Larish's three homers soar in all directions
OMAHA — It wasn't enough that Arizona State first baseman Jeff Larish hit three home runs. No, he had to get fancy and hit one to all three fields. "He got the trifecta," Arizona State coach Pat Murphy said. "I had it boxed."
Yes, perhaps Murphy should try his luck at the racetrack. Well, as long as he has Larish with him.
"The second (home run), Murph told me to put it into the right-field stands," Larish said. "So I started listening to him for once this year, because I don't do that too much."
Larish led off the game with a home run to left, homered to right in the third and hit a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.
His last blast, to center field, sent Tuesday's College World Series elimination game to extra innings, and Arizona State defeated Nebraska 8-7 in 11 at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Larish is the third player in CWS history to hit three home runs in a game. The others were J.D. Drew of Florida State in 1995 and Edmund Muth of Stanford in 2000.
A fifth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, Larish has 51 career home runs, including seven in his last 12 games as a leadoff batter. He also homered to lead off a regional game against East Carolina.
"I talked to hundreds of scouts who said, ‘Well, I'm not sure about Larish.' Well, I think they got their answer today," Murphy said. "Pretty special, against good pitching. Left-handed pitching, a closer with a 1.9 ERA, 15 saves … that's pretty special."
Larish hit his first two solo homers off Nebraska lefty Zach Kroenke. With Nebraska one out from victory, Larish hit the first pitch from closer Brett Jensen just over the wall in center field.
"The one to center, I was just looking to go up and make solid contact again," Larish said. "Get the rally started with two outs."
Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said the Huskers had no thoughts of walking Larish with two outs in the ninth, ahead by one run.
"We weren't going to do that," Anderson said. "That's a rule of baseball."
Larish, who also walked twice, is the second leadoff hitter to burn Nebraska in three CWS games. In Sunday night's game against Florida, Jeff Corsaletti was 4-for-5 with three doubles in a 7-4 victory.
"They're good hitters," Anderson said. "You've got to tip your cap a bit to them. If it was a problem we had all year long, I'd probably be concerned. But they're two good hitters. We had the matchups we wanted. They just didn't work out."
Arizona State (41-24) staved off elimination by rallying for the second straight game. The Sun Devils scored the winning run in the 11th inning on J.J. Sferra's looping single to right field that scored Joey Hooft from second base.
Zechry Zinicola picked up the victory in relief, retiring all six batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings.
Zinicola was scratched from the original starting lineup. He'd been up most of the night with a bloody nose.
"Today was almost unbelievable," Murphy said. "A tremendous testament to our guys. Baseball is that type of game. It ain't over 'til it's over. But to do it at Nebraska, with their closer on the hill, down two in the ninth ... a lot of people were assuming."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
Yes, perhaps Murphy should try his luck at the racetrack. Well, as long as he has Larish with him.
"The second (home run), Murph told me to put it into the right-field stands," Larish said. "So I started listening to him for once this year, because I don't do that too much."
Larish led off the game with a home run to left, homered to right in the third and hit a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.
His last blast, to center field, sent Tuesday's College World Series elimination game to extra innings, and Arizona State defeated Nebraska 8-7 in 11 at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Larish is the third player in CWS history to hit three home runs in a game. The others were J.D. Drew of Florida State in 1995 and Edmund Muth of Stanford in 2000.
A fifth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, Larish has 51 career home runs, including seven in his last 12 games as a leadoff batter. He also homered to lead off a regional game against East Carolina.
"I talked to hundreds of scouts who said, ‘Well, I'm not sure about Larish.' Well, I think they got their answer today," Murphy said. "Pretty special, against good pitching. Left-handed pitching, a closer with a 1.9 ERA, 15 saves … that's pretty special."
Larish hit his first two solo homers off Nebraska lefty Zach Kroenke. With Nebraska one out from victory, Larish hit the first pitch from closer Brett Jensen just over the wall in center field.
"The one to center, I was just looking to go up and make solid contact again," Larish said. "Get the rally started with two outs."
Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said the Huskers had no thoughts of walking Larish with two outs in the ninth, ahead by one run.
"We weren't going to do that," Anderson said. "That's a rule of baseball."
Larish, who also walked twice, is the second leadoff hitter to burn Nebraska in three CWS games. In Sunday night's game against Florida, Jeff Corsaletti was 4-for-5 with three doubles in a 7-4 victory.
"They're good hitters," Anderson said. "You've got to tip your cap a bit to them. If it was a problem we had all year long, I'd probably be concerned. But they're two good hitters. We had the matchups we wanted. They just didn't work out."
Arizona State (41-24) staved off elimination by rallying for the second straight game. The Sun Devils scored the winning run in the 11th inning on J.J. Sferra's looping single to right field that scored Joey Hooft from second base.
Zechry Zinicola picked up the victory in relief, retiring all six batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings.
Zinicola was scratched from the original starting lineup. He'd been up most of the night with a bloody nose.
"Today was almost unbelievable," Murphy said. "A tremendous testament to our guys. Baseball is that type of game. It ain't over 'til it's over. But to do it at Nebraska, with their closer on the hill, down two in the ninth ... a lot of people were assuming."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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