May 22, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - Mike Leake threw his second consecutive complete game shutout to lead the No. 2 Arizona State University baseball team to a 4-0 win over UCLA on Friday in front of a crowd of 3,352 at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The win improves the Sun Devils to 43-11 overall, 20-5 in the Pac-10, and gives them the outright conference title for the third straight season.
On the day he was named one of five finalists for the national Pitcher of the Year Award, Leake showed why he is worthy of such honors. He allowed just four hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks to earn the win and improve to 14-1, and he now has a 1.24 ERA and 128 strikeouts on the season.
It was his 38th career win as a Sun Devil, tying him with College Baseball Hall of Famer Floyd Bannister for fourth on the school's all-time list.
The performance also capped an amazing run for Leake in Pac-10 play, as he went 9-0 with a 1.27 ERA and 87 strikeouts in nine starts. In those nine starts, he pitched 77.2 out of a possible 81 innings, including six complete games.
Leake outdueled UCLA starter Gerrit Cole, who allowed just two hits and two earned runs and struck out nine over 6.1 innings but took the loss.
Jared McDonald put the Sun Devils on top with a rocket home run to right field in the fifth, and Riccio Torrez would drive in a run with a groundout in the sixth. Matt Newman added a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth to cap off the scoring.
The Sun Devils and Bruins will continue their three-game series on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.