Arizona State bullpen falls apart again, Cincinnati wins 9-8 in extra innings to take series

It's the same old song and dance, Sun Devil fans must be thinking.

Once again, the Arizona State bullpen let the team down late in a game. This time, it resulted in a walk-off win for the Bearcats in 10 innings, simultaneously clinching the weekend series win for them. It also marked the second consecutive conference series loss for the Sun Devils.

Jaden Alba took the mound for this rubber match after Arizona State evened the series up on Saturday. His very first pitch got hit for a triple, and Alba followed it up with a walk. After a strikeout, Cincinnati hit back-to-back RBI doubles to go up 2-0 in the first.

Alba would settle down from there, though. He pitched three straight shutout innings, giving up just one hit over that stretch. The problem is that Arizona State couldn't score for themselves, notching just two hits in the first five innings.

By the time the bottom of the fifth came along, Alba was struggling without any run support. A lead-off single was followed up with a bunt, putting two on base. A sacrifice fly advanced both runners, and another bunt brought in a third run. Then, a wild pitch from Alba brought another home, giving Cincinnati a 4-0 lead and ending Alba's day.

The top of the sixth finally saw life from the Sun Devil bats, though. Kyle Walker started it off with a walk, and then a single from Landon Hairston. Matt King singled after that, and a throwing error allowed both Walker and Hairston to score. King scored not long after thanks to a fielder's choice, but Arizona State still trailed 4-3.

Will Koger came in for Alba, but continued his struggles. The lead-off batter doubled, and Koger hit another batter. With two men on, Koger had his pitch taken deep to right field, bringing in a run to add more distance.

The momentum continued for Arizona State's offense, though. Walker led the seventh off with a triple, and Hairston immediately launched his first career home run to tie the game.

As it turned out, this was just the beginning of the scoring run, on both sides.

Koger remained through the seventh and into the eighth, but he was pulled after walking the lead-off batter and surrendering a double to put two men in scoring position with no outs. In came Lucas Kelly, who was unable to get out of the jam; a double brought both runners home, and the Bearcats went up 7-5, before Kelly finished out the inning.

Going into the top of the ninth down two, Arizona State needed to score in a hurry. They got just that with Walker blasting a bomb to right field in the first at-bat of the frame. Still, they needed more.

After Hairston was hit by a pitch, King got a single; both runners moved into scoring position on a ground out, setting up the tying single from Brandon Compton, immediately followed by a go-ahead RBI from Nu'u Contrades.

From there, all that was left to do was get three outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Willie Bloomquist left Kelly on the mound, and looked smart at first. Kelly got a quick ground out and then struck the next batter out looking. However, the pressure seemed to get to Kelly, as he threw two balls way out of the strike zone to get behind 2-0. That forced him to deliver a fast ball down the middle, which was crushed for a solo homer, tying the game.

The Sun Devils couldn't get a single thing going in the top of the 10th, racking up three outs on eight total pitches. Kelly then looked to return the favor, but a lead-off single was followed it up with a hit batter on a breaking ball that got away.

From there, Cincinnati tried to bunt with two men on and no outs, but Kelly expertly navigated the situation and ended up striking him out. On the next pitch, though, the runner stole third, which set up another bunt situation. Kelly responded well, but his throw home was a tad bit late, and the Bearcats scored the walk-off win off the bunt.

The loss is a heartbreaker for Arizona State, as they were favored in every game of this series. With consecutive conference series losses, the Sun Devils' path to Omaha becomes more narrow. They won't have time to lick their wounds, either, as they face Purdue tomorrow.