Needing a win to keep a sliver of a chance to stay alive in the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, ASU struggled to muster offense as they lost 3-2 to No. 2 Oregon State on Thursday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Aiden May gave up two runs on four hits and had two strikeouts for Oregon State (42-14) who rebounded after suffering a 2-1 defeat to No. 8 Stanford on Wednesday. Beavers third baseman Jabin Trosky, right fielder Brady Kasper and left fielder Dallas Macias all recorded two hits each in the Beavers win.
Despite Arizona State (32-26) losing, starting pitcher Ben Jacobs tossed 5.2 innings of impressive baseball, allowing three runs on seven hits and throwing 10 strikeouts. The Sun Devils only had four hits throughout the entirety of the game.
Sun Devils’ Bats Go Quiet, Beavers Come Back
Knowing that this was a do-or-die game for each program if they wanted to advance, both teams’ pitching was near-perfect besides a few blips.
Scoreless through two innings, the first three Arizona State batters in the third loaded the bases and were looking to strike first. Continuing his massive month of May, third baseman Jacob Tobias reached first base on a fielder’s choice and Ryan Campos scored after Oregon State got the force out at second on Nick McLain.
Designated hitter Brandon Compton would then add another run on the board with a right field single, driving home Kien Vu for a 2-0 Sun Devils lead.
The inning would go by because of Jacobs and May dealing until Oregon State responded, tied the game and took the lead.
With runners on first and third, Brady Kasper flew out to center for Gavin Turley to cross home plate before Mason Guerra powered a two-run homer to left, giving the Beavers a 3-2 advantage.
Oregon State piled on the pressure in the seventh inning with bases loaded, but Sean Fitzpatrick got ASU out of the dangerous jam as Macias popped up for the third out. Fitzpatrick pitched 0.2 innings and struck out one Beaver.
Since the third inning, the trio of May, Nelson Keljo and Ryan Schiefer shut out the Sun Devils all the way to the last pitch of the game, holding on to the 3-2 win. Keljo was credited with the win and Schiefer got the save.
Eliminated from Tournament, ASU Could Possibly Remain Alive
This result spells the end of the Sun Devils’ hopes of progressing to the next round of the tournament.
ASU needed results from other pool play games to go in their favor as well as them beating Oregon State. Falling in both games 0-2, Arizona State’s hopes of becoming the last-ever Pac-12 Tournament champions are now diminished.
While they have exited early and can’t receive an automatic bid to the College World Series, there is a slight possibility that this is not the end of the season for the Sun Devils. 31 conference champions claim automatic berths to the CWS.
ASU could still be voted into the College World Series by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee since there are 64 teams who make it, and 33 teams who didn’t win their conference tournament are nominated by the committee.
It will be interesting to see if Arizona State does earn a spot or if Thursday’s game against Oregon State was their last until next season.
If ASU is voted in, Burn City Sports will keep you informed.
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Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
