Trailing 4-1 after three innings, No. 16 Arizona State (30-7, 12-5 Pac-12) stormed back to take down Utah (11-21, 3-14 Pac-12) 8-5 in game two against the Utes on Friday night.
With the win, the Devils took the series and secured their first 30-win season since 2016. Leading the offensive charge was third baseman Gage Workman, who finished the contest with three hits and an RBI.
Additionally, the Sun Devils were able to string together a flurry of hits in the fourth inning while trailing by three runs. Sophomore outfielder Trevor capped off the hit parade by tying the game at four. Sophomore first baseman Spencer Torkelson also extended his hit streak and it is now up to 22 games.
Hauver, Torkelson, Workman junior outfielder Carter Aldrete, and sophomore infielder Drew Swift all recorded RBI’s. Both Swift and Torkelson had two a piece.
Along with the eight runs of offense, the ASU defense was able to turn four timely double plays to work out of jams. The Devils did not allow a run in innings 5-8, and the goose eggs in the later innings helped settle things down.
Utah added one run in the ninth, but any comeback was taken down by sophomore pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi, who threw a complete game for the first time in his collegiate career.
Vander Kooi battled and ended up going the distance while striking out five, walking two and allowing four earned runs in 114 pitches of work. It marked the second time in the last week that a Sun Devil starter has thrown a complete game, as junior Alec Marsh accomplished the task last weekend against Oregon State.
Pieced together, ASU was able to come out with the victory and the series in the first two games in Salt Lake City. They will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon against the Utes. First pitch is at noon.