Arizona State vs Mississippi
LINCOLN, Neb. (Interstat) — Dean Toigo homered and drove in three runs, but Mississippi rallied from an early four-run deficit and walked off in the 10th inning on Dom Decker’s sacrifice fly, defeating Arizona State 5-4 Sunday at Haymarket Park in a playoff game.
Both teams entered with 39-21 records, and the game was the second straight extra-inning contest between the clubs. Mississippi won 7-6 in 14 innings Friday in the opening game of the series.
Arizona State jumped ahead in the top of the first inning when Toigo hit a home run to left field for a 1-0 lead. The Sun Devils added three more runs in the second. Ky McGary singled and stole second, and Brody Briggs walked. PJ Moutzouridis walked to load the bases, and Toigo singled to right field, driving in McGary and Briggs to make it 3-0. Moutzouridis later scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Mississippi answered quickly. In the bottom of the second, H. Federico singled and scored on a single by B. Randle. Decker followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring O. Paino to cut the lead to 4-2. T. Bissetta homered to center field in the third inning, making it 4-3.
Arizona State added an unearned run in the fourth. McGary singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Moutzouridis reached on a fielder’s choice, but McGary was thrown out at home on a successful challenge by Mississippi. Toigo then reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, and Moutzouridis scored on a wild pitch to give the Sun Devils a 4-3 lead.
Mississippi tied the game in the seventh. Federico walked and scored on a double to left field by A. Fawley, knotting the score at 4-4.
After both teams went scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, the game went to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Arizona State put a runner on base when Briggs singled, but Moutzouridis struck out looking to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 10th, C. Reuter walked and was replaced by pinch runner C. Goldin. Goldin advanced to second on a wild pitch. L. Romine singled up the middle, moving Goldin to third. D. Pacella pinch ran for Romine. Decker then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Goldin for the walk-off win.
Both teams finished with seven hits. Toigo led Arizona State with a 2-for-5 day, including a home run and three RBIs. McGary went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases. For Mississippi, Fawley doubled and drove in a run. Decker went 0-for-4 but drove in two runs on sacrifice flies.
Arizona State’s season record dropped to 39-21, while Mississippi improved to 39-21. The Sun Devils are scheduled to play Nebraska later Sunday. No betting information was available.