May 1, 1999
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 23 Arizona State baseball team (34-17 overall, 9-9 Pacific-10 Conference) collected 16 hits, four of them home runs, in a 13-1 defeat of the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Friday night at Packard Stadium.
The Sun Devils got on the board in the second inning with a lead-off home run by designated hitter Brendan Hines. Two batters later, Mitch Jones blasted a solo shot to center to put the Devils up 2-1. Arizona State scored one more run that same inning, on centerfielder Jay Sitzman's sacrifice fly. The Sun Devils scored three more in the bottom of the third when Jones hit his second home run of the night, a three-run blast over the "Green Monster". He is only the 18th player in the history of Packard Stadium to clear the wall in center field and the first ASU player since 1993 (Antone Williamson) to accomplish the feat. The Devils broke the game open in the seventh with six runs on five hits. Pinch-hitter Scott Goodman led off the inning with a double to right-center, which was followed by rightfielder Jeff Duncan's bunt single. The scoring that inning was capped off by Hines' second homerun of the evening, a three-run homer to centerfield.
On Hines' two homers, Head Coach Pat Murphy said, "I'm very proud of Brendan. He's our secret weapon right now. He hit two out of sight tonight and set the tone for the entire game."
Starting pitcher Chuck Crumpton (7-2) went the distance for the Sun Devils, scattering only four hits and allowing one unearned run. He struck out eight batters and walked three. Murphy was pleased with Crumpton's performance tonight.
"He was tremendously focused tonight and that's just what we needed," Murphy said. "He's not overpowering, but he puts the ball in play and is going to help us down the stretch."
Offensively for the Devils, Brendan Hines went 2-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored. Jones was 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs and hit his ninth and 10th home runs of the season. Duncan was a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks, reaching base safely all five times. Shortstop Willie Bloomquist had a 3-for-4 outing and knocked in a run, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
Picking up the loss for the Thunderbirds was starter Nate Bigler who fell to 3-3 on the season. Bigler lasted only three innings, giving up six runs on six hits, one strikeout, and three walks.
Rightfielder Brian Kruse led Southern Utah offensively, going 2-for-3 on the evening, and extending his hitting streak to 17 games. Gavin Duckworth went 1-for-4 and drove in the Thunderbirds' lone run in the sixth on a groundout to second.
The two teams continue the series tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. at Packard Stadium.
Southern Utah 000 001 000 - 1 4 1 No. 23 Arizona State 033 010 60x - 13 16 1Winner - Crumpton (7-2) Loser - Bigler (3-3) Save - None
Umpires: Stallings, Bruns, Arreola Time: 2:25 Attn: 789