May 2, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - #3 Arizona State used a five-run ninth inning to cap off a comeback 10-5 victory over UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Devils, who trailed 5-0 after three innings, were paced by two homers from Jason Kipnis to improve to 36-7, 11-5 in Pac-10 play.
UCLA got to starter Mike Leake in the bottom of the first, taking a 1-0- lead. Alden Carrithers hit a soft liner to center that scored Jermaine Curtis from second. They would add to their lead in third, scoring four to go ahead 5-0. An RBI double by Casey Haerther followed by a two-run double by Brandon Crawford put the Bruins up 4-0. Mickey Weisser added another run with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
The Devils got on the board in the fourth, thanks to back-to-back home runs by Brett Wallace and Petey Paramore. Wallace sent a laser beam over the center field wall for his 13th homer of the season, then Paramore followed with a blast to left-center for his fifth round-tripper of the year. The last time two Sun Devil went back-to-back was on May 19, 2006 at Arizona, when Wallace and Ike Davis did it.
The home run was the 36th of Brett Wallace's career, tying him with Jeremy West, Ted Dyson and Mike Sodders for ninth most in school history.
Jason Kipnis drew the Devils closer in the eighth, homering to left-center off Tim Murphy with Ryan Sontag aboard to make it 5-4. It was the first homer since March 22 for Kipnis and his ninth of the season. Marcel Champagnie evened it up with an RBI single to right that scored Brett Wallace.
Kipnis put the Devils ahead in the ninth, homering to right field with Sontag on to make it 7-5. It was his second multi-homer game of the season, joining the February 28 game against Michigan when he homered twice and had five RBI. Champagnie added to the lead, singling home Brett Wallace from second to make it 8-5. Kiel Roling came home when the relay throw to third was high, making it 9-5. Champagnie would steal home to make it 10-5 before UCLA finally got out of the inning.
Leake was fantastic over his seven innings of work, tying a career high with 10 strikeouts. He allowed five runs on eight hits, four of which came in the third when UCLA scored four times. He did not walk a batter and did not figure into the decision.
UCLA's Tim Murphy was equally impressive, fanning 10 and allowing four runs on eight hits. He also did not walk a batter and also got a no decision.
Tommy Rafferty pitched the final two frames for Arizona State, upping his record to 9-0. Rafferty struck out two and allowed only a single. Brendan Lafferty (1-2) took the loss for the Bruins, allowing five runs in 1.2 innings of work.
Kipnis was 3-5 on the day, driving home four. Marcel Champagnie was 3-5 with two RBI at the DH spot. Ryan Sontag, Brett Wallace and Petey Paramore all had three hits for ASU in the win. The Devils totaled 14 hits on the game, despite Ike Davis missing his third straight game. Davis is not expected to play this weekend.
The Sun Devils and Bruins will play again tomorrow evening at 4 p.m., with FSN Arizona televising the game from Jackie Robinson Stadium.
NOTES: Former Arizona State star and Major League Baseball Home Run King Barry Bonds visited the Sun Devils before the game, chatting with players in the dugout and watching the game from the stands at Jackie Robinson Stadium.