Baseball Rally Dies One Run Short Of Second Straight Upset Of No. 4 ASU
April 09, 2000 | Baseball
April 9, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - - Oregon State fell one run short of earning their second upset win over No. 4 Arizona State in as many days on Sunday afternoon in Pacific-10 Conference baseball at ASU's Packard Stadium. The Sun Devils (30-9, 6-3 Pac-10) hung on for an 8-7 win over the Beavers (17-17, 1-5) as OSU mounted a ninth innning rally.
The Beavers entered the top of the ninth down 8-5, but freshman third baseman Brian Barden delivered a shot down the right field line for a double to lead off the inning. Pinchhitter Andy Jarvis then stepped up to the plate and delivered a homerun blast to rightfield, his third of the year, to bring the Beavers within one run at 8-7. ASU pitcher Eric Doble gathered himself however, and retired three of the next four OSU batters to save the win for the Sun Devils.
"There's no doubt," said OSU head coach Pat Casey. "The kids battled their tales off. We lost two one-run games here and we missed some opportunities in those games. I'm proud of the kids and how this club handled itself. This can be a springboard for the rest of our season."
OSU's starting pitcher Mark Newell breezed through the first inning, but then struggled to retire batters in the second and third innings, as he surrendered five runs (all earned) on four hits and two walks over the two innings. The Beaver bullpen came up with solid relief though, as they held an ASU offense that ranked second nationally in batting average and first in runs scored (11.25 per game) to three runs for the rest of the game. Once James Atwood relieved Stephen Copeland in the fifth, OSU's combination of Atwood, Craig Hays, and Don Stykel allowed just one hit over the final three innings.
"We saw a heck of a series," Casey said. "Arizona State is extremely talented, they play the game hard and they play the game right. Everybody we play in this conference is going to be a challenge. We've got to do some things better, but what a weekend of baseball."
The Beavers put two runs on the board in the top of the fifth to make it 5-4 ASU, after junior designated hitter Curtis Davis hit his first triple of the year to score Barden from first. A sacrifice fly from second baseman Zach Gordon brought Davis in to bring OSU within one, but ASU answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own when ASU first baseman Mitch Jones hit a two-run homerun - his second of the game and 21st of the year - over the leftfield fence to put ASU up 7-4.
Barden capped off an excellent week of play with a 2-for-3 performance that included a double and three runs scored. Drew Hedges was 2-for-2, and Gordon turned in a 1-for-3 showing that included his sixth homerun of the year. Davis went 2-for-2 with a triple and double.
ARIZONA STATE 8, OREGON STATE 7
Oregon State 101 020 102 - 7 12 2
Arizona State 032 021 00 - 8 11 0
Newell, Copeland (3), Atwood (6), Hays (7), Stykel (8) and Ingram. Friedberg, Pezely (3), Doble (6) and Myers. WP- Pezely (4-2). LP- Newell (3-4). SV- Doble (5). 2B- Barden (OSU), Davis (OSU), Carter (OSU), Myers (ASU), Jones (ASU). 3B- Davis (OSU), Phelps (ASU). HR- Jarvis (OSU), Gordon (OSU), Jones 2 (ASU).
HITS: Oregon State 12 (Stark 1x4, Barden 2x3, Davis 2x2, Jarvis 1x2, Gerber 1x3, Carter 2x4, Hedges 2x2), Arizona State 11 (Stocker 1x5, Myers 2x5, Jones 3x4), Lopez 1x2, Phelps 2x3, conrad 1x4, Waldrip 1x4). RUNS BATTED IN: Oregon State 7 (Davis 1, Jarvis 2, Gerber 1, Gordon 3), Arizona State 7 (Myers 2, Jones 3, Phelps 1, Conrad 1).
