An eight-run second inning propelled the No. 15 ASU baseball team to an 11-3 victory over UNLV and its third consecutive midweek win.
After knocking off Wichita State twice last week, the Sun Devils (20-9-1) kept up their midweek form, blowing out the Rebels (22-9) early.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Trever Allen and freshman catcher R.J. Ybarra had two hits apiece during the inning, which featured nine total Sun Devil hits.
Allen began and ended the scoring, smacking a three-run homer to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead. That home run was his fifth of the season.
Allen came up again with men on base and delivered, this time a single, to cap off the eight-run inning and a personal four RBI inning.
UNLV freshman starter Bryan Bonnell (0-1) couldn’t make it out of the second, allowing seven runs and seven hits in 1.1 innings before being pulled.
The second inning was all Sun Devil redshirt junior starter Zak Miller (2-0) needed.
The Canadian product pitched five steady innings, allowing only seven hits and three runs to a Rebels offense that came into the game averaging almost 6.5 runs per game.
Miller turned it over to the bullpen, which dazzled following Sunday’s game versus Oregon in which it allowed 11 runs.
The four Sun Devil relievers allowed only two hits and no runs while striking out six in their four innings of work.
The Sun Devils added insurance in the seventh and ninth to push the score to its 11-3 final as ASU coach Tim Esmay improved to 67-14-1 all-time in non-conference games.
Esmay and the Sun Devils now travel to Los Angeles as they open up a three-game set against USC.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
