PHOENIX – Hunter Bishop went yard twice and robbed another home run as the No. 19 Sun Devil Baseball team tempered the top offense in the country in a 7-3 victory over New Mexico State on Wednesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Bishop, the defending Pac-12 Player of the Week, continued his incredible tear on Wednesday night as he went 4-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored. More importantly, however, was his incredible play to rob what would have been a three-run homer in the top of the third that helped change the tide of Wednesday's tilt and kept ASU undefeated on the season at 16-0.
Bishop now has a Pac-12 leading 10 home runs this season after having just 10 combined home runs in his first two season in Phoenix. ASU knocked three home runs on the evening to bring its total to 27 on the season.
The New Mexico State offense entered the game leading the nation in every single offensive category but were stifled by the Sun Devil bullpen, who held NMSU to just three runs despite entering the contest averaging nearly 14 runs per game this season.
Erik Tolman earned his second win of the season, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings of relief as he allowed just one hit and struck out four. The effort dropped Tolman's ERA to a team-low 0.53 and extended his streak to five consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.
ASU got a solid start out of Sam Romero, who struck out three in 2.2 inning with just one run allowed. Junior Chaz Montoya came and closed things out with a five-out save, retiring all five batters he saw with three strikeouts for his first save of 2019.
Offensively, ASU also got an impressive effort from Trevor Hauver, who knocked his sixth home run of the season and finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Alika Williams was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Devils scored in each of the first four innings of the cost to build an early 5-1 lead. Alika Williams kicked things off in the bottom of the first with a bases loaded single to bring two runs across and an early 2-0 lead.
NMSU rebounded with a solo home run in the top of the second to cut the ASU lead In half but Trevor Hauver answered in turn with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to make it 3-1.
The Aggies threatened in the top of the third with the nation's home run leader Tristen Carranza taking one for a ride to center field that looked like it would have been a three-run shot to put NMSU on top. But Bishop made an incredible adjustment as the ball tailed toward right center, leaping at the wall and robbing Carranza of the homer to keep ASU on top.
Bishop's then came right back out to lead off the bottom of the third with his ninth home run of the season off the batter's eye in center to extend ASU's lead to 4-1. Bishop struck again in the fourth with an RBI single after Hauver reached on an infield single with two outs and Spencer Torkelson fought off an early 0-2 count with a 9-pitch walk to keep the inning alive to make it 5-1.
The two teams exchanged runs in the seventh and eighth inning, capped by Bishop's second homer of the day and 10th of the season in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-3 after NMSU had cut the lead to 6-3.
The Sun Devils will now open Pac-12 play this weekend against Washington State with a three-game series scheduled to get underway on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) games will each be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. All three games will be available over the airwaves on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.
Bishop, the defending Pac-12 Player of the Week, continued his incredible tear on Wednesday night as he went 4-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored. More importantly, however, was his incredible play to rob what would have been a three-run homer in the top of the third that helped change the tide of Wednesday's tilt and kept ASU undefeated on the season at 16-0.
Bishop now has a Pac-12 leading 10 home runs this season after having just 10 combined home runs in his first two season in Phoenix. ASU knocked three home runs on the evening to bring its total to 27 on the season.
The New Mexico State offense entered the game leading the nation in every single offensive category but were stifled by the Sun Devil bullpen, who held NMSU to just three runs despite entering the contest averaging nearly 14 runs per game this season.
Erik Tolman earned his second win of the season, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings of relief as he allowed just one hit and struck out four. The effort dropped Tolman's ERA to a team-low 0.53 and extended his streak to five consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.
ASU got a solid start out of Sam Romero, who struck out three in 2.2 inning with just one run allowed. Junior Chaz Montoya came and closed things out with a five-out save, retiring all five batters he saw with three strikeouts for his first save of 2019.
Offensively, ASU also got an impressive effort from Trevor Hauver, who knocked his sixth home run of the season and finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Alika Williams was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Devils scored in each of the first four innings of the cost to build an early 5-1 lead. Alika Williams kicked things off in the bottom of the first with a bases loaded single to bring two runs across and an early 2-0 lead.
NMSU rebounded with a solo home run in the top of the second to cut the ASU lead In half but Trevor Hauver answered in turn with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to make it 3-1.
The Aggies threatened in the top of the third with the nation's home run leader Tristen Carranza taking one for a ride to center field that looked like it would have been a three-run shot to put NMSU on top. But Bishop made an incredible adjustment as the ball tailed toward right center, leaping at the wall and robbing Carranza of the homer to keep ASU on top.
Bishop's then came right back out to lead off the bottom of the third with his ninth home run of the season off the batter's eye in center to extend ASU's lead to 4-1. Bishop struck again in the fourth with an RBI single after Hauver reached on an infield single with two outs and Spencer Torkelson fought off an early 0-2 count with a 9-pitch walk to keep the inning alive to make it 5-1.
The two teams exchanged runs in the seventh and eighth inning, capped by Bishop's second homer of the day and 10th of the season in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-3 after NMSU had cut the lead to 6-3.
The Sun Devils will now open Pac-12 play this weekend against Washington State with a three-game series scheduled to get underway on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) games will each be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. All three games will be available over the airwaves on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.