ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Besides committing three errors, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ barely put up a fight after falling behind in the fifth inning.

The rematch Friday night — the first game of a critical series at Hi Corbett Field — was a different story. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ again squandered an early lead. This time the Wildcats battled back.

Trailing by two runs entering the bottom of the eighth, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ rallied for a 7-6 victory in 10 innings. Chase Davis ended the game with a one-out, solo home run to right field.

The homer was Davis’ team-leading 12th of the season. It was ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s first walk-off home run since Cal Stevenson hit one on May 5, 2017, against Washington.

“It's actually my first walk-off home run I've ever hit in my life,� Davis said. “So that was a good time to have it.

“Just hearing all the fans, our biggest supporters, behind us, it's really awesome.�

CHASE DAVIS CALLS BALLGAME!!! 💣💣💣

— ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Baseball (@ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥Baseball)

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (27-12, 12-7 Pac-12) won its third straight game and evened the season series against ASU (19-20, 8-8). Game 2 of the three-game set is slated for 5 p.m. Saturday.

Davis’ homer came on 1-1 fastball from ASU right-hander Blake Pivaroff. It had an exit velocity of 107 mph and traveled 414 feet into a stiff wind that had knocked down several other well-hit baseballs.

After he rounded third, Davis did a Ray Lewis-esque shimmy before jumping onto the plate. His teammates mobbed him and doused him with water.

When he first stepped into the box, Davis had one thing on his mind – and it wasn’t hitting a home run.

“I was like, ‘I gotta get on base. It's extra innings. I gotta help the team win,’� Davis said. “The first hack I took, I was trying to put the ball in play. The one I hit right there, I was really trying to hit a line drive.�

Davis instead hit a towering blow onto the roof of the Terry Francona Hitting Center, authoring another dramatic moment in the UA-ASU rivalry.

The intensity of the matchup could be felt a few innings earlier. The Wildcats held a one-run lead with two outs and one on in the top of the seventh. ASU’s Conor Davis stepped to the plate, and the season-high crowd of 5,663 showered him with boos.

Davis, ASU’s first baseman, had exchanged words with ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Mac Bingham in the previous half-inning after a close play at first. Davis thought Bingham had extended his left elbow upon crossing the bag. The umpiring crew interceded and calmed Davis down.

“It's a rivalry weekend. It's a rivalry game,� Hale said. “When the school from the north comes down here and or we go up there, it's gonna be emotional.�

Back to the seventh. The crowd roared when Davis swung and missed to fall behind 1-2 against Quinn Flanagan. UA catcher Daniel Susac set up well outside for the put-away pitch. But Flanagan caught too much of the plate, and Davis launched the ball over the left-field wall for a two-run homer and a 5-4 ASU lead.

ASU expanded the advantage to 6-4 in the top of the eighth. Chase Davis started ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s rally with a walk in the bottom half. He scored on Bingham’s triple to left-center. Bingham then came home on Tommy Splaine’s single to center field.

“It's just the fight in them,� Hale said. “We discovered that at Creighton (earlier in the week). It was a really tough situation with the weather. It was not fun to be out there. It was freezing cold, and these guys found a way.�

The Wildcats found a way Friday despite struggling in some areas that have plagued them recently.

In its previous seven games, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ batted just .164 (12 for 73) with runners in scoring position. The trend continued early against ASU.

When Tanner O’Tremba came up with runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the second, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position – including 0 for 3 in a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the first.

O’Tremba ended the skid. He grounded a 1-1 pitch from ASU starter Adam Tulloch into left field to score two runs and give ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ a 2-0 lead.

The Wildcats put runners on first and second with two outs in the third. This time it was Garen Caulfield who came through, grounding a single to right to make it 3-0. It was ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s third consecutive two-out single in the inning. A walk and a hit-by-pitch produced another run, bumping the lead to 4-0.

The Sun Devils then began chipping away against UA starter TJ Nichols, who came into Friday’s game in a bit of a funk. Nichols had allowed 13 runs in his previous two outings, spanning 9 1/3 innings. He surrendered a career-high 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings vs. Utah last Thursday, after which he reported arm soreness.

Nichols made it through the first four innings vs. ASU relatively unscathed, yielding one run on six hits. He hit a wall in the fifth, walking three batters and uncorking four wild pitches, two of which scored runs, making it 4-3.

Holden Christian relieved Nichols with runners on first and second and two outs in the inning. Christian threw another wild pitch, hit a batter, then struck out Jacob Tobias to end the threat.

Nichols’ final line wasn’t one of his best – three earned runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts – but he left with the lead and gave ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ a chance to win.

Trevor Long earned the victory, improving to 3-0. He threw two scoreless innings and hasn’t allowed a run in his past 10 outings.

“I don't think he had his best stuff tonight,� Hale said. “They hit a lot of balls hard. But he got the outs when he needed them. We had some good defense behind him.

“Hopefully he'll be OK for tomorrow and Sunday. It’s a rivalry weekend, so guys gotta be ready.�

Inside pitch

• O’Tremba had three of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s seven RBIs. He was one of five Wildcats with two or more hits. DH Cameron LaLiberte went 3 for 5 and scored two runs.

• Right-hander Kyle Luckham (5-2, 4.38) is scheduled to start Game 2 for ASU. He will face righty Chandler Murphy (1-1, 9.00). Murphy was bumped up in the rotation to give lefty Garrett Irvin (arm soreness) an extra day of rest.

• UA diver Delaney Schnell, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. She executed a back flip before lobbing the ball to the plate.