PHOENIX, Ariz. – An all-around balanced effort powered the No. 19 Sun Devil baseball team to a 6-0 victory in the first game of conference play over Washington State on Friday evening at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The night was filled with defensive gems, strong pitching and solid hitting throughout the lineup as the Sun Devils get their first conference win and improved to 17-0 on the season. The shutout was ASU's third consecutive shutout on a Friday night.
Gage Workman added the power to the offense tonight, hitting his first two home runs of the season to go along with his four RBIs. All but one player in the Sun Devil lineup recorded a hit tonight with four players having multiple hits.
Alec Marsh pitched 6.1 shutout innings, giving up six hits and two walks but striking out four. Marsh now boasts a 5-0 record and a 0.77 ERA for the season. He has recorded a quality start in 9 of his last 13 appearances since assuming the mantle of Mr. Friday Night last season and has allowed three earned runs or less in 23 of his last 24 games dating back to his freshman season.
The Sun Devils did their part behind him as well, recording three double plays on the evening to go with several highlight reel flashes of leather. The defensive and pitching effort was pivotal in stranding nine Cougar batters on the base path, holding WSU to 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and just 3-for-16 with runners on base.
The first score of the game belonged to Workman, who hit his first home run in the second inning overall the wall in dead center to give ASU a 1-0 lead over the Cougars.
The Devils added a run to their lead in the third inning when Lyle Lin singled up the middle to bring Spencer Torkelson home. Workman then came up to bat and hit his second home run of the contest and of the season, this time a three-run laser to right field to put Arizona State up 5-0.
Hunter Bishop was close to adding another one to his home run total in the seventh inning, but instead, he pushed an RBI triple to the wall to make it 6-0, ASU.
Sam Romero came into the game in the sixth inning, putting in 2.2 innings of relief work and maintained the shutout, giving up only two hits and striking out two batters. More importantly, the senior did his part to save the Sun Devil bullpen for the remainder of the series.
The Devils continue their first conference series against Washington State tomorrow at 6 p.m. Arizona time. The game will be the first of the season to be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks, while fans can also tune in on the airwaves on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.
The night was filled with defensive gems, strong pitching and solid hitting throughout the lineup as the Sun Devils get their first conference win and improved to 17-0 on the season. The shutout was ASU's third consecutive shutout on a Friday night.
Gage Workman added the power to the offense tonight, hitting his first two home runs of the season to go along with his four RBIs. All but one player in the Sun Devil lineup recorded a hit tonight with four players having multiple hits.
Alec Marsh pitched 6.1 shutout innings, giving up six hits and two walks but striking out four. Marsh now boasts a 5-0 record and a 0.77 ERA for the season. He has recorded a quality start in 9 of his last 13 appearances since assuming the mantle of Mr. Friday Night last season and has allowed three earned runs or less in 23 of his last 24 games dating back to his freshman season.
The Sun Devils did their part behind him as well, recording three double plays on the evening to go with several highlight reel flashes of leather. The defensive and pitching effort was pivotal in stranding nine Cougar batters on the base path, holding WSU to 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and just 3-for-16 with runners on base.
The first score of the game belonged to Workman, who hit his first home run in the second inning overall the wall in dead center to give ASU a 1-0 lead over the Cougars.
The Devils added a run to their lead in the third inning when Lyle Lin singled up the middle to bring Spencer Torkelson home. Workman then came up to bat and hit his second home run of the contest and of the season, this time a three-run laser to right field to put Arizona State up 5-0.
Hunter Bishop was close to adding another one to his home run total in the seventh inning, but instead, he pushed an RBI triple to the wall to make it 6-0, ASU.
Sam Romero came into the game in the sixth inning, putting in 2.2 innings of relief work and maintained the shutout, giving up only two hits and striking out two batters. More importantly, the senior did his part to save the Sun Devil bullpen for the remainder of the series.
The Devils continue their first conference series against Washington State tomorrow at 6 p.m. Arizona time. The game will be the first of the season to be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks, while fans can also tune in on the airwaves on NBC Sports 1060 AM KDUS.