ASU defeats Clemson, wins regional opener
By Kody Acevedo
For Arizona State starter Ryan Kellogg, Friday’s regional opener against the Clemson Tigers was just another day at the ballpark.
Another day that saw Kellogg throw seven strong innings of baseball, giving up just two runs on six hits and helping to lead the Sun Devils to a 7-4 victory to open up post season play.
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Kellogg performance on the mound matched with the Sun Devil’s offensive explosion in the later frames helped moved Arizona State into the winner’s bracket as they continue on into the weekend.
The Tigers scored their only two runs off of Kellogg in the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead over ASU.
That lead would be cut in half in the bottom of the inning when Trever Allen homered off of Tigers starter Matthew Crownover to give ASU their first run of the night.
Things were quiet until the bottom of the seventh inning when Joey Bielek blasted a two-run home run to give ASU to the lead. The next batter, Brian Serven, added a little insurance with a solo big fly of his own to make the score 4-2.
The Sun Devils would later seal the deal in the bottom of the 8th thanks in part to a two-run triple off the bat of Trever Allen.
Kellogg was awarded his ninth win of the season. Ryan Burr was handed his 14th save of the year after coming in to pitch 1/3 of an inning. The loss went to Crownover, just his third of the season.
ASU moves into the winner’s bracket and will face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Tigers meanwhile play Pepperdine at 4 p.m. on Saturday in an elimination game.