ASU baseball (6-4) was defeated by Cal State Bakersfield (4-6) after giving up a pair of three-run innings, which proved to be too much to overcome in the end.
The Sun Devils scored three runs in the first four innings behind a solid performance from senior Darin Gillies, who gave up three earned runs on six hits, with seven strikeouts in his five innings of work. After that, they were outscored 7-1.
Senior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse led off the bottom of the first with a single, then advanced to second and third on two wild pitches. An error by Cal State Bakersfield third baseman Joey Sanchez allowed ASU junior catcher RJ Ybarra to reach and Peevyhouse to score.
In the next inning, junior third baseman Dalton DiNatale's (2-for-4, RBI, home run) second home run of the year made it 2-0 ASU.
Cal State Bakersfield's miscues continued in the fourth inning when another wild pitch and an error set up another ASU run.
After giving up two early hits in the first two innings, Gillies settled in with a 3-0 ASU lead and tallied three-consecutive 1-2-3 innings.
However, what looked to be a dominant pitching performance from Gillies changed in the sixth inning when Cal State Bakersfield scored three runs to tie the game.
After Gillies gave up his first hit since the second inning, senior center fielder Jordie Hein hit a two-run home run to right field to trim the lead to one. Then, a sacrifice fly from junior Mylz Jones (2-for-3, two RBIs) tied the game.
The surge did not stop in the sixth as Jones' second RBI came on an infield single with the bases loaded to take the lead in the seventh inning, making it four unanswered runs for the Roadrunners.
Junior Jordan Aboites, who took over for Gillies, gave up three hits and a run before freshman Ryan Hingst took over and pitched 1.1 innings. Hingst retired his first four batters, but two singles brought sophomore reliever Hever Bueno (0-1) to the mound in the eighth.
ASU's offense came to life again in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Ryan Lillard's double down the left field line tied the game and gave the freshman his first-career RBI.
However, another three-run inning was the final straw as ASU could not overcome a disastrous top of the ninth.
With two outs, two wild pitches and a fielding error by Bueno accounted for two runs. Then, sophomore Ryan Grotjohn's RBI-single made it 7-4 Cal State Bakersfield.
Although it had runners on first and second, ASU could not respond in the bottom half, giving the Sun Devils their first loss of the inaugural Phoenix Muni Classic.
Roadrunners senior starting pitcher James Barragan gave up four hits, two earned runs and struck out six in five innings before sophomore Max Carter (1-0) pitched three innings of one-run ball. Alec Daily earned entered in the ninth and earned the save.
In addition, ASU was 2-for-20 with runners on and 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Head coach Tracy Smith said the conversation after the loss was about representing ASU in the best way possible.
"We talked about what it means not only for ourselves, but how we need to represent the school in terms of how you play," he said. "We're everyone's World Series and we're going to get everyone's best shot so the sooner we figure that out, the better we'll be."
Junior lefthanded pitcher Brett Lilek pitches during the game against Purdue on Feb 27, 2015. The Sun Devils defeated Purdue 15-5 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. (Andrew Ybanez/The State Press)ASU downs Purdue behind explosive fifth inning
After Purdue scored five runs in the second and third innings to force starting pitcher Brett Lilek out of the game, ASU defeated the Boilermakers 15-5 behind a nine-run fifth inning.
It looked as if it would be another game where multi-run innings hurt the Sun Devils, but instead, they turned the tables.
Lilek lacked command during his time on the mound and gave up five hits, five runs and three walks in just 2.2 innings.
Usually, a struggling ace does not bode well for a team, but ASU's offense was able to bail him out tonight for its sixth win of the season.
Purdue had a three-run second inning and a two-run third. However, ASU matched both, leaving the game tied at five until the bottom of the fifth inning when ASU's offense exploded.
Smith said he was looking for players to take the game into their own hands to a point.
'At some point it has to come from within," he said. "We can lead, we can talk, we can coach, but it comes down to performing in situations you need to perform in consistently."
Two singles to left field from Ybarra (4-for-4, two RBIs) and catcher Zach Cerbo started the scoring, which continued with a groundout for Andrew Snow to make it 9-5 ASU.
Ybarra now has 12 hits in his last 15 plate appearances.
"The baseball now looks like a beach ball and I'm feeling good when I step in the box," he said. "Good things are happening for me right now. Baseball's a funny game, you just have to keep swinging and the ball is going to end up falling for you—I didn't make any adjustments, I just stayed with my approach."
In four innings of work, Purdue starting pitcher Brett Haan gave up nine hits and eight runs.
A Johnny Sewald bunt single and Ryan Lillard single up the middle scored another pair of runs.
Senior Joe Eichmann, who took over for Hann gave up four more runs in just 0.2 innings.
ASU went through a full order in the inning as Ybarra stepped up with another RBI-single, giving him his second RBI of the inning. Finally, DiNatale hit a two-run double to right field to make it 14-5 ASU.
Junior catcher RJ Ybarra swings for a first base hit during the game against Purdue on Feb 27, 2015. The Sun Devils defeated Purdue 15-5 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. (Andrew Ybanez/The State Press)Ybarra said a change of momentum like the one that occurred in the fifth is a big factor in a game.
"When you get a big momentum change, it's easy for our pitcher to come out and want to throw strikes and be able to attack the zone knowing we have a big and comfortable lead," he said. "It was nice to get some freshmen out there on the mound that we're going to need later on."
Sophomore Eder Erives, who replaced Lilek, went 3.1 innings and gave up no earned runs.
Smith said Erives stepped up when it counted, which was what he was looking for with Lilek struggling, possibly due to an illness he was dealing with.
"It was a tight strike zone tonight," he said. "Brett did not adjust to it, but Eder did and that was good for him to come in and close it out a bit—he needed that."
After Erives, three freshmen relievers helped close out the game after the sixth inning—Eli Lingos, Andrew Shaps and Grant Schneider all pitched an inning, with the latter two making their first appearances this season.
Smith said it was nice to get three freshmen pitchers in the game, noting that he was pleased with their respective performances.
"We saw some guys who got after it in the strike zone," he said. "It was nice to finally have a game where we can stretch it out and put some of these young guys out there to get some dirt on their spikes."
ASU will play Gonzaga Saturday at 2 p.m. in its final game of the Phoenix Municipal Classic.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter.
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