To open up the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, an eight-run fourth inning by No. 8 seed Stanford guided them to an 8-7 victory over ASU on Tuesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Sophomore first baseman Jimmy Nati and catcher Malcolm Moore both recorded three RBIs for Stanford (21-32). Starting for the Cardinal, Christian Lim pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and collecting six strikeouts.
Arizona State (32-25) graduate student first baseman Eamonn Lance homered and had three RBIs while senior pitcher Connor Markl gave up six runs on six hits and struck out two Cardinal in 3.1 innings.
Cardinal’s Offense Scortches Early
Leaving base runners stranded, both Lim and Markl were dealing early as the first three innings were held scoreless. Even though they were connecting on the ball, Stanford was limited to just three hits and multiple flyouts.
Then in the fourth, the offense exploded for Stanford who were rewarded for their early contact.
Moore led off the inning with a homer to right-center field for a 1-0 lead Stanford lead.
In a sequence to forget fo ASU, grad student second baseman Owen Cobb reached first base on a fielder’s choice before junior third baseman Temo Becerra scored off of a throwing error by Sun Devils senior third baseman Kevin Karstetter.
Down 2-0 with the bases loaded, Markl would then through a wild pitch for all of the runners to advance before junior right fielder Jake Sapien crossed home plate for the Cardinal.
With one out still, sophomore left fielder Cort MacDonald walked and the bases were loaded once more.
Understanding that they were in trouble, Sun Devils head coach Willie Bloomquist took Markl out and redshirt junior pitcher Jonah Giblin came into the ballgame.
The pitching switch wouldn’t halt Stanford’s destruction with Nati doubling to left center for all of the Cardinal runners to score, making it 6-0. All three runs on Nati’s hit were charged to Markl.
Moore would step into the batter’s box and extend Stanford’s lead to 8-0 with a two-run homer before ASU were able to get out of the inning.
Sun Devils Rally Late, Couldn’t Get Over the Line
Trying to push back, Pac-12 Baseball Player of the Week Jacob Tobias got Arizona State on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth. He also walked with the bases loaded in the fifth inning as the Sun Devils started to claw back, 8-2.
The momentum would slowly shift toward ASU as Lance smoked a two-run home run in the sixth inning for an 8-5 score. Lance was a perfect 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter during the ballgame.
Then in the ninth with the game on the line, ASU got within one with a late-game rally. Lance walked with the bases loaded, senior shortstop Steven Ondina flew out to center field for a sacrifice fly and junior catcher Ryan Campos connected on an RBI single.
With an opportunity to be a hero and walk the game off with two outs and a man on third, sophomore centerfielder Kien Vu flew out on the first pitch.
While they did end up falling short, the tournament is double-elimination and Arizona State is still alive. Not getting any easier, however, they are set to face No. 2 seed Oregon State (41-13) on Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium at 10 a.m. PT.
As for Stanford, they will go up against Oregon State on Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. ASU, Stanford and Oregon State are all in Pool B of the tournament.
ASU infielder Jacob Tobias named Pac-12 Baseball Player of the Week
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Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
