PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Starting left-hander Eli Lingos had a strong outing and Sebastian Zawada launched a pair of home runs to highlight an 8-1 victory against Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Lingos (2-1) gave up just one run on three hits while striking out a pair as he was in control the whole afternoon.
Junior Sebastian Zawada would lead the offense this afternoon, crushing two home runs over the left field fence that accounted for five RBIs. Junior Colby Woodmansee scored two runs, including a steal of home to put the Sun Devils on the board first in the second inning. Nine different Sun Devils would record a hit in this afternoon’s game.
Zawada recorded his first career multiple home run game and set a career high with five runs batted in. Zawada, who drove in the game-winning run last night, drove in seven runs in the past two games. Junior David Greer and sophomore Andrew Shaps both drove in a run while freshman 3B Jeremy McCuin ripped a double into left field, giving him a hit in each of his first three starts as a Sun Devil.
The Sun Devils (8-3) used three relievers to record the final seven outs to shut down the Eagles (4-8), including David Greer, who made his first career pitching appearance recording the final out of the ballgame.
Lingos held the Eagles scoreless through the first four innings, retiring nine batters in a row from the final out in the first inning until the second batter of the fourth inning reached base via a walk. After allowing his first run in the fifth, Lingos would settle in, pitching into the seventh inning for the first time this season.
After a scoreless first inning, singles from Woodmansee and Zawada would put runners on the corners for ASU’s first scoring threat of the game. After Andrew Snow reached first base thanks to a fielder’s choice, he would take off for second a few pitches later drawing a throw. Heads up base running from Woodmansee allowed him to take off from third base as soon as the catcher released the ball, and beat the return throw home giving the Devils an early 1-0 lead.
Eastern Michigan would respond with a solo home run in the top of the fifth tying the game at one. That would be the only tally that the Eagles would put on the scoreboard as a combination of sophomore right-hander Ryan Hingst, freshman left-hander Garvin Alston Jr., and junior right-hander David Greer kept EMU scoreless the rest of the afternoon.
The Sun Devils would break the 1-1 tie on the scoreboard in a big way, scoring four runs in the sixth inning. An Andrew Shaps triple drove in McCuin who had led the inning off with a double. Next batter, David Greer, laced a single to right field to score Shaps. With two outs in the inning, Zawada stepped up to the plate and blasted his first home run of the night, a two-run homer, extending the lead to 5-1.
The score would remain 5-1 until the eighth inning, when Sebastian Zawada launched his second home run of the afternoon, this time a three-run shot, driving in Woodmansee and pinch-hitter Tyler Williams to push the Devils to an 8-1 lead.
Garvin Alston Jr. and David Greer would combine for a 1-2-3 ninth inning to give ASU the three-game series sweep of Eastern Michigan.
Quotes from Head Coach Tracy Smith:
On Lingos’ start…
"He was doing a really good job of locating his two-seamer on the outer half. He was able to drop a changeup in there too. This game was about location and not necessarily the velocity and I just thought Eli did a really good job of locating on the outer half. They didn’t make too many adjustments on it so he just kept doing it. We needed that today. They proved over the first couple games that they could swing the bat if you weren’t locating so I think the location was key for him today."
On moving forward…
"We’re in the mode right now of one game at a time. With the amount of pitching we have, with Shaps being on the shelf and [Hever] Bueno hopefully coming back this weekend, our mindset it that we have to find out how to win each game. We’ve got some fresh arms ready for mid week but it’s just that they’re not matured at this point. We’ll sit down as a staff here afterwards to figure out how we’re going to attack that weekend. To get six and two-thirds out of [Lingos], that was big."
On Zawada’s performance...
"When we signed him, his position was the batter’s box. When you do that, we expect the power out of him. He showed it in the fall. He’s starting to feel a little bit more comfortable now."
On Zawada having the green light on a 3-0 pitch...
"When you have a good hitter who can hit for power and they get the green light for 3-0, that’s what you’re supposed to do with it. If you’ve watched him hit and take batting practice, you know it’s not a fluke. He’s got some serious juice. He got some pitches in some hittable counts today and he did exactly what he was supposed to do."
On the series…
"We’ve said it, we may not have overpowering stuff so we have to pick up the baseball. We picked up the baseball and made plays behind the pitchers today. The pitchers really, for the most part, aren’t walking people. The defense is key for us. As we said last night, I went back and looked at the stat sheet and it’s guys right now that have played well in the past that have a couple errors so I’m not too concerned about it. Playing good defense got us a chance to win."
Up Next
The Devils travel to Fullerton for a two-game mid-week series against Cal State Fulerton at Goodwin Field on March 8 & 9. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. both nights. All times AZ/MT.
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