Five ASU baseball pitchers combined to shut out Long Beach State, and a first inning run was enough for a 1-0 win on Tuesday evening at Blair Field in Long Beach, California.
The Sun Devils (4-4) kept the Dirtbags' hitters off balance all night and used back-to-back first inning singles to produce the only run of the contest. After junior center fielder Gage Canning led off the game with an infield single, freshman left fielder Scott Mehan drove him in.
Senior right-hander Jake Godfrey made his first start for ASU this season after pitching two-thirds of an inning against Miami University on Feb. 18.
Godfrey worked around two walks in two innings of work with two strikeouts to hold Long Beach State hitless. Godfrey threw 20 of his 35 pitches for strikes and threw a first pitch strike to four of the eight batters he faced.
Sophomore right-hander Alec Marsh relieved Godfrey on the hill to start the third. He held the Dirtbags hitless until the fifth inning when redshirt sophomore designated hitter Jacob Hughey hit a ground ball single into center field.
The Dirtbags did not threaten to score until the seventh inning. That is when Long Beach State freshman third baseman Chris Jimenez hit a blooper to ASU sophomore right fielder Hunter Bishop, who could not handle the ball. Jimenez jogged into second base with a two-out double.
After a walk, Marsh was taken out of the game for junior left-hander Connor Higgins. Higgins quickly induced a weak ground ball off the bat of Hughey that ended up as an out on a fielder's choice.
Things got interesting for ASU in the ninth. Sophomore left-hander Chaz Montoya got things started with a strikeout but followed it up with a single to junior outfielder Brooks Stotler. After a strikeout of the next batter, Jimenez doubled sharply off the left field wall, but Stotler slipped rounding the bases and had to hold up at third.
With runners on second and third, junior pinch hitter Shaq Robinson lined a ball to freshman left fielder Trevor Hauver who made a diving catch to end the game and give ASU the victory.
UP NEXT
With the win, ASU is back at .500 for the season and will look for a sweep of the two-game mid-week tilt on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7 pm. MST.
Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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