World Series.
“That's probably one of my best hits ever,” Marrero said. “I'll never forget that.”
After senior Kole Calhoun led off the 12th with his fifth walk of the game, tying a school record, sophomore Riccio Torrez was hit by Arkansas reliever Brett Eibner. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Austin Barnes led to a force out of Torrez at second, but put runners on the corners with one out, setting the stage for Marrero. The Miami native deposited the first fastball he saw from Eibner into the grass in left field, bringing home Calhoun and sending a raucous sold-out crowd of 4,371 at Packard Stadium into a frenzy.
“I knew he was going to pump fastballs, because that's the kind of guy he is,” Marrero said of his approach against Eibner. “I was up there ready to hit. I wasn't going to be passive and I just put a good swing on it.”
While it was Marrero that provided the final blow against the heavy dose of kryptonite brought by the No. 15 Razorbacks, he was hardly without sidekicks.
Sophomore Mitchell Lambson pitched five innings of one-hit, shutout relief, quelling the momentum Arkansas formed against starting pitcher Seth Blair, who, in a rare poor outing, allowed five runs in five innings.
“Our fans were great and they were loud the whole time,” Lambson said. “It kind of helps me focus knowing there are a ton of people behind our team supporting us. I just tried to stay in the zone and whatever [signs] Barnes was putting down, I was trusting him.”
ASU entered the ninth inning trailing by a run. Sophomore Zack MacPhee, who had struck out three times earlier in the game, came to bat with two outs and freshman Andrew Aplin on third and tapped a ball off the end of his bat that fell in no man's land in the infield. By the time Arkansas pitcher Jordan Pratt could turn and fire an errant throw, MacPhee was diving safely into first base, lifting ASU to extra innings.
“Zack MacPhee, talk about a grind, an 'I will not be denied' type of [at-bat],” ASU coach Tim Esmay said. “He just battled and battled and made contact … that's just the baseball gods rewarding him for staying locked in and having good [at-bats].”
ASU started the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single by senior Raoul Torrez, playing in his fourth Super Regional series. Marrero delivered a two-run single in the third to put the Sun Devils up 3-0.
After cruising through the first three innings with five strikeouts, Blair was touched up for three runs in the fourth, including one score on a bases-loaded walk. Arkansas added two more in the ninth, highlighted by a pair of doubles from Zack Cox, the 25th overall selection in this week's MLB draft, and Eibner.
Arkansas took a 6-4 lead in the sixth when Matt Vinson hit the second pitch from freshman reliever Brady Rodgers out of the park.
Calhoun closed the gap to one run in the bottom of the frame with a Rural Road blast to right, his 17th home run of the season.
The Sun Devils had numerous opportunities to grab the lead in the regular session, drawing 13 walks from Arkansas pitchers. Sophomore Johnny Ruettiger walked four times to go along with Calhoun's five.
MacPhee nearly tied the game with a single in the seventh, but Aplin, attempting to score from second, was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Collin Kuhn.
Still, the Sun Devils prevailed, coming up with the tying run on their last out in the ninth.
“I definitely grew some more gray hairs tonight,” Esmay said, “but thing is these guys are resilient and they stay focused.”
ASU will attempt to lock up the Super Regional and punch a ticket to Omaha in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
