After a Saturday slump in which they were held to five hits and a subsequent loss, the No. 25 Arizona State Sun Devils (32-17, 16-11 Pac-12) brought the bats back to life in a late-game offensive surge to take the rubber match over the USC Trojans (23-25, 11-16 Pac-12) on Sunday afternoon, by a score of 10-7.
Much like Saturday’s contest, the Trojans jumped out to an early lead, as redshirt freshman leadoff hitter and outfielder Miko Rodriguez logged a walk, putting immediate pressure on the Devil defense. Redshirt junior infielder Ben Ramirez, who smacked a two-RBI double to give his team the lead in the first on Saturday carried the same performance over to Sunday.
On the first pitch of his first at-bat on Sunday, Ramirez put a charge into the baseball, driving it far and deep over the right field wall for a two-run advantage in the first frame.
Another resemblance from Saturday, Arizona State responded quickly, as freshman designated hitter Ethan Long reached base on a five-pitch walk. Redshirt freshman Nate Baez followed up with a two-run home run trot of his own around the bases as he hit a big fly over the left field wall.
The Trojans threatened to respond in the third, as Rodriguez fired a one-out double into the gap in right field. Redshirt senior outfielder John Thomas looked to send Rodriguez home as he slotted a liner out towards Baez at first base. The Sun Devil infielder had other plans, showing out on defense to complement his second-inning game-tying knock and save a potential run in the process
In the fifth, the Sun Devils extended their lead with a flare into the right-center field gap from redshirt junior shortstop Drew Swift, who hustled all the way around to third, scoring redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe - who reached on a no-out single - from first. Swift would score on the ensuing play, a groundout by the bat of redshirt junior right fielder Hunter Jump.
The most substantial of the offensive production on Sunday for ASU would eventually come in the final two innings, as the Sun Devils tacked on three runs in both the eighth and ninth.
Redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain got the ball rolling for the Devils in the eighth with a one-out single to right field. Next up, Long was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Baez, unsuccessful at the plate since his home run in the second inning, flipped the switch and roped a double into left field, scoring McLain and moving Long over to third. Freshman third baseman Hunter Haas singled with a chip shot up the middle to score Long.
Freshman first baseman Jack Moss, who accounted for two of ASU’s five hits on Saturday followed Haas’s lead and hit another single up the middle to score Baez.
USC’s Ramirez wouldn’t let Baez and the Sun Devils get too far away, however, as he hit a ball high and deep over the right field wall for three runs. ASU escaped a one-out jam with runners on first and second via a 1-4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The bats stayed hot in the ninth as McLain made it all the way to second on an error with one out. The Trojans intentionally walked Long to induce a double play but ended up paying for the free pass as the hot-hitting Baez singled to right center, allowing both Devils to score. A subsequent single from Haas and groundout from Moss allowed Baez to make the full trip around the bases.
By the end of the contest, Baez was a triple short of the cycle and accounted for five RBI, half of ASU’s runs on the afternoon.
On the mound for the Sun Devils was redshirt freshman lefty Kai Murphy, making just his fifth start since debuting on the mound in 2021 on April 21. Murphy threw five innings of three-hit baseball, allowing three runs and striking out four in the process.
Redshirt freshman lefty Graham Osman took over in the sixth, in which the Trojans threatened to take the lead just trailing by one with runners on second and third via a double from redshirt junior outfielder Trevor Halsema. An Osman-induced infield pop fly thwarted any Trojan scoring. Osman was later responsible for Ramirez’s three-run shot before redshirt sophomore righty Will Levine and eventually redshirt junior righty Brady Corrigan filled in on the bump. USC would notch another run in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.
Sunday’s win gives Arizona State undisputed control of fourth place in the Pac-12 standings, narrowly beating out Oregon State, UCLA and Cal, who all hold very similar records. The Sun Devils return home to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a three-game slate against the UCLA Bruins to close out the regular season starting on Friday.
