ASU rallies to beat Arizona in Tucson
TUCSON, Ariz. -- An inning-ending play at the plate in the fifth ignited No. 4 Arizona State offense in the sixth as they overcame a four-run deficit to defeat Arizona 6-5 and win the Territorial Cup Series point on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.
The Wildcats (24-14) held a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning as right fielder Zach Gibbons rounded third on a two-out single by designated hitter Tyler Krause, but ASU left fielder Jake Peevyhouse connected with catcher Brian Serven to throw Gibbons out at home to save a run and end the frame.
Serven led off the top of the ensuing inning with a single to spark a four-run rally and put the Sun Devils (26-11) ahead, 5-4, and he added the eventual game-winning RBI with a double off the left-field wall in the seventh.
ASU won the five-game Territorial Cup baseball series, 3-1, and currently leads the overall Territorial Cup Series standings, 9.5-6.5. ASU needs one more point to clinch the 2014-15 series with four sports still undecided.
Right-handers Ryan Hingst (3-1) and Darin GIllies combined to toss six scoreless relief innings. Hingst picked up his third win of the season as he scattered three hits across three innings, and Gillies retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, including six straight to end his three-inning outing.
Right-hander Ryan Burr (12) allowed a one-out RBI single in the ninth, but induced a shallow fly ball to right field and a groundout to strand runners at the corners and earn his 12th save of the season.
Third baseman David Greer scored a pair of runs and tied his career high with three hits to record his ninth multi-hit game of the season, right fielder Trever Allen added three hits, and Serven finished 2-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored.
The Sun Devils' four-run deficit was the largest they've overcome this season and the comeback marked the seventh time this season they have won when trailing by at least three runs in the first three innings.
ASU issued four straight walks to open the bottom of the second inning and the Wildcats capitalized as they scored four runs on one hit in the frame to take an early 4-0 lead. Right-handed reliever Eli Lingos walked in the first run of the game with the bases loaded and conceded a two-run double to second baseman Scott Kingery before Arizona scored its final run of the inning on a double-play groundout.
Greer scored the Sun Devils' first run of the game in top of the fourth inning after he led off with a single, moved to third on a base hit by Allen and came home on a sacrifice fly from designated hitter RJ Ybarra.
Hingst recorded two outs to begin the third inning, but loaded the bases on a walk and two singles before he worked out of the jam with a fly ball to center field. He retired the order in the bottom of the fourth, including issuing a looking strikeout to Bobby Dalbec, the Pac-12's home run leader, to end the inning.
Serven and Greer each tallied a base hit to lead off the Sun Devils' four-run sixth inning, and right fielder Trever Allen followed with a RBI single to cut their deficit in half, 2-4. First baseman Joey Bielek laid down a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed by the Wildcats to allow Greer to score from third, and second baseman Andrew Snow capped the Sun Devils' rally with a RBI single up the middle to put ASU ahead, 5-4.
Serven extended ASU's lead to a pair, 6-4, with a RBI double off the left-field wall in the top of the seventh inning. Peevyhouse doubled down the right-field line to lead off the inning and scored two batters later on Serven's 12th extra-base hit of the year.
Gillies issued a leadoff walk in the seventh, the only Wildcat he allowed to reach base, but recorded three straight outs, including back-to-back strikeouts, to strand the runner in scoring position.
Starting right-hander David Graybill put together a scoreless first inning, but threw 10 balls on 11 pitches to begin the second and was replaced by Lingos. Arizona starting right-hander Nathan Bannister allowed three hits in two scoreless innings.