TEMPE, ARIZONA -- Arizona State left-hander Josh Spence has been hit in the face by a line drive and suffered hand and back injuries this season.
Maybe he deserves a trip to Omaha.
Spence gave up four hits and struck out 10, and Jason Kipnis hit a two-run single to key a five-run fifth inning as Arizona State beat Clemson 8-2 on Sunday to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. for the third time in five seasons.
``That performance today was as good as I've seen all year,'' Arizona State Coach Pat Murphy said of Spence. ``I didn't expect it, but I'm not surprised by it.''
Spence, hampered by a tendon injury in his pitching hand late in the season, retired the first 11 batters he faced and walked one in his second complete game of the year. He improved to 9-1 while winning for the first time in 51 days.
``It was recommended that he didn't pitch until July. He just was determined to help this team,'' Murphy said.
``The worst-case scenario was mid-June,'' said Spence, a native of Australia who is in his first season at Arizona State. ``It was a mental thing as well, being convicted to throw the same way. It feels good now. They're a good-hitting lineup. I was able to get strike one.''
Jeff Schaus' 13th homer gave Clemson (44-21) a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. He was the first runner Spence allowed.
No. 2-ranked Arizona State (48-12) responded with five runs in the first inning. Kipnis, the Pacific-10 Conference player of the year, singled off Clemson starter Chris Dwyer to drive in the first two runs.
Kole Calhoun had a two-run double and Matt Newman had a run-scoring double. Newman had another RBI-double in a three-run ninth for an 8-1 lead.
Arizona State, which starts four freshmen, will make its 21st College World Series appearance, tied with Southern California for third in NCAA history. Arizona State has won five titles, tied with LSU for third.
Kipnis, a junior centerfielder, is 9 for 21 with six RBIs and four stolen bases as Arizona State has won all five of its postseason games while hosting regional and super regional tournaments as the No. 5 national seed.
``This isn't your normal powerhouse team,'' Kipnis said. ``We have a bunch of freshmen who don't know you are supposed to lose more games than we have this year. We're growing playoff beards with freshmen who don't have any facial hair.''
Cleanup hitter Calhoun is 8 for 21 with eight RBIs and four homers in the postseason.
Arizona State, which entered super regional play with the best ERA (2.79) in college baseball, saw its ERA fall to 2.76.
Spence gave up a one-out single to Wilson Boyd in the fifth inning and a two-out walk to Kyle Parker in the seventh before Clemson scored on two singles and a defensive indifference in the ninth.
Arizona State will play No. 7 North Carolina in a first-round game at the College World Series. The Tar Heels are the No. 4 national seed. It will be the only matchup20of national seeds in the first round of the double-elimination event, which begins Saturday.
``Their kid did a great job,'' Clemson coach Jack Leggett said of Spence. ``He threw all his pitches for strikes. He kept us off-balance. We didn't get many good swings the first half of the game.''
``I don't think he started anybody with the same pitch each time,'' Clemson cleanup hitter Ben Paulsen said.
Dwyer, who struck out 13 to beat Oklahoma State in a regional elimination game, gave up two hits, both singles, in four shutout innings before Arizona State scored five runs in the fifth inning.
Freshman Johnny Ruettiger singled and stole second before Zack MacPhee walked. The runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt and Kipnis lined a single to center to drive in two. He has 71 RBIs.
Dwyer had Kipnis picked off but threw wildly to first as Kipnis reached third. Carlos Ramirez walked before Calhoun doubled for a 4-1 lead.
Monday
October 28th, 2024
6:33AM
