LONG BEACH, Calif.– Friday night looked a lot like the last game that ASU baseball played, but it was even worse.
The Sun Devils (2-3) were done in by a five-running inning Tuesday night against New Mexico, and it was a seven-run third against Long Beach State on Friday night that cost ASU. When it was all said and done, the Dirtbags (1-4) won by a 11-0 final score.
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Burrstarted the game for the Sun Devils, and got through the first two innings with only a walk. He struck out two and appeared to be in a groove.
In the third, Burr walked the first three Dirtbags to come to the plate, then awkwardly fielded a bouncer back to him and threw past freshman catcher Brian Serven to allow two to score. A wild pitch scored a third run in the inning.
What followed were back-to-back singles by Long Beach State’s junior right fielder Richard Prigatano and senior first baseman Ino Patron to plate two more.
That was the end of Burr’s night. His final line was 2 1/3 innings, six runs, two hits, three strikeouts and four walks.
But that wasn’t the end of the inning. Redshirt senior Zak Miller spelled Burr, and a walk and a double scored two more. After only three innings of play, the Dirtbags had a 7-0 lead.
The seven runs scored in the third inning matched the total that the Dirtbags had scored in their previous four combined.
Junior left-hander Nick Sabo turned in a fantastic outing for the Dirtbags, pitching eight scoreless innings, striking out eight while allowing six hits and two walks. The innings and strikeouts were both career-highs.
Midway through the game, a thick layer of fog came and settled in right field and stretched its way into right-center. That, combined with the humidity in the air and cool California night, made it difficult to give any ball a ride.
But that didn’t stop Patron. In the bottom of the seventh against Miller, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound first baseman took and offering and blasted it over the right-field wall in one of the more impressive homers one could hit. That extended the Long Beach State lead to 10-0. It added one more in the inning to bring the game to its 11-0 final.
Additional notes
– The only Dirtbag to not score was their No. 3 hitter, senior left fielder Michael Hill. He finished 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
– The last time the Sun Devils were shut out in a regular season game was April 12, 2013 at USC.
– All of the game’s scoring took place in two innings: seven runs in the third and four runs in the seventh.
Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @J15Emerson
