After outscoring Valparaiso by 25 runs the first two games of the series, the No. 9 ASU baseball team couldn’t complete the sweep Sunday afternoon, falling 8-6.
The Sun Devils (24-12-1) started out the game where they left off the past two nights. Junior outfielder Kasey Coffman doubled. Then, junior third baseman Michael Benjamin crushed his fourth home run of the season to give the Sun Devils a quick 2-0 lead in the first.
Senior starter Alex Blackford (4-1) couldn’t hold the lead, though. He gave up a pair in the top of the second to allow the Crusaders (15-23) to tie the game.
Blackford’s struggles carried over to the third as he allowed four of the first five batters to reach base before being pulled.
It was Blackford’s second straight Sunday start after winning at USC last weekend, but he couldn’t duplicate that performance. He finished his outing allowing six runs, six hits and three hit batsmen over 2.1 innings.
Redshirt sophomore Mark Lambson came in to replace Blackford and gave up another run to the Crusaders, who stretched their lead to 7-2 after three innings.
Valparaiso freshman starter Dalton Lundeen (2-0) settled down nicely after the first. He kept the Sun Devils scoreless until the sixth when freshman designated hitter RJ Ybarra hit his second home run in two games to cut the lead to 7-3.
The Crusaders added a run off sophomore reliever Darin Gillies in the seventh, but the Sun Devils struck back with three of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Benjamin, who finished the day 3-5, led off the inning with a single and scored on a single by senior catcher Max Rossiter.
Sophomore outfielder Jake Peevyhouse then singled off Lundeen to end his outing after 6.2 innings.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Trever Allen singled off Valparaiso sophomore reliever Ben Mahar for Rossiter to score. Peevyhouse scored a wild pitch for the Sun Devils' final run.
Mahar pitched a quick 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before turning it over to Crusaders junior closer Karch Kowalczyk, who recorded his fourth save of the season.
With the loss, the Sun Devils moved to 3-6-1 in Sunday games this season and remain winless on Sunday at home since March 10 against Long Beach State.
The Sun Devils return to action this Wednesday for a midweek home game against UNLV.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @Danny__Shapiro
