May 8, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - Jason Kipnis had four hits and Mike Leake won for the 12th time this season as the No. 4 Arizona State University baseball team defeated Winthrop 14-1 on Friday in front of 2,716 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improve to 36-11 on the season with the victory.
Kipnis drove in three runs and had his 13th home run of the season to lead the ASU offense. Johnny Ruettiger and Jared McDonald had three RBI each, and Ruettiger had two triples in the win.
Leake went seven innings and allowed six hits and one unearned run with eight strikeouts and no walks to move to 12-1 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 1.47 and now has 104 strikeouts on the year, the second straight season he has struck out more than 100 batters.
The Sun Devils wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs in the first inning. Kipnis had an RBI triple, Carlos Ramirez followed with an RBI single and Ruettiger then hit a bases-loaded triple to the right field corner.
ASU added to the lead with an RBI double by Ramirez in the second and a run-scoring groundout by McDonald in the third. Kole Calhoun then scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to make it 8-0.
Winthrop scored one run in the seventh, but the Sun Devils answered with three runs each in the seventh and eighth. In the seventh, McDonald had an RBI triple, Maggi drove in a run on a groundout and Calhoun brought home a run with a double off the wall in center. In the eighth, McDonald had a sacrifice fly and Kipnis capped off the ASU scoring with a two-run homer to right center. The Eagles scored two unearned runs in the ninth off reliever Jeeter Ishida.
The Sun Devils will continue their series with Winthrop on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.