The ASU Baseball team hustles to throw out a runner to first base against the University of Oregon on April 5. Oregon’s season just ended with a total of 48 wins and 16 losses. (Photo by Dominic Valente)The 2013 ASU baseball season ended Sunday night after Cal State Fullerton knocked off the Sun Devils (37-22-1) 6-1 to advance to the Super Regionals.
The Sun Devils’ season had its fair share of exciting games, however. These are the top 10 most memorable games — some bad and some good — from the 2013 season:
10. Stanford at ASU, May 3: The showdown between Sun Devils junior pitcher Trevor Williams and Cardinal senior Mark Appel was one circled on the calendar from the beginning of the season. Appel, the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, shined the brightest on the night, striking out 12 in 7.2 innings as the Cardinal took the game 5-3.
9. ASU at California, May 11: The Sun Devils jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, which usually is good news when freshman Ryan Kellogg is on the mound. Instead, Kellogg had the worst outing of his season, relinquishing the lead and giving up six runs in only 2.2 innings. The Sun Devils trailed 9-6 in the eighth, but junior outfielder Casey Koffman hit a game-tying, three-run homer and fellow junior James McDonald won it in the ninth with a leadoff homer – maybe the Sun Devils’s most hard-fought win of the season.
8. Arkansas at ASU, March 2: Arkansas was the preseason No. 1 team and after the Sun Devils knocked the Razorbacks off only two nights prior, a two-game sweep seemed like a lot to ask. But the Sun Devils did it, thanks to a gutsy performance from Kellogg, who struck out six and walked none in six innings of work. It was the game that first proved to the college baseball world that Kellogg could pitch, and the Sun Devils won 3-1.
7. ASU at UA, April 16: The Sun Devils looked comfortable in their first meeting with the Wildcats since UA's national championship in 2012. The Sun Devils held an 8-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but sophomore Adam McCreery came on in relief of junior starter Zak Miller and the comeback was on. McCreery faced only three batters, all of which reached base and scored later in the inning. The Wildcats added another three in the seventh and two in the eighth to rally and knock off the Sun Devils 10-9.
6. ASU at UA, April 30: Only two weeks removed from the debacle in Tucson, the Sun Devils returned to the scene of the crime with a purpose. After falling behind 3-0 after only an inning, the Sun Devils struck back, scoring a run in the second and three in the third to grab a 4-3 lead. The game was tied at five runs in the eighth when the Sun Devils took the lead for good, scoring two runs with only one hit. Unlike their previous time in Tucson, the Sun Devils held their lead and won 7-5 as freshman closer Ryan Burr picked up his tenth save of the season.
5. ASU at Cal State Fullerton, June 1: The epitome of a pitchers duel, Kellogg and Titans freshman Justin Garza went toe-to-toe for six innings in the first meeting in the NCAA Fullerton Regional. It was Kellogg who flinched, though, giving up a sacrifice fly in the seventh. That run proved plenty for Garza who threw 8.1 innings of shutout baseball while striking out nine. The game finished in 1-0 in Cal State Fullerton’s favor, but it was a great matchup of two of the best freshmen pitchers in the country.
4. Oregon at ASU, April 5: This game was the first one that really had the postseason intensity fully there. Fresh off a series win versus UCLA, the Sun Devils looked to keep the momentum rolling against the Ducks, who sat in first place in the Pac-12 at the time. Williams and the Sun Devils built a 5-1 lead heading to the eighth, but the junior gave up four to allow the Ducks to tie the game. The Sun Devils had chances to win in the eighth and ninth, but left six combined base runners on. The Sun Devils finally struck in the eleventh when freshman pinch hitter R.J. Ybarra smoked the game-winning single to the left-field gap for his second walk-off hit in three games. The hit was extra special for Ybarra, whose parents were in town to watch their son play college baseball for the first time.
3. Arkansas at ASU, Feb. 28: This was another game the Sun Devils had circled on their calendars prior to the season. Arkansas entered as the second-ranked team in the nation, but freshman Brett Lilek made the Razorback offense look silly at the plate in his first career start, striking out six in five innings and working out of two bases-loaded jams. Lilek did all this against Razorback junior ace Ryne Stanek, who had finished 8-4 with a 2.82 ERA his sophomore year. It was one of the biggest wins around the country at the time and put the Sun Devils in the national spotlight.
2. UA at ASU, May 19: The Sunday afternoon matchup was for all the marbles. A win clinched not only the series and season series, but also the Territorial Cup series. The game lived up to every expectation as there were six lead changes and two ties. The game was tied at six in the eighth, but the Wildcats’ Brandon Dixon broke the deadlock with an RBI single. The Sun Devils had their chances in the eighth and ninth but couldn’t capitalize. They left the bases loaded in the eighth then sophomore designated hitter Nate Causey grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the ninth to end the game. It was the most heartbreaking loss of the year for the Sun Devils, and the Wildcats won the Territorial Cup series for the fourth consecutive year.
1. ASU at Oregon State, March 23: The Beavers were the popular pick to win the 2013 Pac-12 title, and their early play showed it. After the Sun Devils were one-hit on Friday night, Kellogg decided to one-up the Beavers (20-2), tossing the first Sun Devil no-hitter since 1993. Kellogg dominated a Beavers lineup that included eventual Pac-12 Player of the Year Michael Conforto. The Canadian was perfect through six, but sophomore shortstop Drew Stankiewicz's error in the seventh broke it up. Only two batters reached against Kellogg, whose feat was the first one in conference play in Sun Devils history. It’s a performance that Sun Devils fans will remember for a long, long time.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Danny__Shapiro
