Following Friday night's 9-5 victory over Stanford, ASU began Saturday evening's game on a similar note.
The Sun Devils scored their first run of the game on their third at-bat of the game; a double from redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain, which brought home redshirt junior left fielder Hunter Jump, who was hit by a pitch in the prior at-bat.
Freshman first baseman Jack Moss doubled to left field in the following at-bat scored McLain, and a single two batters later via Phoenix native and freshman third baseman Hunter Haas scored Moss to hand ASU a three-run advantage after the first inning.
After a hit-less second inning from both squads, ASU continued their success at the plate in the bottom of the third. Freshman designated hitter Ethan Long, Haas and redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri all contributed with hits to score four runs for the Sun Devils.
Long's was a double to right-center that brought McLain home for the second time in the game, Haas singled again to score Long, which led to a pitching change for Stanford.
The next at-bat, Ferri made contact for a two-run home run to extend the lead to 7-0.
Both teams found the scoreboard in the fourth inning.
Stanford recorded five runs in their time at the plate with back-to-back home runs. The first was a grand slam, while the second was a solo shot.
After allowing both home runs and walking the following batter, ASU redshirt junior pitcher Justin Fall was replaced on the mound by freshman reliever Brock Peery.
The following half-inning Moss garnered his second hit of the game with a single to center to score redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift.
Stanford added an additional run in the top of the fifth on the first batter that ASU redshirt freshman reliever Cam Dennie faced in the game to cut the lead to 8-6 in favor of the Sun Devils.
"There was a lot of good in (the game)," ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. "Cam continued to pound the strike zone ... it was disappointing we couldn't get the win with (some) good (individual) performances."
Two hits and a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning allowed the Cardinal to tie the game at eight runs apiece, keeping Stanford in the game.
A few scoreless innings and an unfortunate double play in the ninth for ASU sent the game into extra-innings.
Stanford finally broke through in the top of the 12th inning in extras thanks to a couple of hits and a fielding error by ASU.
"Every pitch matters," Smith said. "We made enough mistakes in that game and it cost us. We've been sloppy in some areas ... tonight it ended up costing us the game."
The Cardinal loaded the bases with one out following the initial extra innings run and added two more on a single that extended their lead to 11-8.
ASU added a 9th run in the bottom of the second, but was unable to come back from the three-run deficit, losing 11-9; the Sun Devils fell to 19-10 on the season.
ASU plays Stanford on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in the final game of the series. Following Sunday's matchup, ASU plays Grand Canyon on Tuesday and Wednesday in a home-and-home two-game series.
"You win some, you lose some," Smith said. "We have an opportunity to come out (Sunday) and win the series. We will embrace that challenge just like we have every other one."
Reach the reporter at aklatsky@asu.edu and follow @averyklatsky on Twitter.
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