TEMPE, Ariz. - Junior righthander Seth Blair and three relief pitchers combined to pitch a seven-hitter as 2nd-ranked Arizona State (4-0) handed the Tigers (1-3) a 15-1 loss in the opener of their four-game weekend series at Packard Stadium on Friday evening.
Led by senior infielder Raoul Torrez, who had three hits and four runs batted in, the Sun Devils banged out 19 base hits and scored in every inning as they won their fourth game in a row.
The Sun Devils took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against losing pitcher Nate Curd. Sophomore second baseman Zach MacPhee scored the first run of the game when he singled, stole second base, and came around to score on an RBI single by first baseman Riccio Torrez.
In the second inning, sophomore Zach Wilson singled with two outs and advanced to third base on a throwing error by Curd, who was trying to pick him off. Raoul Torrez drove him home with an RBI double.
MacPhee, who came into the game with a .727 batting average, led off the third inning with his fifth triple of the season. A sacrifice fly by Kole Calhoun scored MacPhee to give Arizona State a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Sun Devils extended their lead to 5-0 by scoring two more runs off Curd. Wilson led off the inning with a triple to centerfield and scored on a sacrifice fly by Johnny Ruettinger. Arizona State proceeded to load the bases on a single by Raoul Torrez and walks to Drew Maggi and MacPhee. An infield single by Calhoun scored Torrez for a 5-0 advantage.
The Tigers scored their only run of the game in the fifth inning with two outs. A walk to sophomore rightfielder Ben Winter started the rally. Junior second baseman Chris Wycock followed with a single to send Winter to second base. When senior centerfielder Kevin Collins singled, Winter scored from second base. However, Blair retired junior third baseman Austin Harclerode on an infield ground ball to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Sun Devils broke the game open by scoring three runs off relief pitcher Sean Bertrand. An RBI single by sophomore Austin Barnes upped the lead to 6-1 before Maggi's two-run single gave Arizona State an 8-1 advantage.
The Sun Devils added four more runs in the sixth inning and scored once in the seventh inning. Arizona State capped off the win with two runs in the eighth inning.
"We may have had some jitters," said Coach Mike Gottlieb. "Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. They threw some good pitchers at us tonight but we had some good at bats. We'll go out and give it our best shot tomorrow."
Senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky and Collins led the Tigers with two hits each.
Towson and Arizona State will continue their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. (EST) at Packard Stadium.
