(Fullerton, CA) – It required extra innings on Wednesday night at Goodwin Field, but this time it was Arizona State that pushed across a pair of runs in the final inning to defeat Cal State Fullerton 10 to 8, and earn a split in the two game mid-week series. There was plenty of offense early, but as the temperature cooled on Wednesday night, so did the bats. After ASU pushed across a single run in the top of the sixth to tie the game up, it was nothing but zeros until the top of the tenth. After two fly balls to the outfield retired the first two Sun Devils, a walk and a pair of plunked batters loaded the bases up for sophomore Raoul Torrez. Having struck out already four times earlier in the evening, Raoul didn’t wait and slapped the first pitch he saw through the middle, bringing home the winning as well as an insurance run.
Early on the ball carried well as evidenced by Brett Wallace’s two run blast to the batters eye in the top of the first. Kiel Roling would not come up short two nights in a row, as he too went over the center field fence for a solo home run and the third Devil run of the first inning.
However the Titan’s were not intimidated by the ASU offensive show, as they answered right back in their half of the first for the second night in a row. But tonight they could only match the ASU three, with Jeff Newman bringing home two of the runs with a triple to left. In the second inning, CSF took the lead as Josh Fellhauer hit a two run homer over the right field fence.
Roling remained hot for the Sun Devils throughout the cool night. A single in the fifth scored a run, while another single in the sixth tied the game up.
Despite going to a full count on just about every batter he faced, Reyes Dorado shut down the Titans in the fifth, sixth and seventh and did not allow a hit. In the eighth, Tommy Rafferty came on and went the rest of the way, picking up the win. Rafferty also did not allow a hit and didn’t issue a walk either. After being the source of so much angst of late, it truly was good news to see the Sun Devil bullpen step up and finish.
