April 17, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Fueled by a three-run double off the bat of junior right fielder Travis Buck, Arizona State scored seven runs in the sixth inning and then held on for a series-sweeping 10-9 victory over No. 14 Stanford on a sunny Sunday afternoon in front of 3,004 fans at Winkles Field at Packard Stadium.
The series sweep improved the Sun Devils to 25-15 overall and moved them into a tie for second in the Pac-10 at 6-3 with Oregon State and USC. After starting the season 6-9, ASU has won 19 of its last 25 games and are 9-11 against ranked opponents. Stanford had an amazing streak come to an end, suffering its first sweep in league play in 64 series dating back to 1997 when ASU also swept the Cardinal at Sunken Diamond. Stanford falls to 20-14 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Tailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Sun Devils used three hits, four walks, a hit-by-pitch and a straight steal of home by senior Jeff Larish (Tempe, Ariz.) to score seven runs and take a 10-5 lead. After a pair of walks and a single by designated hitter Zechry Zinicola (San Bernadino, Calif.) loaded the bases, Buck (Richland, Wash.) doubled to the right field gap to clear the bases and give the Sun Devil the lead for good. Senior third baseman Joey Hooft (Reno, Nev.) forced home a run on a bases loaded walk and sophomore second baseman Seth Dhaenens (Chandler, Ariz.) drove home two more on a two-out single to left field.
The Cardinal made a comeback with four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Zinicola surrendered all four runs and put the tying run on base before senior right-hander Jason Urquidez (Simi Valley, Calif.), who pitched six strong innings in Saturday's game, was summoned from the bullpen and struck out All-American first baseman John Mayberry Jr. to end the threat.
Stanford again tried to rally in the ninth when shortstop Chris Minaker hit a one-out single to put the tying run on base, but catcher John Hester hit a sinking line drive to right field that Buck made a sliding catch on and then doubled Minaker off first base to end the contest.
Junior reliever Tony Barnette (Federal Way, Wash.) earned the win giving up three hits and two runs in an inning of work and Urquidez notched his second save of the year with 1.1 scoreless frames. Starter Pat Bresnehan (Sherborn, Mass.) struck out four and allowed seven hits and three runs in four innings while recording the no-decision. Junior lefty Brett Bordes (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R), junior Erik Averill (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R) and Zinicola (1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R) also saw action out of the bullpen.
Stanford reliever Greg Reynolds (0-2) was saddled with the loss giving up five runs and three walks in two-thirds of an inning. Starting pitcher Matt Leva scattered seven hits and five runs while working into the sixth inning. He struck out six and walked three.
Buck finished a solid weekend at the plate going 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. In the three-game series against the Cardinal, Buck combined to go 6-for-13 (.462) with six RBI. Dhaenens extended his career-high hitting streak to nine games with his eighth multi-hit game of the year, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Sophomore center fielder Colin Curtis (Issaquah, Wash.) also went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Zinicola had two hits and scored a pair of runs.
The Cardinal out-hit ASU 17-11, but only managed three extra base hits in the contest. Leadoff hitter Jim Rapoport extended his hitting streak to 13 games by going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. He finished the series hitting .583 (7-for-12) against Sun Devil pitching. Third baseman Adam Sorgi also added four hits (4-for-5), and preseason All-Americans Jed Lowrie and Mayberry Jr. each tabbed two hits apiece.
The Sun Devils continue their current six-game Pac-10 homestand by hosting UCLA (8-24, 0-6 Pac-10) next weekend (Apr. 22-24) at Winkles Field at Packard Stadium.
Game Notes: With the three-game sweep, Arizona State jumped ahead of Stanford in the all-time series, 81-80... Stanford had not been swept in 64 straight Pac-10 series dating back to 1997... Travis Buck notched his team-leading 21st multi-hit game of the year and the 65th of his career.... Buck is now hitting .362 (64-for-177) with 47 runs, 15 doubles and 32 RBI this season... the straight steal of home by Jeff Larish marked the first by a Sun Devil since Colin Curtis stole home vs. Lamar last season (Feb. 20, 2004)... Seth Dhaenens continued his hot hitting by going 2-for-4 with two RBI and is now hitting .446 (25-for-56) over his last 18 games to raise his season batting average from .071 to .371 (300 points)... the six pitchers used were one short of a season-high seven used at Arizona (2/23)... the Sun Devils played flawless defense for the seventh time in the last 10 games (.987 FLD%).
Arizona State 10, Stanford 9 (Apr 17, 2005 at Tempe, Ariz.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Stanford............ 101 012 040 - 9 17 1 (20-14, 4-5 Pac-10) Arizona State....... 003 007 00X - 10 11 0 (25-15, 6-3 Pac-10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Stanford - Leva; Reynolds(6); Manship(6). Arizona State - Bresnehan; Bordes, B.(5); Barnette(6); Averill(7); Zinicola(7); Urquidez(8). Win-Barnette(3-1) Save-Urquidez(2) Loss-Reynolds(0-2) T-3:35 A-3004 HR STAN - Rapoport (3).
--Sun Devil Baseball--