Sun Devils take down Anteaters to open regional play

Well! That was exciting, let's keep doing it!

Facing the No. 23 ranked team in UC Irvine was a daunting task on paper, but the Sun Devils stood up to the challenge, coming away with a gritty 4-2 win to move in to the winners bracket of the Los Angeles Regional.

The big order of business (pun intended) was dropping Brandon Compton down to 8th in the order and moving the scorching hot Isaiah Jackson up to 6th. Otherwise the lineup stayed pretty true to normal with Josiah Cromwick taking his turn behind the plate catching Ben Jacobs in the most important start of his season.

The top half of the 1st inning saw the Devils offense continue the same way it played against BYU, as Trevor Hansen set Kyle Walker, Landon Hairston, and Matt King down in order on just 8 pitches. Jabobs was able to hold serve in the bottom of the inning, allowing just a two out walk but allowing no further damage.

Jacob Tobias opened the 2nd inning with a bang, literally, as he hammered a no doubt shot to RF for his 9th HR of the season to give the Devils the early lead. Two batters later, Isaiah Jackson made the lineup move pay off as he willed a ball just over the center fielder's outstretched glove for his 17th HR of the season, and just like that the Devils had a 2-0 lead through an inning and a half.

The lead would be short lived however, as the Anteaters made Jacobs pay for his second two out walk of the game. Alonso Reyes doubled to score James Castagnola, then Frankie Carney reached on an infield single to Kyle Walker, who's throwing error allowed Reyes to come all the way around to score with the tying run. Irvine would threaten for more with a single and walk to load the bases, but Jacobs induced a fly out by Anthony Martinez to finally retire the side.

Neither side could do anything offensively in the 3rd inning as both went down quickly in order. Jacob Tobias started the 4th with his second hit of the night, a double down the LF line this time, and Kien Vu followed up with a double of his own to put the Devils back on top 3-2. Vu would advance to 3B with two outs after a dropped third strike, but was unable to come around as Compton grounded out to end the frame.

Jacobs was lighting it up again in the bottom of the 4th, sandwiching a walk between two strikeouts and getting some great defense by Jax Ryan at the hot corner to keep Irvine off the scoreboard. An infield hit by Walker was all the Devils could muster in the top of the 5th, sending Jacobs out for his 5th inning of work.

Quickly he found trouble after Colin Yeaman reached on an error followed by an Anthony Martinez walk. Jacob McCombs moved the runners over to 2nd and 3rd with just one out, but a strikeout and fly out finished the inning and the night for Jacobs in the type of grit that you want to see from your Friday starter. Final line for Jacobs: 5 IP, 2 R (both earned), 3 H, 5 BB, 6 K, 105 pitches.

From here, if you blinked you might have missed an entire inning. Hansen returned for the 6th inning, retiring the side while allowing just a walk to Vu. Jonah Giblin came on in relief for Jacobs for the bottom of the 6th, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts.

Cromwick opened the 7th with a double and Compton reached on a hit by pitch, but even after a ground out by Walker moved both runners to scoring position with two outs, Landon Hairston struck out to end the potential rally. Giblin meanwhile continued his pitching clinic, facing the minimum through two innings of work and keeping the game level at 3-2.

Insurance is just what the Devils got in the top of the 8th. Tobias continued his hot night with his third hit of the night, a one out double. After a three pitch strikeout by Vu, who else comes through but Isaiah Jackson? The man with the hottest bat in the West picked up Tobias with an RBI single through the right side, stretching the lead to 4-2.

Giblin's luck would run out in the 8th as the Anteaters put runners in scoring position thanks to a hit by pitch, a single, and a sacrifice bunt. Enter Cole Carlon, and he understood the assignment. He induced a 4-6-3 double play by Alonso Reyes to end the ending, thanks to an incredible stretch by Tobias to finish the play at 1B.

The Devils had a quiet top half of the inning, but I would be remiss if I didn't highlight the heads up play by Jax Ryan. On a 2-1 pitch with one out, he hit a sky high pop-up to SS. After a rough night at the plate, most batters would just toss the bat aside and slowly trot towards first.

Not Jax. Instead he hustled out of the box, and it worked out in his favor. Colin Yeaman made an uncharacteristic error, and Jax found himself on 2B on what should have been the second out of the inning. Unfortunately he didn't advance any further, but fundamental baseball like that should never be overlooked.

Carlon returned for the 9th for the save, striking out Zach Crandall to open the frame. A double by Will Bermudez brought the tying run to the plate, but Carlon locked in, getting a strikeout and a flyout to secure the 4-2 win and send the Devils to the winners side of the Los Angeles Regional.

What's next?

Arizona State will take on host UCLA tomorrow night at 6pm after the Bruins put on a hit parade in their 19-4 win over Fresno State. Irvine will play Fresno State in the elimination game at 12pm MST.