The No. 1 ASU baseball team got its first taste of the road against a quality Pac-10 opponent this weekend. And it was bitter.
The Sun Devils (28-3, 4-2 Pac-10) visited No. 20 Stanford and needed extra innings to win the first of the three game-set Friday. The Cardinal (15-9, 4-2 Pac-10), meanwhile, needed just the usual nine to beat ASU Saturday and Sunday and hand the Sun Devils their first series loss this season.
Pitching caught the worst of the bitterness. Eight of the nine pitchers ASU coach Pat Murphy sent to the mound during the weekend yielded at least one run. Saturday and Sunday marked the first and second times all season that an opponent scored in double-digits against the Sun Devils.
ASU's offense struggled too, stranding 33 base runners.
When the dust settled at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif., where ASU hasn't seen a series victory since 1997, the hosting Cardinal had outscored ASU 26-10.
The Sun Devils took a two-run lead in Sunday's first inning with RBI base-hits from juniors Ike Davis and Petey Paramore, but mound work and shaky defense abruptly ended any chance at salvaging the series finale.
Junior spot starter Stephen Sauer (3-2) allowed consecutive singles and made a throwing error to spark Stanford's six-run output in the home half of the fifth frame.
Stanford continued to pile on, topping its visitor 10-2.
Each team sent a senior ace to the mound Saturday, but Josh Satow and ASU were simply outdueled. Stanford's Erik Davis (4-1) threw a complete game, allowing just two runs on four hits.
Satow (3-1) continues to struggle relative to his emergence in 2007. He allowed five earned runs in just four innings of work to raise his season ERA to 4.57.
Cardinal junior Sean Ratliff proved especially harmful to ASU, as he drove in four runs, including his second home run of the weekend. Ratliff and company got to Sun Devil relievers as well. True freshman Seth Blair allowed six earned runs on nine hits in three innings of relief.
ASU needed 10 innings to beat the Cardinal in the series opener Friday, 6-4. Davis went 2-for-3 at the plate, including his team-leading 11th home run of the season.
Stanford's junior starter Max Fearnow exited after recording just one out when Davis hit his first-inning two-run shot.
Paramore, recovering from injury, started Friday at designated hitter but was moved to catcher late in the game. He also started behind the plate Saturday and Sunday.
Reach the reporter at: apentis@asu.edu.
