For the second consecutive game, the No. 2 ASU baseball team (33-11, 16-5 Pac-10) blew a late lead as the Sun Devils lost their first conference series of the season, after falling 10-5 to Oregon State on Sunday.
After winning on Friday behind junior Mike Leake’s second-consecutive complete game, the Sun Devils blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning on Saturday.
Though ASU was without junior Josh Spence, who is still out of the lineup with an injury to his finger, the Sun Devils still had a chance to continue their conference-series winning streak on Sunday.
The Sun Devils opened up a 5-1 lead early.
In the top of the second inning, after freshman Riccio Torrez reached on a single and junior Kole Calhoun was hit by a pitch, freshman Zack MacPhee pushed a bunt and was able to reach base after an error by OSU pitcher Jorge Reyes, which scored the first run.
With the bases loaded after a walk to freshman Johnny Ruettiger, junior Raoul Torrez grounded into a double play, scoring a run but ending the threat.
ASU scored two runs with only one hit.
In the top of the third inning, junior Jason Kipnis led off the inning with a walk. After junior Carlos Ramirez and sophomore Matt Newman were retired, Riccio Torrez and Calhoun both doubled, giving ASU a 4-1 lead and knocking OSU’s Reyes out of the game.
ASU scored its fifth and final run in the fourth inning when Ramirez
singled in Ruettiger.
After the knock, however, ASU stranded the next eight batters who reached. The missed opportunities included a bases-loaded, one-out scenario in the sixth and two runners in scoring position in the seventh.
Freshman Jordan Swagerty made his second career start for Spence, ASU’s normal Saturday starter. Swagerty went six innings and left with a 5-3 lead.
OSU, a team that has struggled in conference but has dominated out of conference, put together a two-run rally in the seventh inning against Newman.
In the eighth inning, with the game tied at five and ASU’s bullpen depleted due to Swagerty’s start, ASU gave up five decisive runs.
Calhoun, freshman Jake Borup and senior Jason Franzblau could not stop the bleeding, allowing walks, a wild-pitch, a triple and two run-scoring hits.
“We are plowing through a stretch where we aren’t at our best,” ASU coach Pat Murphy said in a postgame radio interview.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils were tied with OSU until freshman Drew Maggi brought in MacPhee with a triple in the ninth.
Despite leaving numerous base-runners stranded, ASU led 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, thanks to the combination of sophomore Seth Blair and freshman Mitchell Lambson on the mound.
With Swagerty scheduled to start Sunday, Murphy stuck with Lambson for a fifth inning of relief — the ninth inning. Lambson was unable to come through in the final inning, walking three of the first four batters he faced and giving up a game-tying sacrifice fly and a game-winning single.
Despite the two consecutive late-inning loses, ASU still has a sizable three-and-a-half-game lead in the conference with only six Pac-10 contests remaining on its schedule.
Reach the reporter at nick.ruland@asu.edu.
