A controversial play in the eighth inning and two runs in the
ninth helped the UCLA baseball team pull an upset over No. 4
Arizona State, 9-8.
The score was tied 7-7 going to the bottom of the eighth, and
the Sun Devils had the bases loaded with one out. ASU’s
Travis Buck hit a blooper to center field. The Sun Devils thought
that UCLA’s Matt Thayer had caught the ball, so their runners
tagged up and apparently scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice
fly.
The umpire ruled the ball had hit the ground, and after the lead
runner crossed home, Thayer threw to the third baseman, who threw
to second, retiring both runners via force play.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” ASU coach
Pat Murphy told NBC 1190 AM. “It’s probably the right
call, but it’s unfortunate our players couldn’t see the
call.”
In the top of the ninth, Brandon Averill and Chris Jensen led
off the inning with back-to-back doubles, scoring a run. Jensen
would later score on a wild pitch, giving the Bruins a 9-7
lead.
Despite allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth, Bryan Beck
picked up the win for UCLA after shutting out the Sun Devils for
the previous three innings.
The Bruins improve to 18-23, 4-6 Pac-10, while ASU falls to
38-8, 6-4. The two teams will play again Friday and Saturday.