June 1, 2007

Davis home run propels ASU past Monmouth
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic

Ike Davis wanted to try a hit-and-run play. Arizona State coaches wanted him to fake bunt and try for a slash hit.

Instead Davis launched a home run in the sixth inning of a tie game against underdog Monmouth on Friday night that started Arizona State's postseason with a win.

Davis' two-run homer, far out onto Rural Road in right, brought a near sellout of 4,118 off the collective edge of their seats in ecstasy and relief.

Top-seeded ASU (44-13) won 5-3 in its NCAA regional debut to move into a winner's bracket game at 7 tonight against second-seeded UC Riverside (38-19).

Kiel Roling walked on a 3-2 pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth against Monmouth starter Brad Brach (9-3). Davis squared to bunt on the first pitch then fouled it off a ball before going deep on the 0-1 pitch.

"My first at-bat he (Brach) was coming up inside with the fastball," Davis said. "I sat on that and got it and put a good swing on it." Brach said he was trying to go inside but got the pitch too far over the middle: "I don't know where that ball landed."

That was enough offense for ASU starter Brian Flores (10-1), who worked to two batters in the ninth inning and threw 112 pitches. Closer Jason Jarvis gave up three consecutive singles and a balk before stranding the tying runs on second and third with two strikeouts and a fly out in between.

"You need to wake Jarvis up every once in awhile," ASU coach Pat Murphy said. "After the balk, he said it's on me, I'd better kick it into another gear.

"I'm proud of our club. Monmouth was coming in here to slay us. Our guys were a little tense. That's normal."

Fourth-seeded Monmouth (36-23-1) meets Nebraska (30-26) in an elimination game at 2 p.m. today.

"It went right down to the last pitch," Monmouth coach Dean Ehehalt said. "No one else might have thought it would go that way, but we thought it would. I couldn't be prouder of our guys. Brad (Brach) pitched his heart out. With every pitch you're sitting on eggshells (vs. ASU)."

Roling, coming into the postseason with 16 strikeouts in his previous eight games, homered to right leading off the second to start ASU's scoring. That was his 14th home run, one fewer than team leader Brett Wallace.

Kyle Higgins doubled to lead off the fourth, Monmouth's first hit off Flores. Kyle Messineo, eighth nationally with 41 stolen bases, bunted and Flores, aware of Messineo's speed, threw the ball away to first. Higgins scored an unearned run and Messineo went to third.

With one out, Messineo tried to score on a ground ball and was cut down by shortstop Andrew Romine. Third baseman Matt Hall also committed an error for national fielding leading Sun Devils, but they got out of the inning tied 1-1.

ASU added a run in the seventh on a Roling double and Petey Paramore single. A breeze to right helped pinch hitter CJ Retherford get his first homer of the season in the eighth.

Riverside beat third-seeded Nebraska 10-5 in the opener on Friday.

Sophomore right-hander Matt Montgomery (5-0, 2.50 ERA) or junior lefty Dan Runzler (4-6, 4.87) are pitching candidates for the Highlanders against either Mike Leake (12-1, 3.72) or Josh Satow (11-3, 2.23).

ASU is "really offensive," Riverside coach Doug Smith said. "The key is to keep the ball in the ballpark. They are stacked with left-handed hitters. We have to be aggressive in the strike zone early and not be overly concerned with them. We'd been good about taking care of ourselves and our stuff."

Riverside has played UCLA, USC and Washington from the Pac-10 as well as winning the Big West over Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton.

"That helps," Smith said. "It loses the awe (of playing ASU). We've seen the name-brand schools."

ASU was one of four Pac-10 teams to win on the first day of the 64-team NCAA Tournament. Others were Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State.