TUCSON – Arizona State just can’t get out of its own way.

For a while on Thursday night, the Sun Devils were on pace to deliver a mighty blow to rival Arizona’s NCAA tournament chances. Freshman Spencer Torkelson’s two-run moonshot gave the Sun Devils in the lead in the fifth. Reliever Chaz Montoya was dealing. Arizona’s ace starting pitcher, Cody Deason, exited after a laborious 6 2/3 innings on the hook for a loss.

On cue, ASU’s defense gave the game away.

The Sun Devils (21-29, 11-14 Pac-12) committed a pair of errors in the Wildcats’ three-run bottom of the seventh, an inning that saw UA (31-20, 11-14 Pac-12) tie the game and then take the lead in their eventual 6-4 win over ASU at Hi Corbett Field in the opener of a three-game series.

It was a night ASU assistant coach Ben Greenspan was able to sum up in two words:

“Pretty frustrating.”

Defensively, the Sun Devils have been a ticking time bomb all season, self-destructing all too often. They imploded twice on Thursday.

Sophomore Carter Aldrete – who had given ASU an early 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the top half of the inning – misplayed a pair of balls in right field in the bottom of the fourth, helping fuel a three-run inning for the Wildcats.

It was in the seventh, though, that the game was decided. With no outs

Torkelson’s bat offered temporary respite in the top of the fifth. His towering two-run blast, which cleared the left-field scoreboard in UA’s home park, was his 23rd of the season and gave ASU a 4-3 lead.

“That was really impressive,” ASU assistant coach Ben Greenspan said of the blast, one of the longest he claimed to have ever seen. “He’s carried us all year. For him to do that in a big spot, it was great.”

The lead would only last two innings.

After UA led off the bottom of the seventh with consecutive singles, ASU squandered a double play opportunity after shortstop Alika Williams initially fumbled a grounder and second baseman Drew Swift fired wide to first. With one out and runners on the corners, ASU coach Tracy Smith brought freshman Boyd Vander Kooi out of the bullpen to face Wildcats shortstop Cameron Cannon.

Cannon attempted a sacrifice squeeze, bunting a slow roller back toward the mound. Vander Kooi charged to field the ball and initially pump faked toward home before deciding to let the run score and instead throw to first. His hesitation proved costly though, as he spiked the toss to Torkelson, the first baseman, allowing Cannon to round the bag and race all the way to second. Tie game, runners still on second and third.

“I think he’s so confident in being able to get lead outs sometimes, he’s a little too aggressive. I think he came up looking to the plate when he should have just taken the out at first,” Greenspan said.

Though the Wildcats broke the tie in the next at-bat, when ASU catcher Lyle Lin lost control of the ball in a collision at home plate, it was Vander Kooi’s error that turned the game.

ASU’s pitchers have been a sore spot defensively all season. Of the team’s 72 errors this season (which is 24 more than its opponents combined total), 15 have come from a staff member. Vander Kooi’s misfire was just the latest culprit. It meant Arizona’s two other runs in the seventh – the deciding tallies as it turned out – were unearned.

Said Greenspan: “We let it play into a bigger inning than it should have been.”

Once again, the defense was to blame.

Writer’s note: ASU coach Tracy Smith was not available for comment postgame.

OTHER NOTES

*MARSH CAN’T FIND ZONE AGAIN: Sophomore starting pitcher Alec Marsh struggled to find the strike zone for a second straight appearance. After lasting just 1 2/3 innings and walking three batters his last time out, Marsh’s command was lacking again the Wildcats.

In his 3 1/3 innings of work, he found the zone just 37 times. Though he faced just 18 batters, he got in a three-ball count eight times.

“He was behind in the count a lot tonight,” Greenspan said. “He made some pitches when he was behind in the count but I think he gave up more hits because guys were sitting 3-0, 3-1 a lot.”

After taking his third straight no-decision, Marsh’s ERA climbed to 3.86, the highest it’s been all season.

*LIN FIHTS THROUGH INJURIES IN TWO-HIT GAME: Sophomore catcher Lyle Lin took a bit of a beating on Thursday night. In the bottom of the seventh alone, the backstop needed the trainer’s attention twice. The first was after getting trucked by UA first baseman Alfonso Rivas in a home plate collision, an impact that forced him to drop the ball and allow the game-deciding run to score. Later in the frame, Lin took a foul ball off his groin, sending him to the ground sprawled out in pain.

At the plate though, Lin delivered a walk and a pair of hits for ASU. His second base knock led off the top of the eighth, the half inning after his pair of poundings.

“He loves to compete, he showed that tonight. He showed his toughness,” Greenspan said. “He’s a workhorse back there. We can lean on him.”

Thanks to a preseason injury to fellow catcher Sam Ferri, Lin has been left to do almost all of the Sun Devils’ catching duties this year – his backup, freshman Luke Leisenring, has started just six times this year, leaving the other 44 games to Lin.

Despite the heavy workload behind the plate, Lin has turned in another strong offensive season. His .325 batting average is second-best on the team, as are his 15 doubles. He is a draft-eligible sophomore and can be selected by an MLB team in this summer’s draft.