Arizona State pushed to the limit in non-conference win

If you're looking for the definition of a "Burn the tape" win, Monday night's matchup in Las Vegas has you covered.

The final score of 12-11 is just the tip of the iceberg of the action from Las Vegas Ballpark, a game that few thought would even need the full 9 innings.

Arizona State struck early and often, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after three innings and sparking thoughts of a possible run rule game after getting run ruled at Kansas State on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't the long ball that did the damage, instead timely hitting and smart baserunning against UNLV pitchers Ryan Marton and Reece Lueck.

PJ Moutzouridis was the catalyst of that outburst, the biggest of his three hits coming on a double to deep center that seemed to epitomize the kind of night the Rebels were in for after center fielder Reggie Bussey couldn't corral the fly ball, slamming into the center field wall for good measure. Landon Hairston kept on doing Landon Hairston things, tying Moutzouridis with 3 hits of his own while scoring 4 runs, and Dominic Smaldino led the charge with 3 RBIs, two of them coming on his only hit of the night to put the Devils up 12-0 after 5 innings.

Easton Barrett was smooth as can be in his second straight midweek start, tossing 5 innings of 2 hit shutout ball with a career-high 9 strikeouts, stretching his shutout streak to 9 innings after allowing 8 runs in 8.1 innings pitched to open the season.

With a 12 run lead, the mercy rule seemed like a mere formality as Jaden Alba came on in relief to open the 6th, but the Rebels came to life with Barrett out of the game. Drew Barragan lived up to the billing as the player to watch in the lineup, opening the scoring with a 2-run triple in the 6th inning, and scoring on a wild pitch to put the mercy rule in jeopardy. Alba would compose himself and got the game through the 7th with no further damage with an assist from Brady Louck, though the hot Sun Devil bats could do no damage against Colton Sundloff.

The 8th inning is the inning that everyone involved would prefer to never revisit. Eli Buxton came on to start the inning, failing to record an out while giving up hits to all 5 batters he faced, started once again by Barriagan who would finish the game 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. The usually reliable Sean Fitzpatrick was called on and managed to get a strikeout before a bases loaded walk to Reggie Bussey, followed by the deflating blow of a grand slam by Marcos Rosales. Taylor Penn was summoned from the bullpen seemingly as Rosales was still rounding the bases, stopping the bleeding with a 1-run lead.

Derek Schaefer would be called on for an unexpected save opportunity, and it wasn't without stress. Back-to-back walks put the winning run on 1st base with 1 out, but a double play elicited a massive sigh of relief as the Devils came away with the 12-11 win.

It was a tale of two games on Monday night, as the Devils could do no wrong in the first 5 innings but went 1-for-12 in the final 4 innings. Maybe the intrusive mercy rule thoughts came through too much? Maybe this was one of those games where only so many breaks went the right way? No matter how ugly the win was, it still counts as a win, bringing the Devils to 18-6 with a 5 game homestand coming up.

Arizona State will get a much needed Tuesday night off before returning to action on Wednesday night for a 6:35pm first pitch from Phoenix Municipal Stadium against New Mexico State, then hosting Big 12 co-leaders West Virginia for a key weekend series. All games will be available on ESPN+ (subscription required) and on KDUS AM 1060.