For ASU baseball, a 2-1 lead in the ninth wasn't enough to win the game.
The Sun Devils (6-4) fell to Loyola Marymount 3-2, because of a blown save from sophomore closer Reagan Todd. Coming into the ninth on Saturday evening, ASU led 2-1, but LMU scored two runs in the final frame to take the lead.
"It's a tough loss," said head coach Tracy Smith. "That stuff that happened in the ninth, that's going to happen. These guys are good hitters, they get scholarships, they're playing hard. We executed pitches, they hit them."
With two outs on the board, the Sun Devils were on the edge of their second straight win over the LMU Lions.
But LMU senior second baseman Phil Caulfield boomed a high-flying RBI triple to deep center field off Todd that tied the game at two runs apiece.
Freshman shortstop Nick Sogard dealt the final blow with a blooper single to score Caulfield and give the Lions the lead.
ASU promptly ended the ninth with three straight outs.
While Friday's hero was junior pitcher Eli Lingos, Saturday's star was freshman pitcher Spencer Van Scoyoc.
Van Scoyoc didn't come out victorious, but Smith thought he played well.
"I thought he was good, I thought he pitched around things," Smith said. "But again, he did his job, he held them to one earned run, and he left the ball game after five innings. Not a bad outing."
Van Scoyoc pitched 5.0 innings, threw four strikeouts, gave up one earned run and allowed four hits and five walks. The freshman has adjusted well to his first season in college baseball and now has a 1.35 earned run average.
However, the walks were a concern for Smith.
"I think he had a leadoff walk in three innings in a row or something like that," Smith said. "Consequently, that loss wasn't in the ninth inning. It makes us have to extend our bullpen for a little bit, if we're five innings in and almost close to 100 pitches. But he's going to be more effective for us if he can get deeper into the ballgame and cut those walks down."
ASU lead most of the game, starting with an RBI single from freshman catcher Lyle Lin in the first, followed by an RBI groundout from junior second baseman Andrew Snow.
#Linsanity strikes again.
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 5, 2017
Devils take the lead 1-0 with two in scoring position! @Pac12Network https://t.co/3fKbLKMWrv
But two runs weren't enough. Smith didn't have much criticism for the offense, but didn't like how they left six runners on base.
The Sun Devils will stay at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for their final game against Loyola Marymount on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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