The ASU baseball team was looking to complete a two-game sweep of Utah Valley on Wednesday night and head into its Pac-12 opener this weekend with momentum on its side.
Instead, the Sun Devils (11-5) took a step back with a 9–6 loss to the Wolverines (6-9) at Packard Stadium.
Utah Valley jumped out front in the second inning with a four-run effort off ASU starting pitcher Darin Gillies (0-2, 5.28 ERA). The freshman, who was eventually pegged with the loss, surrendered a two-out triple to Wolverines centerfielder Jordy Hart and another single to give the visitors the early advantage.
Gillies didn’t give up another run after the second, and allowed four runs on five hits through five innings on the night.
The Sun Devils began to chip away at the deficit in the fifth inning, when freshman designated hitter Nathaniel Causey blasted a two-run home run to right field to make it 4–2.
But the Sun Devils gave it right back in the top of the next frame. With left-handed pitcher Adrian Gomez on the bump for ASU, Hart hit another two-out triple to score a pair of runs and, after an errant throw on the relay to third, himself as well. The inside-the-park homer was officially scored as a triple with an error to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 7–2.
ASU responded in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run scoring spree of its own to cut the gap to 7–6. Junior second baseman Joey DeMichele, freshman first baseman Rouric Bridgewater and freshman right fielder Trever Allen all had an RBI in the inning.
Utah Valley then tacked on two final insurance runs in the eighth off ASU junior pitcher Robert Ravago, courtesy of a two-RBI single from right fielder Billy Burgess.
ASU heads back to California for the second consecutive weekend, as the Sun Devils are scheduled to begin a three-game set with UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night.
Reach the reporter at kjnewma2@asu.edu
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