Six Run Delaware Fourth Inning and Tough Bullpen Pitching Down the Stretch Leads to 7-3 Win Over #9 Arizona State
February 25, 2011
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
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• Boxscore
TEMPE, Ariz. - - The University of Delaware baseball team jumped out to a 7-0 lead through the first four innings against no. 9 Arizona State and hung on the rest of the way on the arms of the bullpen for the 7-3 victory at Packard Stadium.
The Sun Devils moved two up two spots in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after a sweep over New Mexico last weekend. The victory marks the highest ranked opponent the Blue Hens have defeated since beating no. 8 North Carolina in the 1983 NCAA East Regional Baseball Tournament. They also defeated #16 South Carolina the day before on May 27.
Delaware hasn’t played a ranked opponent since 2007, when they lost a three-game series to no. 7 Virginia. The Blue Hens last win against a ranked team was in 2001 against no. 18 East Carolina. Delaware took the final game of the series 10-7 (10 innings) on March 3.
Starter Eric Young pitched five innings while giving up two runs (one earned) to earn his first victory as a Blue Hen. Young, a first-year transfer from Riverside CC and a Redlands, Calif., made his first career start, and worked out of a two-on, no out jam in the first inning. From there, he settled down and completed five innings before turning it over to the bullpen.
Jeff Murray came on in relief, and threw the next 3.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Murray ran into trouble after getting the first out of the inning. Back-to-back singles chased Murray out of the game for Steve Richter.
Richter got Riccio Torrez to strike out for the second out of the inning, but walked the next batter to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. With preseason All-American shortstop stepping up to the plate, Deven Marrero chopped a soft ground ball to short, which Dave Anderson flipped to DJ Long (at right) for the final out.
Delaware (2-2) opened the scoring in the second inning, getting two runners on with only one out. Chris Branigan reached base first with a single into right field. After Logan Gallagher walked, Aaron Mascoe went the other way with a double into right, scoring Branigan from second.
Senior captain Anderson followed with an RBI grounded, scoring Gallagher who advanced to third on the double. Now with two outs and Mascoe on third, Long kept the inning alive with a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, Scoring Mascoe for the 3-0 lead.
After Pat Dameron worked a two out walk, Steve Ulaky hit a short pop up into left field, making Marrero backtrack and attempt a tough catch. The ball flipped out of the palm of his glove, keeping the inning alive, and scoring Long.
Without missing a beat, freshman cleanup hitter Jimmy Yezzo singled over the head of Marrero into left center, scoring both Dameron and Ulaky, capping the scoring at 6-0.
They expanded the lead to 7-0 with a single run in the fourth. Long started the inning with a double down the left field line. After starter Jake Barrett (0-1) got the next two batters out, and looked as though he would escape unscathed, Yezzo tacked on another RBI with a single up the middle, chasing Long from third.
Arizona State (3-1), ranked ninth by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, scored two runs as the Delaware defense committed two errors in Young’s last inning.
The Sun Devils threatened in the 8th, getting the first two runners on base to start the inning. Marrero singled up the middle, scoring Zach Wilson who was hit by a pitch and reached second on a wild pitch. But then Murray got Newman to hit a “Taylor Made” double-play ground ball to Long at second, who turned it to clear the bases and get two outs.
Long ended with two hits, one being a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Freshman DH Jimmy Yezzo knocked in three runs while going 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot.
It was the first time the Blue Hens and Sun Devils met since 1976. In the only other meeting between the two programs, Arizona State came out on top 13-5.
The two will battle in a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first pitch of the first game scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Game two will start approximately 45 minutes after the end of the first game.
AGATE:
Delaware………… 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 7 8 2
Arizona State…..…0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 – 3 7 1
E – Dameron (1), Logan (1), Marrero (2); DP – Delaware 1; LOB – Delaware 4, ASU 11; 2B – Long (2), Mascoe (3), Barnes (2), DeMichele (1); HBP – MacPhee, Wilson; SF – Aplin (1); SB – Ruettiger 2 (7). CS – Ruettiger (2)
W – Young, Eric (1-0); L – Barrett (0-1); S – Richter (1)
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