With two runners on and one out in the seventh inning with the score tied in a must-win game, ASU head coach Tracy Smith went with his closer.
It backfired.
ASU junior closer Ryan Burr gave up a bases-clearing triple in the seventh inning to fuel No. 17 USC in its 7-4 win over the No. 12 Sun Devils Saturday night at Dedeaux Field.
With regional hosting chances on the line and a fading starting pitcher for ASU (33-20, 18-11 Pac-12), Smith elected to go with his best pitcher in Burr. USC (36-19, 17-12 Pac-12) capitalized with a three-RBI bases-loaded triple from senior second baseman Dante Flores.
It was a game-changing, if not season-changing, hit for the Sun Devils.
ASU came into Saturday's tilt needing another win in its final full game before NCAA regional hosts are expected to be announced on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., and came up empty.
The game appeared to be going down to the wire before Burr entered, as both sides exchanged early leads by dominant pitching and timely hitting.
USC tried flipping Friday night's script in the opening frame, as senior catcher Garrett Stubbs drew a one-out walk before advancing to third on a Jeremy Martinez single. Junior center fielder Timmy Robinson, who homered Friday, attempted a squeeze bunt before hitting a sacrifice fly to drive Stubbs home.
ASU sophomore catcher Zach Cerbo allowed Martinez to advance to third on a passed ball, but junior left-hander Ryan Kellogg struck out Flores to end the first-inning rally.
The 1-0 lead was USC's first lead of the series.
ASU nearly knotted the game up in the top of the third inning, as redshirt senior right fielder Trever Allen appeared to have an RBI single to right before USC junior right fielder AJ Ramirez gunned down ASU senior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse at the plate.
Sophomore shortstop Colby Woodmansee walked to reload the bases, but ASU only managed a pop-up from senior first baseman Joey Bielek to end the inning.
Bielek finally broke the stalemate to lead off the sixth inning, launching a 3-1 pitch from USC junior left-hander Kyle Twomey over the center field fence to tie the ball game 1-1.
It was Bielek's second solo home run in as many nights, as he was on the back end of ASU's back-to-back home runs during the first inning on Friday.
Junior catcher RJ Ybarra followed up the home run with a double to right-center field on the very next pitch. Freshman Ryan Lillard, who pinch-ran for Ybarra, scored on freshman second baseman Andrew Snow's sacrifice fly to left field that made it a 2-1 lead for ASU.
Twomey was stellar up until the sixth, going five innings and giving up two earned runs on seven hits, striking out two while walking four on 100 pitches.
Robinson got USC back on track in the bottom half of the frame, hitting a home run to left for the second night in a row to tie the game 2-2.
The Trojans added on in the inning, as junior designated hitter David Oppenheim hit a RBI single up the middle to score junior third baseman Blake Lacey and allow USC to reclaim the lead at 3-2.
ASU continued the back-and-forth battle, as Woodmansee drove home Allen all the way from first base on a hard-hit double down the left field line to tie the game up at 3-3.
Smith went with his starting pitcher, who had already thrown 102 pitches, to open the following half-inning.
Kellogg put two runners on with one out in the seventh, setting up Smith to make the crucial decision to bring on Burr.
Burr walked the first batter he faced, then gave up a three-RBI, bases-clearing triple to Flores to give USC a 6-3 lead.
Kellogg went 6.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits while striking out eight and walking two on 116 pitches.
Oppenheim kept the run going in the inning, driving in Flores with a RBI single off of ASU freshman left-hander Tucker Baca to extend USC's lead to 7-3.
Allen hit a home run to left field to cut into the deficit for ASU in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.
The Sun Devils send sophomore right-hander Seth Martinez to pitch the rubber match of their weekend series against the Trojans, with first pitch at Dedeaux Field expected at 3 p.m Sunday.
While the game is not expected to be completed before the regional hosts are announced at 5:30 p.m., the game will still be vital to regional seeding if the Sun Devils are not selected to host.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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