Baseball Rolls Past UCSD, 15-5, in Seven Innings

PHOENIX - Sun Devil Baseball put the run rule into effect with a 15-5 victory in seven innings over the UC San Diego Tritons (26-14, 13-8 Big West) in the first-ever contest between the two programs on Tuesday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. 
 
Arizona State (23-22, 12-12 Pac-12) quickly bounced back from a 4-2 deficit in the third inning, scoring in each of the final five frames of the game to pull away down the stretch.
 
Entering the contest midway through the third inning, Matt Cornelius earned the win after throwing 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Matt Tieding relieved Cornelius for the remainder of the game, throwing 2.0 innings and allowing one run with a strikeout.
 
The Sun Devils were led by Nick McLain and Steven Ondina's three-hit performances, with McLain going 3-for-3 at the plate with a two-run homer to left center in the second inning and scoring four runs in the contest. Ondina's three hits mark the second time this season he's reached the tally, contributing a triple and an RBI in the win. Kien Vu, Jacob Tobias, and Brandon Compton each added two hits of their own, with one of Compton's being his second home run in as many games. 
 
TURNING POINT
Trailing 4-2 after the top of the third frame, the Sun Devils mounted four runs in the bottom of the third to retake the lead. Ryan Campos worked a walk, Vu managed a single and McLain was stung by a pitch to load the bases. From there, Campos scored off of a Triton wild pitch and Eamonn Lance worked a walk to tie the game at four. McLain scored off of a fielder's-choice to first and Lance was brought in due to another wild pitch by the Tritons, putting the Sun Devils ahead 6-4 after the third inning.
 
BIG MOMENT
Already having a 7-4 lead and pitching two shutout innings, the Sun Devils added to their lead thanks to Compton smashing a 112 mile per hour, 440-foot home run off the batter's eye straight away center field. A Mario Demera double was followed by an Ondina triple to plate a run. Another wild pitch brought Ondina in to give the Sun Devils a commanding 10-4 lead going into the sixth inning.
 
FINAL STRAW
The Sun Devils were able to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning after Campos reached via fielder's choice to second, Vu singled to first, and McLain was walked. Tobias provided insurance with a single to score Campos and Vu, giving ASU a 13-5 lead. Then, with the bases loaded, back-to-back wild pitches by the Tritons ended the game via the run rule, giving the Sun Devils a 15-5 victory.
 
QUOTABLES
Arizona State Head Coach Willie Bloomquist 
On how he thought his team capitalized today overall
"Started off a little sluggish. On the mound, we weren't very sharp there early. The boys got on base and they (UCSD) made some mistakes that we were able to take advantage of and we kept the pressure on them most of the game, which was good, with a lot of base runners and a lot of things going on. So, you get baserunners, good things happen. We were able to take advantage of a couple of miscues and pass balls, et cetera, that we were able to score upon. You look up and we had 13 hits. It didn't feel like that in my mind. I thought we swung the bats okay, but we had a lot of seeing-eye hits, too. Numbers and those types of things. But, on the flip side, good things happen when you put the ball in play." 
 
On the plate discipline and the approach to at-bats;
"Even though we had seven walks, we chased a lot of balls in the dirt tonight that I wasn't overly pleased with and we took a lot of fastballs that were, from my vantage point, good pitches to hit, and then chasing balls in the dirt. That's the opposite of what we're trying to do. We're trying to lay off the ball in the dirt and be ready for the fastball. Tonight was one of those nights where I'm surprised we had 13 hits because I don't think we swung it as well as I would like us to with the pitches we had to hit and guys in scoring position. We had some big strikeouts in those situations to where even if we just put the ball in play we get runs, and instead we come away empty on a couple of those. Then scoring on wild pitches or passed balls, which – you score, you score; but I would like to earn it, to have our guys get in the habit of earning those runs when they can. So, never going to complain about a win but on the same token I thought we left some runners out there." 
 
Arizona State Pitcher Matt Cornelius:
On what improvements he's made over the season:
"Just sitting back and watching others, asking other (players) what works for them and how successful they are and just keep going, keep my head down and keep going."
 
On how important tonight's performance was for the team:
"We can get all the help we can get. If one guy goes down, our pitching staff has each other's backs. It's all we can do."
 
Arizona State Right-Fielder Nick McLain:
On how important their hitting performances are when the pitching is struggling
"It's nice, it makes the pitcher's job a lot easier. They've had a lot of good performances where the offense actually hasn't performed. So it's nice to back them up. We've been playing pretty good defense too, behind them. So everything's kind of working right now, which is nice."
 
On his resilience throughout the season and being able to hit a home run at first bat
"Obviously this year hasn't been awesome for me, but today I just kind of woke up and said let's just pretend like the last 100 at bats didn't happen. Start of the season, I guess you could say for me. That's what I was kind of going for and it ended up, I had a decent day. So it was nice to have that."
 
Arizona State Infielder Steven Ondina:
On his triple and what he was seeing at the plate:
"Just trying to stay aggressive with the fastball. He threw me a curve ball, outside corner and then he threw me a fast ball and I was ready for it." 
 
On the teams performance tonight and seeing the amount of sporadic pitches tonight at the plate:
"Just try to hunt the fastball. I was on the fastball for the first at bat, and I got a curveball and I was still on it because I just read it. I never like to take on the plate, I just try to look for fastballs and see spin on the zone. Just try to put the barrel on it."
 
NOTABLES 

• Ryan Campos' first inning walk means he has now reached base safely in 124-of-134 career games (92.5 percent) with the Sun Devils and all but one game this season.
• Throwing out a runner in the first, Campos has now caught 14 of the last 27 batters attempting to steal on him after doing so on just 2 of the first 19 of the season.
• Campos threw out UCSD's Michael Crossland on the play, who entered the game a perfect 12-for-12 on stolen bases this season.
• ASU's 15 runs were tied for the third-most allowed by UCSD this season, which entered the night with a team 4.64 ERA.
• ASU has scored 10 or more runs in four of its last five games.
• The Triton pitchers entered the contest ranked in walks per nine innings at 3.56 before giving up seven in 6.2 innings tonight. 
• This season, ASU has posted 41 3+ run innings and 25 4+ run innings following its four-run third, three-run fifth and four-run seventh.
• ASU reached double-digit hits for the 28th time in 45 games this season..
• With another two hits tonight, Kien Vu extended his impressive 21-game stretch since entering the starting lineup against UNLV where he is batting .452 with eight homers, four doubles, a triple and a team-best 27 RBIs - four more than any other player in that stretch. 
• He extended his active hitting streak to 11 games today, the longest by a Sun Devil this season.
• ASU has trailed at some point in 32 of the team's last 44 victories dating back to last season. 

 
INNING BY INNING 
First Inning
Behrens started the inning with a strikeout. After UCSD managed to get a run early on, a tag at third, and a ground out ended their frame. McLain hammered one over the left fence to bring in Campos for a two-run homer. The Sun Devils took a 2-1 lead heading into the second inning. 
 
Second Inning
The Sun Devils fielded a grounder for each out of the frame but the Tritons managed to add a double and a two-run homer to retake the lead, 3-2. Compton singled one to the pitcher and made it safely to first. Ondina singled one to the third baseman but safely made it to first while Compton was thrown out at second. The Sun Devils' frame was cut short on an unsuccessful attempt to steal second. 
 
Third Inning
After a score on a wild pitch for the Tritons, Cornelius was able to pick off the runner at first to end the frame. 
After Campos was walked, Vu singled one to right field while Campos advanced to third. McLain was then hit by a pitch to load the bases before Campos advanced home off a wild pitch. Two walks, two wild pitches, and an RBI groundout from Compton brought in four runs before a strikeout ended the inning with the Sun Devils now up 6-4.
 
Fourth Inning
Cornelius recorded his first strikeout of the night to start the inning while the Triton batting order was retired in order. After Ondina singled one to center field, he advanced to second on a groundout. Ondina made it to third and then home on two separate wild pitches. McLain singled to the pitcher but was stranded after a fly out, leaving the Sun Devils up 7-4 heading into the fifth. 
 
Fifth Inning
A groundout caught by Ondina for the last out left the Tritons stranded on first and third. Compton knocked one out of the park on a 3-1 count for his second home run in as many games. After Demera doubled one down the left field line, Ondina tripled one to center field to bring Demera home. Another wild pitch brought Ondina in while Campos was walked. A groundout caught by the first baseman ended the Sun Devils run for the inning, leading 10-4 heading into the sixth. 
 
Sixth Inning
A groundout secured by Ondina ended the Tritons frame short after being walked with two outs. With McLain sitting on first after a single down the left line, Tobias singled one to right field allowing McLain to advance to third. A dropped pop fly hit by Lance allowed McLain to run home while Lance safely made it to first on a fielder's choice. A strikeout for the third out left the Sun Devils with a 11-4 lead over the Tritons.
 
Seventh Inning
Two walks led up to a line-drive double down the right field line, bringing in a runner for the Tritons. Tieding earned his first strikeout of the night to end the Tritons' frame. Ondina singled to left field to mark the first hit of the inning for the Sun Devils. A line drive to third came down to a fielder's choice at second, letting Campos make it to first safely. Vu singled one to first base which turned into an error, allowing Vu to advance to second and Campos to third. With bases loaded, Tobias singled one to left field bringing in Vu and Campos and a throwing error by the left fielder advanced Tobias to second and McLain to third. Two wild pitches back-to-back brought McLain and Tobias home and put the run rule into effect. The Sun Devils won 15-5 over the Tritons. 
 
ON DECK: 
The Sun Devils will play their second game against UC San Diego at Phoenix Municipal Stadium tomorrow, Wednesday evening, starting at 6:30 p.m. AZT. The game will be available to stream on Pac-12 Arizona.