May 22, 2005
SEATTLE, Wash. - Arizona State sophomore reliever Pat Bresnehan threw five scoreless innings and sophomore second baseman Seth Dhaenens had a two-run single to lead the No. 17 Sun Devils to a 2-1 victory over the University of Washington Sunday afternoon at Husky Ballpark.
UW won the series 2-1 after taking the first two games of the series by a combined four runs, but the Sun Devils avoided their first Pac-10 sweep since 1999 with a gutsy pitching performance from freshman Seth Garrison, junior lefty Brett Bordes and Bresnehan.
ASU had its four-game losing streak snapped to improve to 31-22 overall and remained in fourth place at 12-9 in Pac-10 play. Washington fell to 30-22 overall and 9-12 in league play.
"This was a huge win for our team in so many different ways," said 11th year head coach Pat Murphy. "We endured a couple of tough losses this weekend and been in kind of a funk lately. We battled it out and got some great pitching performances today. I am proud of our guys for battling and staying with it. Now we have to turn our focus to finishing out the regular season on a strong note next weekend."
Garrison (Coppell, Texas) made his first career start and recorded a no-decision giving up one run and two hits in two-plus innings. Bordes (Mesa, Ariz.) held the Huskies scoreless over two innings and picked up the win to improve to 4-5 on the season. Bresnehan (Sherborn, Mass.) struck out three and allowed only two hits in five scoreless innings to earn his first save of the year.
UW took the early lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Junior shortstop Brent Lillibridge drew a leadoff walk from Garrison and came into score on a RBI groundout by left fielder Zach Clem.
The Sun Devils answered with two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. After Parker got two quick outs, he loaded the bases with three consecutive walks to the bottom three hitters in the ASU lineup. Dhaenens (Chandler, Ariz.) plated a pair of runs on a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Willy Fox (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and J.J. Sferra (Phoenix, Ariz.).
The Sun Devils and Huskies each had four hits, with no player recording more than one. Sophomore first baseman Zechry Zinicola (San Bernadino, Calif.) extended his hitting streak to four games and sophomore left fielder Colin Curtis (Issaquah, Wash.) recorded a hit in his seventh straight game.
UW starting pitcher Kyle Parker scattered three hits in seven innings, but walked eight and allowed the two-run single by Dhaenens in the fourth to suffer the loss and fall to 7-7 on the season. Reliever Brandon McKerney finished the game with two scoreless innings.
ASU returns to action next weekend to conclude the regular season with a three-game series against Washington State. The series against the Cougars starts Friday at 6:30 p.m. and continues Saturday (6:30 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). The NCAA Tournament Field of 64 will be announced next Monday.
Game Notes: The start of Sunday's game was delayed 21 minutes due to rain storms passing through the Seattle area during pregame batting practice... it has rained all three days during ASU's trip to the Northwest... freshman RHP Seth Garrison made his first career start and became the eighth Sun Devil to start a game this season... sophomore first baseman Zechry Zinicola extended his hitting streak to four games with a single in the top of the first inning... sophomore left fielder Colin Curtis singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to seven games... sophomore RHP Pat Bresnehan picked up his first save of the year and sixth of his career... Bresnehan recorded five saves last season, with his last coming Mar. 16, 2004 vs. Oklahoma State... ASU's five seniors (Ty Marotz, Tuffy Gosewisch, Jason Urquidez, Jeff Larish, Joey Hooft) were all recognized during UW's pregame ceremony for their senior players.
Pac-10 Update: USC 12, Oregon State 2 Arizona State 2, Washington 1 UCLA 4, Washington State 1 Arizona 11, Stanford 8
Arizona State 2, Washington 1 (May 22, 2005 at Seattle, Wash.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona State....... 000 200 000 - 2 4 0 (31-22, 12-9 Pac-10) Washington.......... 001 000 000 - 1 4 2 (30-22, 9-12 Pac-10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Arizona State - Garrison; Bordes, B.(3); Bresnehan(5). Washington - Parker; McKerney(8). Win-Bordes, B.(4-5) Save-Bresnehan(1) Loss-Parker(7-7) T-3:01 A-642