Feb. 17, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 15th-ranked Arizona State baseball team opened the 2012 season with a 10-0 win over Western Michigan on Feb. 17 in front of 2,559 fans at Packard Stadium. Senior first baseman Abe Ruiz hit a pair of two-run homers and drove in six RBIs to lead the Sun Devils, while junior starting RHP Brady Rodgers got the win after allowing just four hits and no runs to go along with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Ruiz got things started for the Devils in the second inning with a two-run homer to right field, scoring junior Joey DeMichele from first. DeMichele scored junior shortstop Deven Marrero on a double in the following inning before coming home himself on Ruiz's second two-run homer of the night.
Ruiz came to the plate in the fifth after a pair of walks and a double steal by DeMichele and Marrero, and added a pair of RBIs with a single to right field to bring his season-opening total to six.
Freshman infielder Rouric Bridgewater collected an RBI single on his first career hit as a Sun Devil in the bottom of the eighth inning and junior newcomer Max Rossiter also recorded his first RBI in an ASU jersey one play later, scoring sophomore Trever Allen from third on a single to left field.
Junior RHP Alex Blackford, freshman LHP Brandon Bonilla and RHP Trevor Williams each pitched a scoreless inning for the Sun Devils, with Bonilla the only one of the trio to give up a hit. The four ASU pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts against the Broncos, including seven from Rodgers, three from Blackford, two from Bonilla and one from Willaims.
Western Michigan LHP Casey Webber picked up the loss for the Broncos, giving up six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
The Sun Devils face Western Michigan in the second part of the three-game series Saturday at Packard Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.