Arizona State baseball loses to Pepperdine to end season – azcentral.com

FULLERTON, Calif. — Hutton Moyer put an end to Arizona State’s season.

Moyer, a junior second baseman and the son of former major-league pitcher Jamie Moyer, hit a go-ahead three-run double with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, lifting fourth-seeded Pepperdine to a 7-4 victory over the second-seeded Sun Devils in a regional contest Sunday at Goodwin Field.

Moyer’s game-winning hit came off Arizona State reliever Darin Gillies with two outs in the eighth. Moyer, who went 2 for 3 and smacked a two-run homer, drove in five runs for the Waves (32-28), who eliminated the Sun Devils (35-23) and advanced to the regional final to face top-seeded Cal State-Fullerton.

“Just a couple of hits here and there, just one of those things,” said designated hitter R.J. Ybarra, who went 2 for 4, referring to Pepperdine’s three-run eighth. “They got runners on base with the guy (Moyer) that they wanted up. That guy has been swinging a hot bat. A good hitter stepped up at a time he needed to. It’s just unfortunate, but it’s part of the game. Things happen.”

More: Complete ASU baseball coverage

Gillies (3-6) gave up three runs on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 1 2/3 innings.

Chandler Blanchard (4-3) worked two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief for the Waves.

The Sun Devils, who also lost to the Waves in the regionals last year, threatened in the ninth. Sophomore Brian Serven drew a walk to open the inning and advanced to third when Pepperdine center fielder Jeremy Goldenetz misplayed Johnny Sewald’s single. However, closer Max Gamboa forced Jake Peevyhouse to fly out to left and Colby Woodmansee to pop out to center for his eighth save.

“Things didn’t go our way; that’s kind of how baseball works,” Serven said. “I think we all came out knowing what we had to do and just wasn’t able to get it done. Pepperdine’s a good squad. They’re a solid team just like Fullerton, just like Clemson. They’re all solid teams. We knew that coming in. It just happened to not go our way.”

ASU rallied from a two-run deficit to tie the score at 4 on Peevyhouse’s solo home run to lead off the sixth and a sacrifice fly by freshman Andrew Snow in the seventh. But the lead wouldn’t hold up.

The Sun Devils scored first. Ybarra lined a leadoff double down the left-field line in the third. Ybarra advanced to third on single by sophomore catcher Zach Cerbo and scored on Snow’s sacrifice fly for a 1-0 ASU lead with one out in the third.

An RBI single by Peevyhouse, who was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, brought home Cerbo to make it 2-0.

The Waves tied the score at 2 on a run-scoring single by sophomore Brandon Caruso and an RBI double by desig<FZ,1,7,12>nated hitter Kolten Yamaguchi in the fourth.

Moyer drilled an off-speed pitch from ASU starter Jordan Aboites over the wall in center for a 4-2 Pepperdine advantage in the fifth. Consecutive base hits by Aaron Barnett and Caruso chased Aboites with two outs in the fifth.

Aboites allowed four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Aboites, who hit a batter, threw 60 pitches (40 strikes).

The Sun Devils were coming off a 3-2 loss in 14 innings to top-seeded Cal State-Fullerton on Saturday night in a game that took more than five hours to complete. ASU opened with a 7-4 win over Clemson on Friday.

Serven said Saturday’s marathon had no impact on Sunday’s outcome.

“I think we were all ready to play,” Serven said. “I don’t think anybody came out lackadaisical or anything like that. Like I said, it’s baseball. Things didn’t go our way.”

The back-to-back losses didn’t extinguish a quality campaign.

“We accomplished some things this year,” Serven said. “We played good baseball at times, but we didn’t play to our potential at times, either. Like this weekend. Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”

Added coach Tracy Smith, “You never want it to end. It’s kind of a surreal feeling at the end of a season. It’s a new season for us now and an opportunity to work with a great group of guys. This season didn’t end the way we wanted it to end. We had another good baseball game today, and it just didn’t happen for us. I’m sorry it’s over, but I have no regrets or complaints about the way the guys played.”

Photos: Arizonans in 2015 NCAA baseball tournament

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