Cougars score four in the ninth to rally and defeat ASU, 6-5

PHOENIX — A two-out, three-run triple by shortstop Brock Watkins in the top of the ninth gave BYU a come-from-behind, 6-5, victory over Arizona State on Friday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

“I was proud of the way we just kept battling,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “Our guys were grinding out at-bats, we got a couple of key walks and of course Brock got the big hit. This group just believes they can win and that’s the mark of a quality team.” 

With the bases empty and two outs in the ninth, Collin Reuter singled up the middle to keep BYU’s hopes alive. Jacob Wilk then singled in the hole between third and short and freshman Ozzie Pratt—in his first BYU at bat—was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Watkin’s heroics. 

With two strikes, Watkins lined an outside pitch down the right field line to clear the bases and give BYU a 5-4 lead. Back-to-back walks by Mitch McIntyre and Andrew Pintar reloaded the bases for Cole Gambill, who drew a full-count walk to score what would become the winning run. 

“Everyone just kept battling and you could feel the energy starting to build,” Watkins said. “We got a couple of guys on in the ninth, then Ozzie loaded the bases and we were ready to go. We're a good hitting team and I knew we could get it done.” 

The Sun Devils battled back in the bottom of the ninth with a walk, a balk and a single to left field to cut the lead to 6-5. With two outs and the tying run at second base, BYU closer Reid McLaughlin came on and got ASU catcher Nate Baez to groundout to third base for the final out. 

McLaughlin, from nearby Scottsdale, Arizona, picked up his second save of the series and fourth of the season. Peyton Cole came on in relief in the eighth inning to earn the win for his first victory as a Cougar.  

ASU scored first with a leadoff double, followed by a seeing-eye single through the right side for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The Sun Devils added to their lead in the third by combining a walk, an error and two singles for two more runs and a 3-0 advantage.

BYU answered in the top of the fourth with two runs on two hits to narrow the ASU advantage to one run. After an infield single by Pintar and a Gambill walk, Ryan Sepede doubled to left field with two outs to score both runners and cut the lead to 3-2.

After scoreless innings in the fifth, sixth and seventh, ASU put another run across the plate in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-2 advantage. A leadoff walk by Sean McLain, combined with the Cougars’ third pickoff throwing error of the night, led to the fourth run of the game. 

BYU showcased its deep pitching staff using seven pitchers in relief over five innings for the win. Cougar starting pitcher Janzen Keisel went four innings giving up three runs on four hits while striking out six Sun Devils. 

The Cougars improve to 4-2 on the season and have won four-straight, while ASU drops to 3-3 on the year. BYU currently has a five-game winning streak versus the Sun Devils dating back to May 2011. 

The two teams will square off in the final game of the series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network via BYUcougars.com, BYU Cougars App and 107.5 FM in the local Utah market. The game will also be broadcast live on the Pac-12 ASU Live Stream.