March 5, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the Auburn Tigers, 8-1, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark to complete the three-game series sweep. Earning their fourth straight win and their ninth in the last ten, the Sun Devils completed their third sweep of the season and improved to 14-5 on the year.
Brett Bordes earned the win for the Sun Devils, improving to 2-1. Freshman Ike Davis, who started on the mound for ASU, pitched 4 innings, surrendering one run and scattering four hits before leaving the mound in the top of the fifth after being struck by a batted ball. He would remain in the game at DH where he finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Sophomore J.J. Sferra recorded his tenth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sferra batted .583 (7-12) and had five RBI against the Tigers.
Arizona State got on the board first as Ike Davis helped out his own cause in the bottom of the third inning. His single through the right side of the infield scored Colin Curtis from second and put the Sun Devils ahead 1-0 early on.
The Sun Devils struck again in the bottom of the fourth. After a double by CJ Retherford down the leftfield line, catcher Preston Paramore plated another run with a single up the middle. Shortstop Matt Hall tripled in the next at-bat to score Paramore and give the Devils a 3-0 advantage.
The Tigers narrowed the gap in the top of the fifth with their lone run, scoring when second baseman Tyler Johnstone singled through the right side to score Justin Bristow. However, the Sun Devils got it right back in the bottom of the inning. A lead-off walk by Colin Curtis, a stolen base, and a throwing error allowed ASU to score on a groundout by pinch hitter Seth Dhaenens, making the score 5-1.
The Sun Devils would score again in the sixth and eighth innings. A single by center fielder J.J. Sferra in the bottom of the sixth scored Hall from third base and a sacrifice fly by Curtis in the eighth knocked in the Sun Devils final run.
Ike Davis had a sensational week, going 10-17 (.588) and knocking in 13 runs. RB-Ike also hit two grand slams and picked up the win on the hill on Tuesday against Texas Tech.
The Sun Devils hit the road this weekend as they play in the Corpus Christi Classic on March 10-12 in Texas. They will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, No. 1 Rice on Saturday, and TCU on Sunday. The Devils finish off their Texas four-step with one game against the defending national champion Texas Longhorns in Austin on March 14.