FULLERTON, Calif. — Fighting for revenge and a chance to play in the Fullerton Regional final, ASU and Cal State Fullerton put together a game for the ages.
No. 1 seed Cal State Fullerton (36-22) defeated No. 2 seed ASU (35-22) Saturday night on a walk-off, bases-loaded walk from Eder Erives that gave the Titans a wild, 14-inning 3-2 victory at Goodwin Field.
Erives hit the leadoff batter to open the final inning, loading the bases with two more walks before walking junior third baseman Jerrod Bravo on four pitches to drive in the game-winning run.
Cal State Fullerton head coach Rick Vanderhook said a win in such a game relied upon more than skill.
"We got lucky," he said. "You know what? I like luck. I like luck a lot."
It was a must-win game for ASU, and a loss eerily similar to previous failures in Southern California.
ASU came into Saturday's game looking for revenge after suffering heartbreak in its previous trip to Fullerton in 2013. ASU won its first two games of the 2013 Fullerton Regional before dropping two in a row to the host Titans to go home empty-handed.
Cal State Fullerton made a controversial move before opening their regional Friday, electing to save ace Thomas Eshelman for Saturday night.
Boy, did he put on a show.
Eshelman overcame early trouble to throw nine innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, walking none while striking out a career-high 14 batters on a stunning, career-high 143 pitches.
Vanderhook said the win validated his decision.
"To win game two, that's why you set it up this way," he said. "If we had choices, I would have thrown (Eshelman) game one and somebody else game two, but, as I was second-guessed by a lot of people...I thought this was the game that you have to win."
The pitch total, while staggering, was even more impressive in a ninth inning where he struck out two ASU batters.
"He wanted to finish the ninth, and I'm not going to argue with him," Vanderhook said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the history of this program, and he wanted to go out there."
Eshelman was spent physically after the outing, but pumped up on the intense emotion at the ballpark.
"When I came out of the game, I was really exhausted mentally and physically," Eshelman said. "It was fun to be a part of, especially going back-and-forth with a good ball club."
After giving up runs in the first two innings, Eshelman settled in behind his impressive control and breaking ball.
"My breaking ball was on tonight," he said. "That was a good pitch to use, especially in that sixth inning, too. I just settled my nerves down a little bit, and got back to what I've been doing all year."
The Sun Devils set a new program record, striking out 20 times during Saturday's game.
ASU head coach Tracy Smith went with a bold move of his own, throwing sophomore right-hander Seth Martinez instead of expected starter Brett Lilek.
Martinez went 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out two on 63 pitches.
ASU got on the board before Eshelman even recorded an out, as junior center fielder Johnny Sewald led off the game with a double to left field. Sewald then advanced to third on a wild pitch, scoring on Cal State Fullerton catcher A.J. Kennedy's wild throw to make it 1-0.
Freshman second baseman Andrew Snow got the best of Eshelman in the second inning, muscling up a fastball and driving it way out of Goodwin Field over the left field wall, giving ASU the early 2-0 lead.
Cal State Fullerton managed to cut into the Sun Devil lead with some help from ASU senior first baseman Joey Bielek, who dropped a foul pop-up to allow Titans sophomore shortstop Timmy Richards to drive in a run with a RBI single and make it 2-1.
ASU failed to tack on an insurance run in the sixth inning, as sophomore shortstop Colby Woodmansee and redshirt senior right fielder Trever Allen were stranded after back-to-back leadoff hits to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
Eshelman struck out the next three batters, halting the ASU rally.
"It was fun to use that right there, go for a strike out in that situation and I got three," Eshelman said. "It was definitely an emotional game all-around and something that I wanted to win."
The Titans offense responded, knotting up the game at 2-2 on junior designated hitter David Olmedo-Barrera's RBI single off of reliever Darin Gillies.
It was a long sixth inning, as ASU went to the mound several times, bringing in three separate pitchers in freshman left-hander Eli Lingos, Gillies and Lilek.
Smith went to Lilek with two runners on and two out in the inning, who induced a inning-ending ground out to keep the game tied.
Woodmansee nearly put ASU ahead in the eighth, launching one to left field that got caught in the marine layer and was caught on the warning track.
Cal State Fullerton opened the bottom half of the eighth with back-to-back walks, reaching second and third base on a bunt.
Smith went to the 'pen again, bringing in junior closer Ryan Burr.
After a walk, ASU junior third baseman Jordan Aboites made the play of the game with a diving throw to get Fullerton junior first baseman Tanner Pinkston to end the inning and keep it tied.
It was one of several big defensive plays made by Aboites, who Smith said likely saved ASU two runs.
"He took a lot of runs off the board," Smith said. "Played really, really well and that was good to see...I thought he saved at least two runs. That's how he always plays."
Aboites led off extra innings with a single, advancing to second on a Sewald bunt. Woodmansee walked, and Allen looked like he had the go-ahead RBI before Richards made a diving play to keep it at an infield single.
Bielek, the next batter, struck out with a full count and the bases loaded to keep the game 2-2 after ASU's half of the 10th inning.
Cal State Fullerton threatened to end the game in the 11th, getting the winning run within 90 feet of scoring before Burr induced a fly out to end the frame.
Burr went 4.1 innings of scoreless work, giving up just two hits while striking out four on 74 pitches.
Titans senior left-hander Tyler Peitzmeier was just as impressive out of the bullpen, going five scoreless innings and giving up just three hits and walking two while striking out six on 72 pitches while picking up the win.
Smith made it clear that the Sun Devils' run wasn't over.
"The plan is to go and win the next game," Smith said. "We'll figure out how to win the next game and then we're going to try to win the next one after that."
ASU plays Pepperdine Sunday at 4 p.m. at Goodwin Field in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to face Cal State Fullerton in the regional final, with first pitch expected at 8 p.m.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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