May 5, 2013
Pac-12 Baseball Standings as of 5 p.m. PT, May 5, 2013 (rankings according to Baseball America):
No. 11 Oregon: 19-5, 37-11
No. 6 Oregon State: 17-4, 37-8 (0.5 GB)
No. 9 UCLA: 14-7, 31-13 (3.5 GB)
No. 8 Arizona State: 12-9, 30-14-1 (5.5 GB)
Stanford: 11-10, 26-16 (6.5 GB)
Arizona: 10-11, 29-17 (7.5 GB)
TEMPE, Ariz. - The eighth-ranked Arizona State University baseball team hit three consecutive home runs on five pitches in the bottom of the second to highlight an eight-run inning that pushed them to an 11-8 win over Stanford on Sunday at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils (30-14-1, 12-9) hit three home runs in one inning for the first time since April 13, 2008, as they picked up their 30th win of the season.
ASU has now notched 51 consecutive 30-win seasons, which is the most in the NCAA, and has won at least 30 games in 52 of the program's 54-year history.
Catcher Max Rossiter, designated hitter RJ Ybarra and right fielder Trever Allen each hit consecutive home runs in the second inning to give the Devils a 6-run lead. Rossiter tied a season high with three RBI on a pair of hits, Allen went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, and center fielder Kasey Coffman added two hits and drove in two runs.
Allen led off the second inning with a single and first baseman Dalton DiNatale followed with a double before left fielder James McDonald, gave the Devils the lead, 3-2, and chased Stanford starting left-hander John Hochstatter.
The Devils then hit three consecutive home runs on five pitches off Cardinal reliever Dean McArdie, including a three-run homer by Rossiter, his first of the season, to jump out to an 8-2 advantage. Ybarra drove a solo home run to left-center field on the next pitch and Allen hit one to the same place three pitches later for his ninth of the season.
Starting right-hander Zak Miller (4-0) went five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits and a trio of walks to collect his fourth win of the season. Right-hander Darin Gillies (1) pitched a perfect ninth inning, including a strikeout looking to end the game, en route to his first career save.
The Cardinal (26-16, 11-10) took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout, but ASU quickly erased the deficit with its eight-run outburst in the bottom of the frame.
ASU added a run in the third and fourth innings on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Michael Benjamin and an RBI single by Coffman, respectively, to extend its lead to eight, 10-2.
Stanford put one run on the board in the fifth and sixth innings on a pair of two-out RBI singles, and knocked in a three-run homer in the seventh to cut its deficit to three, 10-7. Right-hander Alex Blackford took the mound in the top of the seventh after the Cardinal three-run home run and walked a pair with one out before striking out consecutive batters to keep ASU's lead intact.
The Devils added to their lead, 11-7, with an RBI fielder's choice by Allen in bottom of the seventh after loading the bases on a single, a walk and a hit batter.
Stanford scored one run in the top of the ninth off left-hander Matt Dunbar and had runners at the corners with no outs before Gillies induced a double-play groundout and struck out the final batter of the game.
Stanford starting left-hander John Hochstatter (3-2) allowed five runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings in the loss.
Up Next:
The Sun Devils head to Berkeley, Calif., for a three-game Pac-12 road series against Cal May 10-12. First pitch on Friday is at 6 p.m., while Saturday's game begins at 7 p.m. and Sunday's at 12 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday's games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, and all three games will be broadcast by Tim Healey (@TimHealeyASU) and former Sun Devil baseball star Seth Dhaenens (@sethdhaenens) on the MidFirst Bank Sun Devil IMG Sports Network on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the All-Access Player at thesundevils.com. Saturday's game will also be broadcast on SiriusXM Radio on channel 91.
Game Notes:
ASU has registered double-digit hits in 10 of its past 11 games...the Devils avoided being swept at home for the first time since March 25-27, 1997, against USC...ASU turned four double plays to tie a season high...Ybarra has now reached base safely in 21 consecutive games...the Devils hit three home runs in the ninth inning in a 16-13 win at Washington State in 2008...right-hander Josh McAlister allowed his first run of the season in the eighth inning...Dunbar faced one batter in the ninth...right-hander Billy Young and left-hander Adam McCreery each pitched 2/3 innings.
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