Surprise, Ariz. ? Arizona State third baseman Riccio Torres’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh broke a 3-all tie and lifted the seventh-ranked Sun Devils to a 4-3 victory over Kansas University on Saturday evening at Surprise Stadium in the Coca Cola Classic.
Kansas dropped its third game of the tournament, falling to 4-6 overall, while ASU improved to 8-2.
ASU took advantage of an errant pickoff attempt to secure the victory. After a one-out walk to second baseman Zack McPhee, KU relief pitcher Nolan Mansfield tried to pick him off first. However, the senior’s throw sailed wide of first base and ricocheted off the wall and into right field to put McPhee on third base.
Torres took advantage of the error by lifting a high fly to center field, which scored McPhee easily from third base. It marked the Jayhawks’ third loss of the season by one run.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth, KU grabbed the lead on a three-run homer off the bat of catcher Alex DeLeon. It was the sophomore’s first home run of the season and just the second by the Jayhawks this season.
