March 5, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - With another stellar start from Mike Leake, the No. 5 Arizona State University baseball team defeated Holy Cross 15-0 on Thursday in front of a crowd of 2,573 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improve to 9-1 on the season with the win.
Leake went seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball with one walk and 10 strikeouts to earn the win and move to 3-0. In his three starts this season, Leake has allowed just four hits and one run with 27 strikeouts and four walks.
Jordan Swagerty drove in four runs, including a three-run homer, to lead the ASU offense. Jason Kipnis and Carlos Ramirez also had three RBI each in the win.
A sacrifice fly by Kipnis in the third put the Sun Devils on the board, and they would then begin to break the game open in the fifth. Kipnis had an RBI single, Matt Newman scored from third on a throwing error by Holy Cross catcher Tim Hughes as he attempted to catch a runner stealing second, and Zach Wilson then drove in two runs with a single through the left side.
Ramirez then had a three-run triple to the right field corner in the sixth, putting ASU in front 8-0. The Devils would score four more in the seventh, and Swagerty's three-run homer to left center in the eighth capped off the scoring.
The Sun Devils and Crusaders continue their three-game series on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.