It took four batters to dismiss the shutout ghosts from Packard Stadium Monday night on the eight-year anniversary of the last time the ASU baseball team was shutout.
The No. 7-ranked Sun Devils extended their NCAA-record scoring streak to 475 games in a 10-2 win over Grand Canyon University in front of 2,020 fans.
After a weekend off from Pac-10 competition, ASU came out aggressive against the Antelopes (24-18). With two outs and sophomore first baseman Jeff Larish (2-for-5) on second base, junior designated hitter Jeremy West (1-for-3) lined a single into right field to put ASU up 1-0.
The Sun Devils (35-7) came right back with a five spot in the second inning to chase Antelope starter Jack Newark after just 1.1 innings. Of the seven hits Newark gave up, just one was for extra bases. ASU hitters managed to find the holes on the infield and take advantage of two Grand Canyon errors.
"We're a little rusty, we're not on our rhythm, but tonight was a step in the right direction," ASU head coach Pat Murphy said.
With the Sun Devils already leading 6-1, they put the finishing touches on Grand Canyon in the eighth with four more runs. Sophomore catcher Tuffy Gosewisch (3-for-3) singled home his second run of the game and junior second baseman Steve Garrabrants (2-for-4) belted his sixth home run of the season, a three-run shot, to cap the scoring.
"Playing solid is good," said Gosewisch, who has been ASU's everyday catcher of late. "We didn't crush [Grand Canyon], but to play solid gives us confidence and we'll be ready to play this weekend."
ASU right-hander Robbie McClellan pitched brilliantly in just his third start of the year, allowing one hit in five innings while striking out seven. The small dent in McClellan's line came during the second inning when Antelope junior right fielder Travis Kaats launched a solo home run over the wall in right, his eighth of the year.
"I've been trying to cut down on walks and just hit my spots and it's helped out a lot," said McClellan, who lowered his ERA to 3.79 while picking up his fifth victory.
Seven relievers followed McClellan, allowing just four hits and one run over the final four innings.
"Everyone came out focused," McClellan said. "We kind of had a rough game last week but we're just trying to get better day by day."
The last time the Sun Devils were shut out was April 7, 1995 at USC when they lost 9-0. Coincidentally, the Sun Devils broke the consecutive-games scoring mark at 350 on the same day in 2001, also at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles during a 5-1 loss against the Trojans.
"I didn't know it was that many games, but I knew we had the longest streak," Pedroia said of the 475-game scoring streak. "We don't really think about it.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
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SDTV Video |
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Outfilelder Travis Buck snaps his bat in half on this infileld RBI single. Size: 623k |
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Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch picks off Grand Canyon infilelder Ryan Bethel trying to steal second. Size: 211k |
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Media Credit: SDTV |
