Arizona State Baseball Sweeps 4-Game Set v. Xavier
The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team kicked off their season in the right direction with a four-game sweep against the Xavier Muskateers over the weekend.
The Arizona State pitching staff led the way with dominant performances in all four of the contests against Xavier. Arizona State came away with victories of 5-2, 2-1, 8-2, and 5-1 en route to outscoring Xavier 20-6 in the series.
On Friday night, the Sun Devils scored three runs in the first frame of the season and never relinquished the lead. Hever Bueno started the game for the Sun Devils and went 5.1 innings and gave up just two hits and one earned run, while striking out six Muskateers. Colby Woodmansee led the way at the dish, going 2-for-4 with a two RBI single in the first inning.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils and Muskateers embarked on a double-header. In game one of the double-header, Arizona State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th inning, but Xavier came right back in the top of the 5th inning to knot the score up at 1-1. Arizona State responded immediately with the go-ahead and game-winning run in the bottom half of the 5th inning to send the Sun Devils home with a 2-1 victory.
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Seth Martinez worked 7.0 innings, while giving up four hits and an unearned run, while striking out six of the 26 Xavier batters he faced. Grant Schneider came into the game in relief and shut down the Xavier offense in the 8th and 9th innings to earn his first save of the season.
In game two of the double-header, Arizona State returned to its early-inning offensive magic by plating two runners in the bottom of the 1st and three more runners in the bottom of the 3rd. After Xavier cut the lead to 5-2 in the 5th inning, Arizona State responded by scoring three more runs in the bottom of the 6th.
The 2-3-4 hitters for the Sun Devils did the most damage in the contest as Andrew Shaps, David Greer, and Woodmansee went a combined 5-for-10 from the dish with 6 RBIs. Eli Lingos earned the victory for the Sun Devils in 5.1 innings of work on the mound.
In the series finale on Sunday Arizona State held off until the bottom of the 4th inning to scratch across runs. Arizona State scored three in the 4th inning behind a big two-run double for Andrew Snow, who finished the day 3-for-4 from the plate. Reagan Todd got the victory for the Sun Devils after 5.1 innings in which he gave up three hits, zero runs, and struck out five batters.
Next: Coyotes Look to Extend Win Streak
Arizona State baseball will return to action on Tuesday, February 23 against the Nevada Wolfpack at Phoenix Muni. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. MST.