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ASU baseball loses ace Benson in sloppy loss to Hawaii

Sun Devil starter Cooper Benson left with an injury after just one inning of work in ASU’s 3-2 loss Friday to Hawaii. (Sun Devil  Athletics Photo
Sun Devil starter Cooper Benson left with an injury after just one inning of work in ASU’s 3-2 loss Friday to Hawaii. (Sun Devil Athletics Photo

It was déjà vu on Friday night for the Arizona State Baseball team as the Sun Devils (2-2) blew a 2-0 lead for the second straight Friday, losing 3-2 to Hawaii (1-0) at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.


After ASU led 2-0 entering the ninth inning last Friday, Sacramento State hit a grand slam and went on to win the game 4-2.


On Friday, ASU scored a run in the first inning on a Sean McClain double and a run in the second inning on a Joe Lampe ground out. The Sun Devils led 2-0 until the top of the fifth inning when Hawaii’s Alex Baeza cranked a solo shot to right field. ASU maintained the lead until the seventh inning when things began to unravel for the Sun Devils.


Sloppy play began to hinder ASU late in the game, starting with the game-tying run. ASU relief pitcher Graham Osman’s wild pitched allowed Baeza to score and the Rainbow Warriors tied the game.


The ball game remained 2-2 until the top of the ninth inning when Baeza reached on a fielding error by Osman. Baeza then scored on an Aaron Ujimori sac fly. ASU’s two-out rally failed in the bottom of the ninth and Hawaii won the game.


“I’m disappointed in how we gave that one away,” said ASU head coach Tracy Smith. “ … We did a wild pitch and gave them their second run. And we certainly gave them their third run. So just a really, really disappointing loss but you got to put that behind you and regroup and get ready for tomorrow.”


ASU starter Cooper Benson was the other major storyline on Friday. The Friday night ace pitched a scoreless first frame but was then pulled after just one inning due to an injury.


Smith did not provide an update on the injury but did say Benson was taken out as a precaution due to it being early in the season. Freshman Christian Bodlovich filled in nicely with four-plus innings of one-run ball but losing Benson would be a major blow for ASU. The Sun Devils have not scored more than three runs in any of their first four games.


On the other side, Hawaii ace Aaron Davenport settled down after giving up the two early runs. He went seven innings, walked just one Sun Devil hitter and struck out seven.


“He was landing his off-speed in better spots the second time through (the lineup),” said ASU shortstop Drew Swift. “ … Later in those games, we’ve got to grind out those at-bats.”


ASU and Hawaii will play a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game starts at 2:05 p.m. MST and the second game starts at 6:35 p.m. MST.

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