In the bottom of the ninth, with one out and the bases loaded, freshman infielder Blake Pivaroff stepped up into the right-handed batter’s box at UFCU Diesch-Faulk Field. The score was 6-5 in favor of the Fairfield Stags (37-4), who had battled with Arizona State (33-20) all night long in each side’s first contest in the Austin Regional.

On a 0-1 pitch, Pivaroff was hit on the hands which hold the butt end of the baseball bat. After a replay review, the umpires waved the freshman to first, confirming the ball hit his hands instead of the bat. The free trip to first scored redshirt freshman center fielder Joe Lampe, knotting the game at six runs apiece.

Redshirt freshman second baseman Sean McLain stepped into the box, still one out on the board. “A-S-U” chants rang throughout the crowd, into McLain’s ears. He also heard boos from the Fairfield supporters and sympathizers in the neutral Austin ballpark. On a 1-0 pitch, he silenced the haters and sent Sun Devils supporters into raptures as he singled to right field, giving Arizona State a 7-6 walk-off win on Friday night.

“I was actually really excited to hear the crowd going wild as I came up to bat,” McLain said, smiling. “That really pumped me up, so I was very excited to get in the box and do something to help our team win.”

McLain’s heroics brought a three-and-a-half-hour slugfest to a close, as the Sun Devils and Stags each fought valiantly for a Saturday evening date with the No. 2 Texas Longhorns. The ferocity of ASU’s opponent, the MAAC Champions Fairfield was initially hard to read for ASU skipper Tracy Smith leading up to the weekend, as both sides share no common opponents and play in different conferences on the opposite sides of the country.

Nevertheless, Fairfield shed all weak-opponent doubts with a bang in the first inning as junior outfielder Mike Handal took the second pitch of the game over the right field fence for a solo home run.

“I don’t care who you’re playing, what league you’re playing in, if you’re 34 games above .500, you’re doing something right,” Smith said, respecting the prowess of the Stags. “That swing and run in the first wasn’t on accident, (Fairfield) knows how to win, and they’re competitive. I feel fortunate to get out of here with a win tonight.”

The early dinger was one of two major miscues for redshirt sophomore righty Tyler Thornton, who overall pitched a very solid and gutsy five and two-thirds innings against the Stags. Thornton’s other mishap came in the sixth inning, after he allowed two doubles in three batters to narrow ASU’s three-run lead to two.

Aside from issues at the beginning and end of his start, Thornton cruised through the middle innings with little struggle, striking out two in the fifth and retiring the Stags in order in the second and fifth innings.

“I thought Tyler was great,” Smith referenced. “He did his job; he got us deep into the game. I thought he pitched certainly well enough for us to win. When he settled into those middle innings with that slider and the breaking ball, I thought he was very effective. I was very, very pleased with his performance.”

Thornton’s start was also interrupted by a brief 10-minute rain delay, where the umpires called the grounds crew out to tend to the landing spot on the pitcher’s mound. As the rain came and went, so did the Arizona State bats.

With the heavens fully opened, freshman third basemen logged a hit-by-pitch to reach first to leadoff the third. Several at-bats later, with redshirt junior Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Drew Swift at the plate, Haas bolted home on a sac fly to knot the game at one.

The rain and runs continued into the fourth as freshman superstar Ethan Long singled to left field to score McLain, who reached on a leadoff single and stole second. With Long still on base, freshman first baseman Jack Moss went deep over the wall in right-center field, giving ASU a three-run edge.

“I was looking for anything to put in play honestly,” Moss admitted. “I tried not to think about it too much and just execute. I saw it out of the hand, saw some spin on it, and just kind of clipped it off the end of my bat. I didn’t know if I got it all the way, but then I saw it keep carrying.”

With the rain out of the area and the ASU bats dormant in the fifth, the Stags looked to answer. First, Fairfield took Thornton out of the mix with the back-to-back doubles. With two outs in the frame, redshirt freshman lefty Graham Osman entered, looking to close the frame with a quick out.

Instead, Osman hit the first batter he faced with his second pitch before walking the bases loaded. Enter redshirt junior righty Brady Corrigan, who got the necessary out to avoid any more runs in the sixth.

Corrigan’s luck ran out in the seventh as he allowed two singles and induced two outs. With runners at first and second and just one out needed, redshirt sophomore righty Will Levine entered for damage control. However, instead of putting out the fire, Levine added fuel to the Fairfield flames.

Levine threw four straight balls to load the bases, then a wild pitch to allow the Stags within one. He then threw another three balls to walk the next batter he faced. Levine went on to walk four straight batters in the seventh, including the tying and go-ahead runs.

With Levine unable to find the zone, Smith and pitching coach Jason Kelly went to a valuable starting asset, freshman righty Jared Glenn, to escape the jam. Glenn did so dutifully but would allow another run in the eighth before shutting down the opposition in the ninth.

With hope dwindling and momentum out of their favor, Smith called upon his offense to dig the Sun Devils out of the two-run hole entering the bottom of the eighth.

“Baseball is going to give you its fair share of disappointments, but we had to stay locked in and play all the way through,” Smith recalled. “Sometimes it works out for you; sometimes it doesn’t

The Sun Devil rally began in the home half of the eighth, as redshirt junior Hunter Jump singled up the middle before being pinch-run for by redshirt freshman outfielder Seth Nager. Before McLain came up to bat in the ninth for his heroics, he provided an offensive spark to keep ASU in the game, scoring Nager all the way from first with a double into the left-center field gap.

The bottom of the ninth heroics were soon to follow as Lampe hit a one-out single. Redshirt freshman outfielder/pitcher Kai Murphy entered for a pinch-hit appearance and singled through the right side to put runners at the corners. Swift facilitated a walk before handing the keys to Pivaroff.

Arizona State possesses the youngest team in the postseason and the second youngest in power five conferences. All seven runs scored on Friday night by the Sun Devils were from freshman, an incredible achievement on the biggest of stages in the college show.

“It’s awesome,” Smith exclaimed. “Every time you get to see these guys play; it’s one more notch of experience for them. So many guys on the roster have never been to the NCAA Tournament, so for them to get that first postseason experience in a tight ballgame and a come from behind win, those things will truly help you down the road and certainly later this weekend.”

Next up for Smith’s squad are the No. 2 national seeded Texas Longhorns, who cruised to a dominant 11-0 win over the Southern Jaguars on Friday afternoon game. Redshirt junior lefty Justin Fall will receive the baseball to face off against one of the best offenses in the country. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm PT.

The ASU bats will most likely have an even taller task as Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and first-round hopeful redshirt sophomore righty Ty Madden looms amongst the starting rotation. Redshirt freshman lefty Pete Hansen as well as redshirt sophomore righty Kolby Kubichek are also options for the Longhorns on Saturday.