ASU baseball beat Clemson 7-4 to open regional action at Cal State Fullerton Friday afternoon and advanced to the winner's bracket.
Here's what caught my eye as I watched the game at home, as perhaps many of you did.
1. Ryan Kellogg's nifty pickoff move:
Before the Sun Devils broke the game open, the junior lefty was locked into a pitcher's duel with Clemson's ACC Pitcher of the Year, junior righty Matthew Crownover. But he caught junior right fielder Steven Duggar (3 for 5) napping at first base with one out, effectively ending a threat. In what was once a close game that was again made interesting in the ninth, taking a Tiger off the base paths ended up being critical. He also escaped a bases-loaded jam and tossed seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and striking out six.
. @ASUSkip on today's outing by @RyanKellogg49 "Typical." #KelloggShow
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) May 30, 2015
2. Trever Allen, demolisher of baseballs:
The senior righty has risen to the occasion in his final year in maroon and gold, riding his late season success into Fullerton where he had the two most important hits of the day – a solo home run to chip away at a 2-0 deficit, and a two-run triple in the eighth that provided a comfortable five-run cushion for the tandem of Darin Gillies and Ryan Burr to work with and finish Clemson in the ninth.
3. Get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in:
ASU has struggled with driving in runners in scoring position, but dominated went 2-for-3 as a team with runners on third and less than two outs, and were 5-for-10 overall in advancement opportunities, getting runners over. The Sun Devils stranded just three runners, to Clemson's eight.
4. The five tools of Brian Serven:
Will opposing baserunners learn... Ever? Serven gunned down another poor soul that was a prospective Clemson base stealer, redshirt sophomore first baseman Andrew Cox after a one-out single in the seventh, squelching a Tiger rally yet again. Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine, it's time to hit the film room – or the track – if you intend to advance while this man is behind home plate. Oh yeah, he and Joey Bielek mashed back-to-back home runs to give ASU a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the same inning.
5. Jordan Aboites and his clutch catch in foul territory:
Aboites has filled in as a defensive sub at third base and hasn't missed a beat, including a nice grab for the first out of the ninth inning. Plays like that will only increase his value as ASU advances further along in the tournament, and you'd imagine he may be needed to step up on the mound at some point, a challenge we know he's ready for.
Aboites with an acrobatic, rolling catch in foul territory. Two outs away
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) May 30, 2015
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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