PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball dropped the series opening contest with Houston, 6-5, on Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Arizona State (32-18, 16-9) were undone by a five-run Cougar (28-20, 11-13), sixth inning where just one ball left the infield. Despite building an early 4-1 lead - thanks in large part to a three-run fourth inning - the Maroon and Gold were unable to maintain the advantage.
Head Coach 's squad had the right formula early, holding down the Houston offense behind the effort of left-hander . A home run in the second followed up by a two-out rally that produced three runs in the fourth led to a 4-1 advantage for Arizona State through five.