April 3, 2009
SEATTLE, Wash. - A few timely hits and the right arm of Mike Leake were all the #3 Arizona State Sun Devils needed for a 3-1 win over the Washington Huskies at Safeco Field in Seattle. Leake went 7.2 innings, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out 10 to improve to 7-1 on the year. Arizona State is now 21-5, 6-1 in Pac-10 play.
Leake kept the Huskies batters off-balance all night, striking out 10+ batters for the fourth time this year. Mitchell Lambson picked up his seconds save of the season, coming on with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, working out of that jam, then putting the Huskies down in order in the ninth to secure the win.
Carlos Ramirez got the Sun Devil offense started in the third, singling home Raoul Torrez with two out to make it 1-0 ASU. The Huskies would tie things up in the ninth with a two-out run of their own thanks to a Brett Wilcox single that scored Troy Scott.
Arizona State would grab the lead back for good in the sixth, thanks to the bat of Raoul Torrez and the speed of Drew Maggi. With Maggi at first, Torrez sent a soft pop up to shallow left center. The Washington left fielder could not make the play, and Maggi scored all the way from first to make it 2-1 Devils. Carlos Ramirez would add some insurance in the seventh, sending his ninth home run of the year into the bullpen in left field for a 3-1 ASU advantage.
That would be all the scoring Leake and Lambson would need, as Washington managed only four hits and struck out 12 times. The Devils rapped out nine hits and also drew seven walks.
A crowd of 3,675 at Safeco Field saw the Sun Devils improve to 3-3 all-time in Major League stadiums (2-1 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, 0-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix). It was the first loss at Safeco Field for the Huskies in three games.
The Devils and Huskies will meet up again tomorrow at Husky Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Seattle.