Rubber match set for Saturday at noon
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Sun Devils fell in the middle game of their series against UCLA, setting up a rubber match on Saturday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
UCLA (27-22-1, 12-15-1 Pac-12) took a 1-0 lead in the second after Darius Perry reached on an error and came around to score later in the inning on an RBI single from Carson Yates.
The Bruins tagged Ross Dunn for three more runs in the third to extend their lead to 4-0, scoring on a groundout, a single and a wild pitch. All four runs charged to Dunn were unearned.
ASU (30-22, 15-13 Pac-12) got on the board in the fifth as Isaiah Jackson drove in Jacob Tobias with an RBI single. Kien Vu brought home another run with an RBI fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to two.
Out of the Arizona State bullpen, Matt Tieding and Josh Hansell held the Bruin’s bats at bay and kept the Devils within striking distance.
Tieding allowed one hit in one inning of relief, and Hansell struck out four and allowed two hits across three innings of work.
The Devils got within one in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double from Luke Keaschall, but a two-run blast in the top of the ninth by Duce Gourson pushed the UCLA lead back to three.
T9 | SEE. YOU. LATER!
Duce Gourson’s 10th of the year provides some key insurance for the Bruins.
UCLA 6, ASU 3
| Pac-12 Networks
| https://t.co/rbj6lsP8wh#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/UlNdJqB956— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 20, 2023
Cody Delvecchio pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to seal the win for the Bruins.
With the win, the Bruins clinched their spot in the Pac-12 tournament.
With their postseason hopes potentially in the balance, the Sun Devils will go for the series win Saturday, May 20 at noon.