Feb. 12, 2005
SURPRISE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Arizona State junior left-hander Erik Averill threw his second consecutive complete-game to lead the No. 12 Sun Devils to a 7-2 victory over South Alabama in the first game of the Coca-Cola Spring Training Classic at Surprise Stadium.
Preseason All-Americans Jeff Larish and Travis Buck each went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Larish added his first home run of the season to lead the ASU offense that registered 10 hits. Six of ASU's seven runs came with two outs on the scoreboard, including all runs in the season-high five-run fifth.
The Sun Devils improved to 5-3 overall and have won four of their last five games. South Alabama dropped their season opener for the third straight season.
Averill (Orange, Calif.), the reigning National Pitcher of the Week, followed up his 14-strikeout, complete-game effort with another dominating performance. The junior southpaw scattered five hits and allowed only one earned run while striking out eight and walking only one. Averill improved to 2-1 on the season and has registered 28 strikeouts and only one walk in 22.0 innings.
USA sophomore starter P.J. Walters was saddled with the loss giving up six hits and six runs in 4.2 innings. Walters was the 2004 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year after going 10-1 last season with 119 strikeouts last season. A host of relievers combined to allow four hits and one run over the final 3.1 innings.
Buck (Richland, Wash.) and Larish (Tempe, Ariz.) led three players with multi-hit games. Larish blasted his first homer of the year and the 29th of his career with a two-run shot over the left field fence. After leading the Sun Devils with 58 RBI last season, Buck's two-run double in the fifth were his two RBI of the season. Senior third baseman Joey Hooft (Reno, Nev.) added his team-leading fifth multi-hit game of the year by going 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.
The Sun Devils jumped out to the early lead with a single tally in the bottom of the second inning. Senior catcher Tuffy Gosewisch (Scottsdale, Ariz.) reached on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out single by freshman shortstop Andrew Romine (Lake Forest, Calif.).
ASU broke open the game with five more two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 6-0. After a single to left field by freshman center fielder J.J. Sferra (Phoenix, Ariz.), Hooft started the rally with a run-scoring single down the left field line. Buck followed with a two-run double to center field and Larish cleared the bases with a two-run home run onto the berm in deep right field.
Gosewisch extended the lead to 7-0 with a single to right field to score Buck in the bottom of the seventh.
The Jaguars broke up the shutout with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. After a leadoff double by Left fielder Quendon Montgomery led off with a double to left field and scored on a fielder's choice. A single by shortstop Guillermo Martinez, along with an ASU error, plated the second and final run of the inning.
The Sun Devils return to action this afternoon at 4 p.m. against Oklahoma. ASU will complete the tournament Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Gonzaga at Surprise Stadium.
Game Notes: The game marked the first ever meeting between ASU and USA and the Sun Devils improved to 3-0 this season Erik Averill improved to 14-7 all-time while making his 22nd career start... Joey Hooft was caught stealing in the bottom of the seventh inning to end a streak of 17 consecutive stolen bases for the Sun Devils... for the second straight game shortstop Andrew Romine had a part in three consecutive outs (7th inning)... ASU's five-run fifth (all with two outs) was the biggest scoring inning of the season... Colin Curtis went 0-for-4 to have his hitting streak end at eight games (carried over from last season)... J.J. Sferra extended his hitting streak to five games with a fifth-inning single... he is batting .333 (7-for-21) with seven runs and three RBI during the streak... catcher Tuffy Gosewisch extended his hitting streak to six games and tied Colin Curtis for the team lead in RBI with 10... Gosewisch is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with five doubles and nine RBI during the streak... with his second multi-hit game of the year, Larish extended his hitting streak to three games... with his 46th career multi-RBI game, he now has 174 career RBI to pull him to within two of the ASU all-time top 10... Travis Buck recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the season and 48th of his career... the game time of 2:24 marks the fastest nine-inning game for the Sun Devils since Mar. 24, 2002... Averill's back-to-back complete games mark the first time since 2002 (Robbie McClellan) a Sun Devil has registered consecutive CG's.
Arizona State 7, South Alabama 2 (Feb 12, 2005 at Surprise, Ariz.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Alabama....... 000 000 002 - 2 5 0 (0-1) Arizona State....... 010 050 10X - 7 10 2 (5-3) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Alabama - Walters, P.; Wood, A(5); Rayborn, J.(6); Basta, E(7); Koppersmith,(7); Lee, A.(8). Arizona State - Averill. Win-Averill(2-1) Loss-Walters, P.(0-1) T-2:24 A-1003 HR ASU - Larish (1).
--Sun Devil Baseball--