TEMPE, Ariz.— Grand Canyon University’s pitchers played with fire all game long, yet Arizona State’s bats battled back every chance they got in a lopsided offensive performance.
On Thursday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the Sun Devils started on the wrong foot, going down 1-0 in the first inning, but once they snatched the lead in the third, they never looked back, securing a 9-4 win.
In the third inning, sophomore catcher Coen Niclai stepped into the batter's box with a chance to create a breakout inning with the leadoff hitter getting on base.
After spitting on a pitcher's pitch outside the zone, Niclai tapped the dirt off his cleats and got ready to take advantage of his hitter's count.
Once junior left-handed pitcher Chase Frey delivered the pitch, Niclai’s eyes lit up as he went on to clear the bases with a two-run home run to center field.
After the long ball started the RBI party, ASU went on to tally seven more runs on eight hits, leaving the Lopes’ pitchers clueless and lost.
The Sun Devils did a great job of making loud contact off the bat, with more than half of their hits being line drives. In the fourth inning, ASU scored two runs with three hard-hit singles, demonstrating its ability to play small ball and hit up the middle.
While the base hits created mayhem, it was the fundamentals from the Sun Devils that sealed the loss for GCU. The baserunners capitalized on every passed ball issued by the Lopes, which allowed hitters to have multiple at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Junior infielder Nu’u Contrades did a great job of taking what GCU’s defense gave him by turning a stand-up single into a triple. After the speedy infielder hit a hard grounder past the shortstop, he kept his head on a swivel and saw the left fielder bobble the ball.
Contrades then turned on the jets, scorching past first and taking an opportunistic choice to head to third in the process. After a close play at third, Contrades was called safe, hyping up the dugout and starting the flame that led to a four-run inning.
On the bump, ASU threw nine different pitchers. Other than the first inning struggles, the pitching staff kept a firm grasp on the Lopes’ hitters. The Sun Devils surrendered seven hits to GCU, with only one being an extra-base hit.
Every hit that the Lopes connected on landed in front of ASU’s defense, which illustrated the pitcher’s ability to keep the baseball out of the hitters' warehouses.
Despite the success, the Sun Devils' pitching staff struggled at times, conceding some costly walks. In the first, junior right-handed pitcher Alex Overbay issued a walk after being up in an 0-2 count, before walking the very next batter, creating an early jam.
GCU would then capitalize, hitting a one-run RBI single after the walks, which could have been easily avoided if Overbay used the count to his advantage.
Overall, a successful afternoon for ASU with plenty of positives to take away from this hometown rivalry win. The next time the Lopes come back to Phoenix Municipal Stadium will be March 17, giving each team time to prepare for the next matchup.