March 15, 2013
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TEMPE, Ariz. - Michael Benjamin extended his hitting streak to 14 games but the 13th-ranked Arizona State University baseball team lost its Pac-12 opener to Washington State, 15-4, on Friday night in front of 3,467 fans at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Benjamin went 3-for-4 with a run scored and the top three batters in the ASU order each collected an RBI for the Sun Devils (11-3-1), who lost their first game since Feb. 23 at Tennessee.
Starting right-hander Trevor Williams (3-1) took his first loss of the season and just the third loss of his career after giving up nine runs, including seven earned, on 13 hits in seven innings. Both the nine runs and 13 hits allowed by Williams were a career high, besting his previous marks of seven and 11, respectively.
Williams retired the first six batters he faced before a surrendering four runs on five singles in the third inning as the Cougars (10-6) jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Catcher Max Rossiter countered in the bottom of the third with an RBI double to left-center field to cut the Devils' deficit to three, but WSU extended its advantage, 6-1, with a pair of runs in the top of the following frame.
WSU scored twice more in the top of the seventh on a two-run single by Collin Slaybaugh, who led the Cougars with four hits and three RBI.
An RBI double by first baseman David Graybill, an RBI groundout by center fielder Kasey Coffman and a run-scoring single from shortstop Drew Stankiewicz put three runs on the board for the Sun Devils in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-4 in favor of WSU.
Right-hander Darin Gillies pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts, but conceded six runs on four hits and a pair of walks in the top of the ninth as the Cougars added to their lead, 15-4. Right-hander Josh McAlister replaced Gillies with one out in the ninth and induced two quick outs to end the frame.
Up Next:
The Sun Devils continue their series with Washington State at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Packard Stadium. Fans can listen to the game on The Fan AM 1060 or through the All-Access player on thesundevils.com, follow the team on Twitter at @ASU_Baseball for live scoring and updates from the weekend, and check thesundevils.com for stats, notes and more.
Game Notes:
ASU moved to 28-23 all-time in conference openers, including 0-2 in Pac-12 play... Benjamin hit a double in his first at-bat in the second inning to stretch his hitting streak to 14 games...freshmen Johnny Sewald, Jordan Aboites and RJ Ybarra pinch hit in the ninth inning...the 15 runs by WSU were the most given up by ASU this season.
Saturday's Pitching Matchup
ASU: LHP Ryan Kellogg (3-0, 0.82)
WSU: RHP Tanner Chleborad (2-2, 8.10)
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