(Photo: Kimmy Davis/WCSN)
Arizona State defeated the Utah Utes 6-5 in 10 innings on Saturday, thanks to Joey Bielek’s RBI single in the 10th. The win gives the Sun Devils the series victory against Utah, their fourth straight in Pac-12 play.
ASU advances to 21-8 overall, 9-3 in conference and also moves to 11-4 in one-run games this season.
Sun Devil starting pitcher Brett Lilek only allowed two hits on the evening and struck out six, yet departed after 4.2 innings of work due to four walks and an escalating pitch count.
ASU struck first in this contest, coming via an RBI double to left-center field from David Greer that brought home Zach Cerbo and Brian Serven.
The Utes clawed back into the game with a Josh Rose RBI groundout that scored Max Schuman and cut the Sun Devil lead to 2-1.
Rose struck again with a two-run triple to right-center field that gave the Utes a 3-2 lead.
Utah extended its lead in the eighth with a Schuman home run to center field to give them a 5-3 lead.
Bent but not broken in the top of the ninth, ASU leadoff man Johnny Sewald picked a perfect time to crank out his third hit of the game, sending a dribbler up the middle that brought home Joey Bielek from second.
The rally continued with Cerbo at the plate. Relief pitcher Tanner Thomas threw a wild pitch in the dirt, which allowed David Graybill to score and tie the game at five runs apiece.
In the top of the tenth, Bielek hit a ground ball single to left field to score Greer and give ASU the lead.
Ryan Burr pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning to end the game and secure the 6-5 victory for ASU.
The Sun Devils are now tasked with a midweek matchup in Las Vegas against UNLV before resuming conference play with a three-game home series against rival Arizona.
