March 6, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Arizona State shortstop Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-5 with three doubles to lead the No. 3 Sun Devils to a 10-2 win over Cal State Northridge to open the second annual Bob Schaefer Memorial Classic on Thursday night at Packard Stadium. The Devils scored at least one run every inning but the sixth frame while winning their 16th straight game.
ASU extended its best start in school history at 25-1 overall and have not lost since dropping a game to nationally ranked Long Beach State on Jan. 31. The 16-game winning streak remains ASU's longest since winning 23 in a row during the 1990 season. The Sun Devils also scored in double-digits for the eighth straight game and 15th time this season. The Matadors, who won the Big West Conference championship last year, fell to 4-15 on the year with a youthful lineup.
Pedroia (Woodland, Calif.), who entered the game with a Pac-10 best 12 doubles, tied a career high with four hits and became the first Sun Devil since 2001 to record three doubles in a game (Mike Lopez, Feb. 18 vs. Creighton). The sophomore, who made his 84th consecutive start as a Sun Devil, is now leading the team in hitting at .436 (48-for-110) and has recorded 17 multi-games and 15 doubles this year. He has also recorded at least one hit in 25 of ASU's 26 games (including current 14-game hitting streak) and dating back to the end of the 2001 season has a hit in 36 of his last 37 games.
Freshman starting pitcher Erik Averill (Orange, Calif.) picked up his team-leading fifth win of the year to improve to 5-0. The freshman lefty scattered seven hits in six innings while striking out five Matadors. Junior reliever Javy Lopez (El Paso, Texas) added two innings of one-hit ball and senior right-hander Robbie McClellan (Liberal, Kan.) looks as if he has returned to his old ways by striking out the side in the ninth to seal the win. The three Sun Devil pitchers combined to walk only one batter and registered nine strikeouts.
In addition to the big game from Pedroia, sophomore player of the year candidate Jeff Larish (Tempe) continued his amazing season. The sophomore first baseman was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and with a run-scoring triple in the first inning now has 52 RBI on the year. Hot-hitting sophomore catcher Joel Bocchi (Phoenix) was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double to increase his season batting average to .426 (23-for-54).
The Sun Devils return to action Friday night against Southern Utah (2-2) at Packard Stadium (7 p.m.). Utah (7-5) and CS Northridge will battle in the 1 p.m. game as part of the Schaefer Classic. ASU will play Utah (Saturday, 7 p.m.) and conclude the tournament Sunday with another contest with CS Northridge (2 p.m.). Sophomore right-hander Mark Sopko (2-0, 2.52 ERA) will start for the Devils tomorrow against the Thunderbirds. Arizona State 10, Cal State Northridge 2 (Mar 06, 2003 at Tempe, Ariz.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cal State Northridge 000 100 100 - 2 8 5 (4-15) Arizona State....... 311 110 12X - 10 15 1 (25-1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Cal State Northridge - Rosales; Bierly(3); Brettl(4); Zarley(7). Arizona State - Averill; Lopez, J.(7); McClellan(9). Win-Averill(5-0) Loss-Rosales(1-3) T-3:04 A-2214 HR CSUN - Simpson (3). --Sun Devil Baseball--