Colossal late-game meltdown sees Arizona State lose 11-6 to UNLV

Things were going so well for the Sun Devils, and then suddenly so bad.

Arizona State went on the road for a rematch with UNLV, having beaten the Rebels in Phoenix earlier this season. They staked out a lead early on, but a colossal meltdown in the eighth inning served them up an 11-6 loss when all was said and done.

Getting another start was Easton Barrett, who has yet to make it through three full innings in five starts. That changed Tuesday night, as he hit exactly three innings pitched, though Barrett yielded three runs as well.

The good news is that Arizona State had a lead both times, as both Landon Hairston and Jacob Tobias plated in the opening inning with Brody Briggs driving in a run in the second. By the time Barrett was replaced by Jonah Giblin, the score was tied 3-3.

UNLV pulled ahead with a ground out in the fifth, putting them up by one and giving them their first lead of the game. But the Sun Devil bats came knocking in the seventh, with Kyle Walker reaching home on a scoring error to tie. After that, a sacrifice fly from Tobias with no outs brought home Hairston to put Arizona State back in front. Matt King scored on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth to give some cushion.

Then came the meltdown.

Head coach Willie Bloomquist brought in Josh Butler, one of his most solid relievers, to pitch the eighth. His second pitch blooped up the middle for a single, and his third pitch was hit down the left field line for another single. Butler then walked the next batter on five pitches, loading the bases.

Butler attempted to get out of the jam, but a double cracked to the left side brought in all three baserunners, putting UNLV back up by one run in one fell swoop.

Just like that, Butler's night was over, and in came one of the Sun Devils' other reliable relievers: Derek Schaefer. However, just like Butler before him, Schaefer was erratic. Before he even threw a pitch, Schaefer attempted to pick off the lone baserunner behind him, but completely missed.

Now with a runner 90 feet away from home, Schaefer began working. He quickly got ahead in the count, 0-2, but then knicked the batter to put him on base. Amazingly, Schaefer proceeded to hit the next batter, loading up the bases for the second time that inning. A ground out brought another run home before a fielding error loaded the bases again.

Schaefer came out, replaced by the lefty Sean Fitzpatrick. He entered with an 8-6 deficit, one out, and loaded bases. In a sequence that felt like a glitch in the simulation, Fitzpatrick hit his first batter, bringing in a run. A deep fly out to right field brought one more runner home, and Fitzpatrick's night was over.

In came Eli Buxton, now facing a 10-6 deficit but needing just one out with two on base in scoring position. Buxton's very first pitch went crazy, getting away from the catcher and bringing yet another run across. After a strike, Buxton got a ground out and miraculously ended the inning.

But the Sun Devils had already been bled dry, giving up a ridiculous seven runs in the eighth and handing UNLV the game. They used four pitchers in one inning, who combined for zero strikeouts, three hit batters, and of course those seven runs.

In the top of the ninth, Nu'u Contrades got on base by, ironically, being hit by a pitch, but Tobias grounded out to end the game right after that.

All the air was sucked out of the Sun Devil dugout in that eighth inning, and you could tell by the way the batters played with little life in the ninth. UNLV obliterated the best arms in Arizona State's bullpen, ripping victory away from the jaws of defeat.

This was a demoralizing way for the Sun Devils to lose, and it marks their third straight midweek loss. Ironically, the last time this team won during the week was against these very Rebels, but that feels like ages ago at this point.

Arizona State now gets a break before a weekend road trip with Big 12 foe Utah.