FULLERTON, Calif. — ASU baseball was one win away from advancing to a Super Regional in its last regional trip to Fullerton in 2013.
Instead, it dropped two in a row to regional hosts Cal State Fullerton and went back to Tempe with nothing.
ASU looks to begin to reverse that fate Saturday, as the Sun Devils square off against the Titans in the first game of the Fullerton Regional winner's bracket.
How they got here
The No. 2-seeded Sun Devils (35-21) come into Saturday's tilt at 1-0 in regional play after a 7-4 comeback victory over No. 3 seed Clemson in the regional opener Friday.
ASU senior first baseman Joey Bielek stole the show, giving ASU its first lead in the seventh inning with a two-run home run off of Tigers starter Matthew Crownover. Sophomore catcher Brian Serven followed it up with a home run of his own, giving ASU the momentum it needed for a victory.
Cal State Fullerton (35-22) went with an unorthodox move prior to their match up against No. 4 seed Pepperdine Friday, electing not to throw their ace in order to save him for Saturday.
It didn't matter, as freshman left-hander John Gavin went 3.2 innings and gave up three runs and the Titans rode a six-run third inning to an easy 9-3 win.
Projected pitching match up
ASU junior left-hander Brett Lilek (4-2, 3.29 ERA) vs. Cal State Fullerton junior right-hander Thomas Eshelman (8-5, 1.57 ERA)
Lilek has long been ASU head coach Tracy Smith's No. 1 guy, and a guy who the skipper throws out on the mound for the Sun Devils as they are now just two wins away from reaching a Super Regional. Armed with excellent stuff, Lilek needs to put it all together with consistency in the zone in order to put together a solid performance against the Titans.
Cal State Fullerton's gamble paid off, as they now get to thrown one of the best pitchers in the country in Eshelman Saturday against a Sun Devil lineup that has scored in each of their last three innings (seven total in sixth, seventh and eighth innings Friday). In 15 starts, Eshelman has thrown a whopping 111 Ks in 114.1 IP, something that should likely give ASU fits.
Projected lineups
ASU
1. Johnny Sewald, center field
2. Jake Peevyhouse, left field
3. Colby Woodmansee, shortstop
4. David Greer, third base
5. Trever Allen, right field
6. Joey Bielek, first base
7. Brian Serven, catcher
8. RJ Ybarra, designated hitter
9. Andrew Snow, second base
Cal State Fullerton
1. Josh Vargas, left field
2. Tyler Stieb, center field
3. David Olmedo-Barrera, designated hitter
4. Jerrod Bravo, third baseman
5. Tanner Pinkston, first base
6. Dustin Vaught, right fielder
7. Timmy Richards, shortstop
8. A.J. Kennedy, catcher
9. Taylor Bryant, second baseman
ASU comes into Saturday off of one of it's best outputs in recent memory. After being stymied for five innings, Allen took control in the sixth with a lead off home run. He also added a walk and two-RBI triple in the game, as the No. 5-7 hitters each put together solid games.
With Allen, Bielek and Serven starting to see the ball well, it's only a matter of time for Sewald, Peevyhouse and Woodmansee to follow suit.
Pinkston led the way for Cal State Fullerton Friday, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a double that put the game out of reach for Pepperdine. Stieb tacked on a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 and scoring a team-high three runs.
The Fullerton lineup is hitting just .267 this season as a unit, forcing them to rely heavily on their starting pitching and bullpen to win games.
Game information
ASU faces off against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field on Saturday at 8 p.m. (ESPN3).
In the loser's bracket, Clemson faces off against Pepperdine in the first Fullerton Regional elimination game of 2015.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
