Compton delivers walk-off double as Sun Devils secure another wild win

Brandon Compton had a jersey on when he rounded second base and was mobbed by his Arizona State teammates.

At some point during the Sun Devils' on-field celebration Saturday afternoon, someone ended up with it as a souvenir from ASU's 7-6 walk-off victory at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Compton delivered a clutch double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to score Nu’u Contrades and Kyle Walker, sparking the shirtless celebration.

Compton, a redshirt sophomore from Buckeye, Arizona, went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a home run as ASU improved to 2-0 and clinched a series victory over the Buckeyes. The teams will close out the three-game series at 1 p.m. MST Sunday.

Junior slugger Kien Vu went 2-for-3 and scored twice, and sophomore Brody Briggs went 3-for-4 with a run scored.

Starting pitcher Jack Martinez was solid in his Arizona State debut, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Martinez, a senior right-hander who played last season at Louisiana, got off to a strong start, striking out the first two batters he faced before giving up a double to Ohio State's Tyler Pettorini.

Martinez then allowed a single to OSU's Marc Stephens, scoring Pettorini and giving the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead.

Arizona State responded in the bottom of the first when Compton hit a two-run homer to right-center field, scoring Vu, who had drawn a lead-off walk.

Martinez got into some trouble early in the second inning, giving up a lead-off home run to Lee Ellis to tie the game at 2-2, and then hitting the next batter, Ryan Miller.

Miller advanced to second on a wild pitch, later stole third and then scored on a throwing error by Briggs to put the Buckeyes ahead 3-2. Martinez then settled in and retired nine consecutive batters.

Ohio State's Nick Giamarusti led off the fifth inning with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Reggie Bussey, and then scored on a sac fly from Trey Lipsey to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 4-2.

Some fancy fielding from Contrades at third base led to the final out of the inning and left two Buckeyes runners stranded.

Sophomore right-hander Alec Belardes relieved Martinez with one out in the sixth but didn't last the inning. Belardes recorded just one out before hitting a batter, walking two others and giving way to freshman left-hander Easton Barrett.

Barrett recorded the critical third out, stranding two OSU runners in scoring position and keeping the deficit at two runs.

The Sun Devils rallied with a two-run sixth inning. Vu led off with a single to center field, followed by a single to right field from Compton.

Vu later scored from third on a one-out sacrifice fly from Josiah Cromwick, and Compton followed one batter later on an RBI single to right-center field from Isaiah Jackson to tie the game.

Sophomore left-hander Cole Carlon started the seventh and gave up two-out singles to Pettorini and Stephens. Carlon then loaded the bases by hitting OSU's Mason Eckelman and later allowed the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

Briggs led off the bottom of the seventh and bounced a shot over the wall in center field for a ground-rule double. He later scored on an RBI groundout from Contrades.

Things got scary for the Sun Devils moments later when Vu was hit on his right elbow by a pitch. After receiving some treatment on the field, the junior slugger opted to stay in the game.

Vu advanced to second on a wild pitch and then stole third before being called out while trying to steal home to end the inning.

Freshman right-hander Eli Buxton started the eighth inning for ASU and struck out Miller before walking Giamarusti.

Giamarusti made the most of the free pass by stealing second and third before scoring on a wild pitch to give the Buckeyes a 6-5 lead.

Junior left-hander Sean Fitzpatrick relieved Buxton and recorded the final two outs.

Wyatt Halvorson, a sophomore right-hander from Scottsdale, Arizona, was stellar in the ninth, striking out two and sending the Buckeyes down in order. The Sun Devils used seven pitchers in the victory, with Halvorson earning the win.

In the bottom of the ninth, Walker reached on a fielder's choice and Contrades drew a two-out walk, setting the stage for Compton's heroics.

It was the second consecutive dramatic win for the Sun Devils, who survived a 9-8 slugfest vs. the Buckeyes on Friday night.