PHOENIX – Three pitchers combined for eight scoreless innings and the top of the order tallied eight hits to lead No. 17 Sun Devil Baseball to a 6-4 series-opening win against Long Beach State in front of 3,030 fans on Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Right-hander Seth Martinez (1-0) made his first career Friday night start after a pair of midweek starts earlier in the year, and picked up first win of the season and improved to 6-0 in his two-year career at Arizona State. He struck out seven and allowed four runs on four hits and a pair of walks in five innings. He did not allow a hit through the first three innings and upped his strikeout total to a team-best 22.
ASU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after they notched a pair of runs in the first and added one in the third. Long Beach responded in the top of the fourth with a grand slam to take a one-run lead, but ASU countered with a run in the bottom of the frame to tie it at four apiece. The Sun Devils (8-4) used three consecutive doubles in the following inning to re-establish its lead, 6-4.
Right-hander Darin Gillies, in his first appearance this season out of the bullpen, scattered just two hits across three scoreless innings to set up fellow right-hander Ryan Burr (5), who struck out a pair in the ninth to register his fifth save of the season and the 29th of his career.
Outfielders Johnny Sewald and Jake Peevyhouse, shortstop Colby Woodmansee and designated hitter RJ Ybarra each notched a pair of hits, while Sewald and Woodamansee each scored two runs and Ybarra drove in two.
Sewald scored the first run of the game after he singled to lead off the first and advanced to second on a throwing error before he came home two batters later on a triple from Woodmansee. Ybarra followed with a RBI groundout to put the Devils on top early, 2-0. Peevyhouse added to ASU’s advantage in the third, 3-0, with a RBI single to center field.
The Dirtbags (8-5) used a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases in the top of the fourth for catcher Eric Hutting, who drove the first pitch he faced over the left-field fence for a grand slam. ASU catcher Brian Serven opened the bottom half of the frame with a frame and the Devils knotted the score, 4-4, after consecutive groundouts.
Peevyhouse led off the fifth innig with a single and ASU hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to retake the lead, 6-4.
LBSU starting right-hander Kyle Fredrichs (3-1) took his first loss of the season after he conceded six runs on 13 hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Notes
The Dirtbags had allowed just 5.2 hits per nine innings coming into the game and the Devils tallied 13…the Dirtbags also came into the game averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings and the Devils struck out just five times…Woodmansee extended his on-base streak to 12, or every game this season…ASU improved to 39-10 all-time against LBSU…ASU has notched double-digit hits in each of the past five games and has recorded double-digit strikeouts in seven of its past eight...Serven faced his older brother, Jonathan, who is a third baseman on LBSU.
Up Next
ASU hosts Long Beach State in game two of their three-game series on Saturday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Muni. The game will be live streamed via thesundevils.com and Blaze Radio will have the broadcast.
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