On a night when freshman lefty Chaz Montoya pitched as well as you could ask someone to in their second NCAA start, it still took a late-inning comeback for ASU baseball to beat UCLA.
The Sun Devils (12-13, 2-6 Pac-12) rallied for a much-needed 5-4 win, their second win in Pac-12 play, to even the series at one apiece with UCLA (12-12, 5-3 Pac-12).
Chazzy Baby just out here showing off now. @SquadSlayerChaz flashes leather on consecutive plays.@Pac12Network https://t.co/2YlaeWU7Zp
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 2, 2017
In 5 2/3 innings, Montoya never once pitched into a three-ball count as he made several flashy defensive plays and struck out three.
"I got ahead early, clearly," Montoya said. "Just pounding the zone. I knew I had great defenders. I let (UCLA) put it in play."
He did, however, surrender seven hits.
Two of those hits represented runners on base when Montoya exited, and they eventually scored on sophomore lefty Connor Higgins. That made it 3-2 UCLA in what had been a pitchers’ duel up to that point.
As a result, Montoya was in line for the loss.
But unlike Friday, the bats came through when it counted for the Sun Devils on Saturday, including the first home run of freshman first baseman Lyle Lin’s career.
"That was the energizer for us, no question," ASU head coach Tracy Smith said of the home run. "Because I think there were two outs at the time, two-strike count. There wasn't a lot of activity, a lot of life going on, and he put a charge in the team."
ASU went on to have a three-run rally in the seventh inning to take the deciding lead.
Lin and junior infielder Taylor Lane both had multi-hit games, combining to go 5-for-7. ASU’s five RBI were spread over four different hitters.
Oddly, all nine of the runs scored between the Sun Devils and Bruins were scored in innings six and seven.
After Montoya and Higgins, senior pitcher Eder Erives pitched a five-out save to secure the victory. But after the game, Smith revealed that Montoya would've pitched longer if he hadn't tweaked a muscle in his back.
"He's fine," Smith said. "He's an anatomical anomaly anyway. I don't even think he can bend over and touch his knees, really. Please watch his stretching routine before a game. It's the grossest thing you've ever seen in your life. We just kind of let Chaz do Chaz, so I'm not surprised. He probably has a pulled muscle every day."
Montoya got the chance to clap back.
"We have the same flexibility. That's why," he said. "That's the problem there."
After losing six of eight, the Sun Devils now get their second win in three games as they sit near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. They’ll look to get a valuable series win on Sunday versus UCLA.
"Any time you win, it's contagious, same thing with hits," junior infielder Taylor Lane said. "Things are going well."
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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