ASU Baseball: No. 16 Sun Devils drop Saturday finale against Utah

With a series win already in hand, No. 16 Arizona State (30-8, 12-6 Pac-12) couldn’t secure a sweep in the Saturday finale of a three-game set against Utah (12-21, 4-14 Pac-12). The Sun Devils fell 6-3 in game full of hits.

With sophomore pitcher RJ Dabovich still out of the lineup as the Devils normal day three weekend starter, freshman pitcher Luke La Flam got the nod for his first collegiate start on Saturday.

The first-year pitcher went three innings while allowing eight hits and four runs. The Utes didn’t give him a warm welcome either. In the first inning, they plated three runs courtesy of a three-run home run from Utah senior outfielder Erick Migueles.

The blast put ASU in an early hole and the Utes continued to showcase their offense. They led 5-0 after five innings and finished the game with 15 hits. For ASU, sophomore outfielder Trevor Hauver was the lone player in maroon and gold with a hit through five innings.

Utah senior starting pitcher Josh Tedeschi went into the eighth inning, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out four and walking three. Tedeschi did more than enough to give his team a chance to win.

One of ASU’s biggest opportunities came in the seventh inning when they started off the frame with three straight singles. However, Tedeschi was able to limit the bleeding and it became a big sequence.

ASU scored two runs and added one late in the ninth but it would be too little, too late. Utah’s early offense was able to catapult them to a victory. The Devils had their fair share of opportunities late in the game but a few timely hits just didn’t come their way.

Hauver had two knocks and an RBI while sophomore infielder Drew Swift and sophomore third baseman Gage Workman generated the other two RBI’s.

With a series win in the bag heading back to Tempe, ASU returns to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a midweek game against UNLV before going back up North to take on Washington next weekend. First pitch with the Rebels is slated for 6:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, April 23.