While far from easy on the nerves, ASU baseball mastered the art of the walk-off win yet again, this time on a two-run single by junior lefty Chris Beall in a come-from-behind 7-6 win over the visiting Stanford Cardinal (10-12, 0-4 Pac-12).
Trailing 6-5 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, ASU head coach Tracy Smith called for a pinch hitter to take freshman second baseman Andrew Snow’s spot.
Beall stepped to the plate in what was perhaps the tensest at-bat he’s ever had.
“He’s been swinging the bat well, and I did like the left on right,” Smith said. “He’s a veteran guy that’s done it. I’m really happy for him, because he’s the guy that’s been staying extra after practice and hitting to put himself in that position. It’s one of those examples in sport that kind of mimics life; keep being positive and the results will follow.”
Sophomore shortstop Colby Woodmansee “had no idea what just happened” when he hit his walk-off.
So it was natural for Beall to be zoned-in when he stepped to the plate.
“I wasn’t really thinking,” Beall said. “I was glad to be in there, throughout the season, it’s just been a grind. It was a battle all night.”
The Sun Devils (16-7, 5-2 Pac-12) at one point had the bases loaded with no outs in the final inning and first baseman Joey Bielek nearly grounded into a double play, but drove in a key run that set up Beall’s at-bat with two outs.
“For whatever reason, we just haven’t had good at-bats (with runners in scoring position),” Smith said. “I was going to try to play for the tie, so we would last a little bit longer with extras.”
On a 2-2 count, Beall drove a pitch through the right side and scored Bielek and freshman Ryan Lillard, who was pinch running for junior designated hitter RJ Ybarra.
“I just try to stay ready,” Beall said. “It was a big confidence booster that (Smith) noticed that we all want to be here and work hard, it went a long way, and it worked.”
Sophomore third baseman David Greer had already walked after a nine pitch at-bat facing freshman right-hander Colton Hock, with an opportunity to close out the game for the Cardinal.
“I was just trying to stay locked in,” Greer said. “It’s easy to get complacent when you’re starting to hit well. Putting in the extra time – you can’t sit back and say ‘I’m hitting well now,’ and let the other guys put extra work in.”
Sacrifice flies by Woodmansee and junior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse put ASU ahead 2-0 after two innings.
Video by Stefan Modrich | Sports Reporter
ASU sophomore starter Seth Martinez allowed back-to-back singles in the third and junior right fielder Johnny Locher scored on a double play ground out by Tommy Edman.
Martinez lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and walked two hitters on 53 pitches.
Smith didn’t hesitate to pull the plug and go to his bullpen, utilizing senior Darin Gillies, sophomore Eder Erives, and junior Jordan Aboites (2-2) in relief.
ASU responded in the bottom half of third, however – redshirt senior right fielder Trever Allen doubled home Ybarra and Greer singled in Allen.
Friday was a career night for Greer, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI single to plate Allen.
Stanford tagged Gillies for three unearned runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead after Woodmansee bobbled a ground ball in what could have completely swung the game in the Cardinal’s favor.
Instead, the Sun Devils fought back and held Stanford scoreless in the final three innings.
“If you haven’t noticed, that’s how Pac-12 baseball is,” Beall said. “It’s a rollercoaster every game, they all come down to the wire, and that’s what makes this conference great.”
ASU looks to take the series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Muni.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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