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Devils bounce back against Baylor

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Aldei Gregoire / THE STATE PRESS
Junior outfielder Travis Buck dives back to first base ahead of a throw to Baylor junior Kyle Reynolds at Packard Stadium on Sunday.

After his team recorded the last out Friday night, ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy pumped his fists toward the crowd and let out a yell that washed away six games worth of frustration.

Junior right fielder Travis Buck's seventh inning grand slam led the Sun Devils to a 5-3 victory over No. 8 Baylor in the series opener at Packard Stadium, ending a record-tying six-game losing streak. The win was ASU's first in more than two weeks.

"Knowing that we came close many times the last couple weekends, and to finally get a 'W' after six losses in a row is pretty big for our team," Buck said. "It's something to build off of."

The Sun Devils (8-10) split the remaining two games of the series, downing the Bears 12-4 on Saturday and losing 8-7 Sunday in 10 innings.

It looked as though ASU's losing streak might extend to seven heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Friday. Baylor had scored twice in the top half of the frame and were within one out of escaping a bases-loaded jam.

But Buck took a 3-1 offering from senior left-hander Trey Taylor and sent a towering blast over the right field fence, giving ASU all the runs it needed.

"If he came with a strike I was swinging no matter what," Buck said.

ASU continued its success on Saturday, pounding out a season-high 12 runs and 16 hits to cruise to a 12-4 victory. Buck led the offense with four hits, and freshman designated hitter Willy Fox hit his second career home run.

The Sun Devils looked to complete the sweep on Sunday and it looked like they would have it early on. Fox hit a home run for the third consecutive time in a start to put ASU up 4-0 in the first. An RBI single by Buck in the second pushed the lead to five, but Baylor came clawing back.

The Bears scored four runs in the next three innings to cut the lead to one before both teams' bats went silent.

The bullpens put up zeroes for three straight innings and the Sun Devils went into the ninth inning leading 5-4.

However, an RBI groundout by senior catcher Josh Ford sent the game to extra innings. Once there, Baylor scored three unearned runs in the 10th to move ahead, 8-5. Freshman outfielder Rocky Laguna knocked in two runs on a triple with two outs in the 10th, but was stranded at third.

ASU committed five errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs. The left side of the infield made four.

"You can't play an incomplete game and plan on winning," Murphy said. "We played an incomplete game because we didn't play infield defense."

Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.

BASEBALL REPORT

The Good: The pitching was solid all weekend. ASU averaged less than three earned runs per game in the three-game series.

The Bad: ASU's infield defense had a rough series. The second base, shortstop and third base positions combined for seven errors.

Player of the Series: Travis Buck went 8 for 14 with a home run and six RBIs.

Up Next: ASU heads to the Keith LeClair Invitational at East Carolina on Friday. The Sun Devils will take on North Carolina in its first game.


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