ASU is unable to come up with the late-inning heroics necessary to avoid the first round upset, falling to Clemson 6-3. The Sun Devils will play South Carolina in an elimination contest tomorrow.
Check back soon for a full game report.
Top of the 8th: ASU dipped deeper into the bullpen and brought in lefty Mitchell Lambson, who worked his way around a one-out single to keep Clemson off the board. Calhoun saved a run with a leaping grab against the right field wall. The Sun Devils are down to their final six outs trailing 6-3.
Bottom of the 7th: Another case of missed opportunities. Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases, but ASU was only able to score one run on a ground out to the right side by Maggi. Pac-10 Player of the Year Zack MacPhee was struck out by Clemson reliever Alex Frederick to end the inning and incite a roar among the Tiger faithful.
Top of the 7th: Seldom-used lefty Jimmy Patterson came on in relief and gave up two singles, but thanks to a pick off of Hinson at first base, he was unable to get out of the inning without damage. ASU is down to its last nine outs in desperate need of some big hits to avoid an early upset.
Bottom of the 6th: For the third straight inning, a leadoff batter who reached first wasn't able to score, as Maggi grounded into a double play after Barnes' single. But with two outs, ASU managed to bring a run across on an RBI single by Riccio Torrez that scored MacPhee, who earlier walked. The hit extends Torrez's hitting streak to 26 games. Clemson leads 6-2.
Top of the 6th: Clemson makes ASU pay for another miscue, a balk by Rodgers, as an RBI single by Schaus brings in Epps, who was moved into scoring position by the pitcher's mistake. The Sun Devils were playing in on the infield to try to prevent a run, and Schaus chopped the ball over the drawn in MacPhee at second. The Sun Devils have just three hits so far today and are running out of outs.
Bottom of the 5th: ASU once again gets the leadoff runner aboard, this time on a single by Wilson, but Harman retires three straight Sun Devils to emerge from the inning unscathed. The Sun Devils have made comebacks before this season, but there seems to be no rhythm offensively for the nation's No. 1 team.
Top of the 5th: Blair's struggles finally caught up with him in a big way. Clemson scored three runs on three straight run-scoring singles — one that rocketed of first baseman Riccio Torrez's glove and another Maggi lost in the sun in left field — pushing its lead to 5-1. Blair left with one out in the frame, ending what was easily one of his worst starts of the season. He was replaced by freshman Brady Rodgers, who gave up two of the RBI hits before getting out of the inning on a double play.
Bottom of the 4th: A leadoff single by MacPhee is wasted as Calhoun grounds into a double play and Riccio Torrez grounds out. Clemson leads 2-1 heading into the fifth.
Top of the 4th: Blair seems to be finding his groove. After a 1-2-3 fourth, he has retired six straight. Raoul Torrez followed his double and run scored with a great play at third, ranging far to his right and throwing across his body to get Kieboom at first.
Bottom of the 3rd: Senior Raoul Torrez has seemed to come up with big hits when they matter this season. He continued the trend with a double to left field to give ASU its first hit of the game. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Torrez scored on sacrifice fly out by Barnes to cut the lead to 2-1. It was close play at the plate, but television replays confirmed that Torrez did get under the tag.
Top of the 3rd: After giving up a leadoff single to Miller, Blair seemed to find a groove for the first time, retiring three straight to keep Clemson off the board. The crowd starting to get behind the Sun Devils as their contingent begins chanting "A-S-U."
Bottom of the 2nd: ASU gets it first runner on base as Ruettiger reaches first with two outs on shortstop Miller's 30th error of the season. But Ruettiger is promptly picked off at first and the Sun Devils do no damage.
Top of the 2nd: The control problems continue for Blair as a walk, a balk and a throwing error on shortstop Deven Marrero gives Clemson a 2-0 lead. The Sun Devils seem to be playing uncharacteristically tight here in the early going. Blair, a first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this month, has already walked a season-high four batters.
Bottom of the 1st: The Sun Devils go down on the order in their first at-bats of the CWS. Harman struck out Maggi and Calhoun and got MacPhee to ground weakly to first.
Top of the 1st: Blair seems to be struggling with some nerves early. He gave up a leadoff single to Epps, who stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw by catcher Barnes. The right-hander then walked two straight batters to load the bases. The Sun Devils escaped unscathed, though, as Miller lined out to Marrero at shortstop who stepped on second to out Schaus for a huge double play.
10:00 a.m. —Here are today's starting lineups. Yep, believe it or not, there is going to be baseball.
Clemson: 1. Chris Epps, DH 2. Mike Freeman, 2B 3. Jeff Schaus LF 4. Kyle Parker, RF 5. Brad Miller SS 6. John Hinson 3B 7. Richie Shaffer 1B 8. Wilson Boyd, CF 9. Spencer Kieboom, C ... Starting pitcher for the Tigers is lefty Casey Harman (7-3, 3.73 ERA) ... Parker is also the starting quarterback on the Clemson football team.
ASU: 1. Drew Maggi, LF 2. Zack MacPhee, 2B 3. Kole Calhoun, RF 4. Riccio Torrez, 1B 5. Zach Wilson, DH 6. Johnny Ruettiger, CF 7. Deven Marrero, SS 8. Raoul Torrez 3B 9. Austin Barnes, C ... On the hill for the Sun Devils is Seth Blair (12-0, 3.35 ERA) ... Riccio Torrez is on a 25-game hitting streak.
9:32 a.m. — The field crews have been using some pretty innovative techniques to get the field ready, including soaking up puddles on the dirt with giant beach towels. The first pitch has been pushed back, just slightly, to 10:18 a.m. The skies are definitely clearing up, though, and it looks like, at long last, the Sun Devils are going to be able to take the field.
9:02 a.m. — Clearly, there is a reason I'm not a weather man. The rain has stopped and sun appears to be trying to poke its way through the clouds. It is still very windy, but the field crew is removing the tarp from the infield and they are working hard to rid the warning track of standing water.
8:44 a.m. — The rain is coming down hard in Omaha this morning. ASU and Clemson are scheduled to square off at 10 a.m. after their game last night was postponed, but with as much water is falling from the sky and as dark as that sky looks, my initial feeling is that I would be surprised if the game started on time. As I'm typing this, a big gust of wind just blew a section of the tarp up and field crew members rushed over to get it staked down again.
If all three games are played today, it would be the first triple-header at the College World Series since 1980.
