The Sun Devils are now winners of eight straight as they take the first game of their three game series at Washington State.
It was a strong outing for the top of the ASU batting order, as sophomore center fielder Johnny Sewald, junior shortstop Drew Stankiewicz and junior left fielder Jake Peevyhouse combined to bat 7-for-15 with 5 RBIs.
ASU had to fight back from a deficit for most of the game, including being down 4-0 after the second inning. After being down by one run after the seventh inning, the Sun Devils proceeded to score six runs in the top of the eighth and that proved to be too much for Washington State to come back from.
Timely hitting continues to be a strong point for ASU, a statement that Sewald echoes.
"We knew we were never out of the fight," Sewald said. "We're playing really well and everyone is swinging the bat well. It's nice having clutch hits, even with two outs we're going to try to score runs every inning."
The eighth inning was opened up by a leadoff triple by junior center fielder Trever Allen, who would go on to score after a single by sophomore third baseman Dalton DiNatale. DiNatale, along with Sewald, Peevyhouse, Stankiewicz and sophomore outfielder Christopher Beall, would go on to score in the inning.
Defensively, it was the most runs ASU has given up during the win streak, but that overshadows a solid performance by the pitching staff. Sophomore Brett Lilek struck out six in six innings of work. Also pitching for ASU were freshman Eder Erives, sophomore Jordan Aboites and redshirt freshman Nick Diamond.
Aboites, who faced six batters and recorded a strikeout while allowing only two hits, was credited with the win. His record is now 5-2 on the season.
This impressive win streak the Sun Devils are on has seen them play their best on both sides of the ball all season. Perhaps most impressive is that the win streak came off a four game losing streak, which was a low point in the season for the players.
Sewald says his team had to tune out all the outside noise after being swept by Oklahoma State and start playing the game how they were used to.
"We've come together after that Oklahoma State series," Sewald said. "We play for ourselves. We had to forget what the media or anyone else was saying, all those outside influences. We're playing really well and it's fun to come into the ballpark."
ASU's second game against Washington State is on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
Reach the reporter at hkossodo@asu.edu or on Twitter @HKossodo
