March 21, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Joel Bocchi and Josh Asanovich each had three RBI and freshman starting pitcher was solid through seven innings to lead the No. 5 Arizona State Sun Devils to a 8-4 victory over California Sunday afternoon in Pac-10 Baseball action at Packard Stadium.
The Devils salvaged a win in the series after dropping a 9-7 decision Friday and a 20-8 blowout on Saturday. With the victory the Sun Devils reached the 20-win plateau, improving to 20-5 overall and 1-2 in Pac-10 play. California dipped below the .500 mark with a 14-15 record and 2-1 mark in conference play.
Zinicola (San Bernadino, Calif.) earned the win scattering six hits and two runs in a career-long seven-inning outing. He struck out five and walked one to improve to 2-1 on the year. Freshman closer Pat Bresnehan (Sherborn, Mass.) was touched for six hits and two runs in two innings to seal the victory.
California starter Kyle Crist was roughed up for five hits and six runs in 2.2 innings to record the loss. He struck out tow and walked to fall to 2-4 on the year.
Bocchi (Phoenix) finished 1-for-4 with three RBI and had several key at-bats for the Devils. He put ASU on the board with a two-out double in the first inning and also plated runs on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and on a groundout in the third.
Asanovich (Gold Canyon) went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, his first as a Sun Devil, to cap the five-run third inning. He extended a 3-1 ASU lead with the two-out, three-run blast that nearly cleared the second fence in left field. Freshman center fielder Colin Curtis (Issaquah, Wash.) led the Devils going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
For the third straight day the Golden Bears out-hit ASU. Right fielder Brian Horwitz went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in the contest. Chris Grossman (2-for-4) was the only other Golden Bear to record more than one hit.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend with a three-game series against the University of Washington Huskies (11-6-1). The three-game Pac-10 series starts Friday at 7 p.m. (March 26) and continues Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at Packard Stadium.
Game Notes: Dustin Pedroia singled in his first at-bat to extend his hitting streak to seven games... the single was also his 248th career hit as a Sun Devil, passing Barry Bonds (1983-85) to move into 10th place in the career record books... Seth Dhaenens had his six-game hitting streak snapped by going 0-for-4... the Devils turned two key double plays in the game, both started by Dhaenens at third base... Zinicola recorded career highs in pitches (103), innings (7.0) and strikeouts (5)... Josh Asanovich hit his first career home run with a three-run shot over the left field fence... Travis Buck went 1-for-4 and scored four runs. Arizona State 8, California 4 (Mar 21, 2004 at Tempe, Ariz.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- California.......... 100 010 002 - 4 12 2 (14-15, 2-1 PAC-10) Arizona State....... 105 101 00X - 8 10 2 (20-5, 1-2 PAC-10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: California - Crist; Ingram(3); Brown(7); Johnson(7); Trafton(8). Arizona State - Zinicola; Bresnehan(8). Win-Zinicola(2-1) Loss-Crist(2-4) T-2:56 A-2735 HR CAL - Horwitz 2 (3). HR ASU - Asanovich (1). --Sun Devil Baseball--