April 14, 2002
LOS ANGELES -- Arizona State second baseman Steve Garrabrants was 2-for-4 with four RBI to help lead the 16th-ranked Sun Devils to their 8th straight Pac-10 series victory with a 15-2 victory over the host UCLA Bruins Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Rebounding from a tough 10-2 loss Saturday, the Sun Devils came out hot by scoring 11 of their runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Benefiting from five UCLA walks that eventually came around to score, the Devils tabbed 12 of their 15 runs with two outs. Ten of those runs were part of rallies that started with no one on base.
"The guys came out today with a winning attitude after losing a tough one yesterday and were relentless," said ASU head coach Pat Murphy. "The top and bottom of the order produced today and we did a good job of playing all nine innings. This is a huge win for us to gain some momentum as we return home for another crucial Pac-10 series next weekend."
With the convincing win ASU improves to 24-13 overall and 8-4 in Pac-10 play. The Sun Devils have now not lost a Pac-10 series in over a year, last losing two of three to nationally ranked USC April 6-8, 2001. The Bruins continue to struggle in 2002 despite playing a tough schedule, dropping to 15-22 overall and 2-4 in conference action. ASU now leads the all-time series against the Bruins 93-55 and has won six of the last nine in the series dating back to 2000.
Starting pitcher Robbie McClellan (Liberal, Kan.) was once again spectacular to help lift the Devils clinch their third Pac-10 road series win of the year. McClellan improved to a team-leading 7-2 by allowing four hits and two runs in eight innings. He struck out six and walked five to improve to 5-0 as a starter this year. Redshirt freshman Mark Sopko (Joliet, Ill.) sealed the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
UCLA ace pitcher Casey Janssen endured his roughest start of the year by giving up eight hits and a season-high seven runs in just two and two-thirds innings. He walked three batters and struck out two (both in the first) to fall to 4-2 on the year. Five Bruin relievers combined to allow eight runs over the final 6.1 innings.
ASU's 14-hit attack was led by four players who notched multi-hit games. Sophomore Andre Ethier was 2-for-4 with two RBI, senior Jon Sheaffer was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and senior catcher Cesar Castillo continues to play well in his new starting role, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and tied a career with three RBI.
The Sun Devils jumped on the scoreboard first with four runs in the top of the second inning. ASU sent nine batters to the plate, scoring all four runs with two outs. Sophomore left fielder Ryan McKenna and senior center fielder Jon Sheaffer started the rally with a pair of two-out singles. Castillo plated the first run of the inning with a sharp single through the left side of the infield. Garrabrants followed with a bloop single that was lost in the sun by the UCLA second baseman to score another run. After a walk to designated hitter Nick Walsh, Ethier drilled a single off Janssen to drive home two more runs, extending ASU's early lead to 4-0.
ASU's two-out scoring continued with three runs in the third behind a big three-run triple by Garrabrants. A hit-by-pitch, walk and bunt base hit by Sheaffer set the table for Garrabrants to drill his team-leading fourth triple of the year off the right field fence. After a UCLA run in the bottom of the third, the Devils pushed across four more two-out runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 11-1. Castillo had the big hit with a two-run double to left field.
After the Devils were held scoreless in the fifth through eighth innings, ASU unleashed for its final four runs in the ninth inning. Sophomore Rod Allen had a pinch-hit, two-run double and sophomore Ian Kinsler added a run-scoring single to the final totals.
ASU will return home next weekend with a three-game series against Cal at Hohokam Stadium starting Friday at 6 p.m. Arizona State 15, UCLA 2 (Apr 14, 2002 at Los Angeles, Calif.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona State....... 043 400 004 - 15 14 0 (24-13, 8-4 PAC-10) UCLA................ 001 100 000 - 2 5 0 (15-22, 2-4 PAC-10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Arizona State - McClellan, Sopko(9). UCLA - Janssen, Jerkens(3), Davern(4), Silva(4), Susdorf(5), Clark(8). Win-McClellan(7-2) Loss-Janssen(4-2) T-3:04 A-583 HR UCLA - Whisler (4).