Feb. 22, 1998
BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 8 ranked Arizona State baseball handed the University of California its fifth straight loss with a 7-4 win Sunday at Evans Diamond. The Sun Devils improve to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in league play with the win. The Bears go to 2-8-1 on the season and 0-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference Southern Division.
The Sun Devils won the first game of the series, 8-7, Friday. Due to the weather, the third game of the three-game series will be played Monday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. at Evans Diamond.
Led by a complete game, five-hitter from Arizona State pitcher Phill Lowery and five unearned runs in the fourth inning, the Sun Devils handed the Bears the 7-4 loss.
Lowery (3-1) threw his first complete-game victory of his college career with five hits, four runs, four walks and nine strikeouts. He was involved in a pitching dual with Cal starter Jon Shirley (0-2) until the fourth inning when ASU exploded for five runs, aided by two Bear errors and a two-run homer by Andrew Beinbrink. Shirley got the loss after pitching 4.0 innings with six hits, one earned run, three walks and two strikeouts.
Top hitter for Arizona State was Beinbrink, who finished the day 2-for-5 with four RBI. He had an RBI single in the third inning for the Sun Devils first run and had a fielders choice RBI in the ninth inning.
Cal attempted a comeback by scoring three runs in the sixth inning. Ryan Robertson hit a pinch-hit home run to lead-off the sixth and later Jason Hill hit a two-run homer. In the ninth inning, Xavier Nady led-off with a home run for the Bears fourth run.
Another highlight for the Bears was the relief appearance of junior Ryan Drese, who pitched 4.0 innings with no hits, one unearned run, two walks and two strikeouts. It was the first time Drese has thrown against Pac-10 competion since Apr. 21, 1995 (6-3 loss to Stanford), due to suffering from strained ligaments in his right elbow the past two seasons.
ASU baseball plays next on Tuesday Feb. 24 against Grand Canyon at Packard Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m. The Sun Devils then host the Anaheim Angels in an exhibition on Wednesday Feb. 25 at Tempe Diablo Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Home Runs: