ASU Baseball: Sun Devils Come Back in Extras to Beat Dirtbags

The ASU baseball team has made it a habit this season of falling behind early in games, but usually that doesn’t happen when Eli Lingos toes the rubber. They also are known to turn the bats on when the late innings roll around.

Sam Ferri only needed to put the ball in play, and that he did. An easy two-hopper to the second basemen who needed to throw home, but the catcher couldn’t pick the ball out of the dirt leading to ASU baseball’s 7-6 come-from-behind home win. All set up by Andrew Shaps’s two-run, two-strike and two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth. The same Shaps who airmailed a cutoff man helping Long Beach State during their five run first inning.

“I don’t even remember (his game tying at bat), I figured he’d throw me a fastball, I saw it and knew it was up and I tried to put a good piece on it,” said Shaps.

Shaps almost became the goat of the game, by swinging at a 3-0 pitch down three runs with two base runners on. Tracy Smith made sure to say he had that green light to swing away.

“It’s awesome, I didn’t do my job that was frustrating but I’m glad my team got me another at-bat. It makes me feel really confident that they (coaching staff) have that trust in me,” said Shaps.

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Eli Lingos allowed a five run top of the first headlined by a two-run homer from LBSU’s left fielder Lucas Tancas. The sophomore ace was able to gut out five more innings, only allowing one unearned run. His bulldog attitude is exactly what the team needed. The bullpen has been used heavily lately, and Smith knew he could rely on his lefty.

“He showed maturity to throw some zeroes up and keep us around for the next five-six innings. Not his best start, but he hung in there and gave us a chance,” said Smith.

ASU wouldn’t have been in position to tie or win the game without the effort of freshman reliever Chaz Montoya. Montoya threw 3 1/3 innings not allowing a hit while striking out 5 LBSU hitters. Skip threw high praise on his young pitcher.

“I thought he was huge, we have been using him in matchup situations. He’s a very competitive kid on the mound and it was good to extend him and see what he can do in a pressure situation,” said Smith.

Montoya’s mentality was pretty simple heading into his outing.

“Keep us in the game, throw strikes and don’t walk people. This team we can score runs at any point in the game. I just thought keep us in the game and we’ll scratch away a few here and there,” said Montoya.

Next: Was This a Successful Season for ASU Basketball?

The Sun Devils continue their weekend series with Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon, as freshman left hander Spencer Van Scoyoc takes the hill for ASU. First pitch is at 3 p.m. MST, and can seen on Pac-12 Arizona.

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