April 16, 2000

Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. - ASU left fielder Mitch Jones went 3-for-5 with four RBI and hit his NCAA leading 22nd home run to lead the No. 4 Sun Devils to a 14-8 win and weekend series sweep over the Washington State Cougars in Pac-10 conference action Sunday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field.

The win improved the Sun Devils to 33-9 on the year and inched them near the top of the Pac-10 standings with a 9-3 record. The series sweep was the first of the year for ASU in Pac-10 play. WSU endured its third consecutive Pac-10 sweep and have now lost eight consecutive games to fall to 14-25 in 2000, 2-10 in league play.

While the game lasted a marathon three hours and 54 minutes, it was one sequence of pitches in the fifth inning that virtually decided the game for the Sun Devils. With the Sun Devils holding a 8-6 lead in the bottom of the fifth and the bases loaded, reliever Franco Pezely struck out WSU's leading hitter Ray Hattenburg on a 3-2 fastball to preserve the lead. Pezely went on to record the victory to improve his record to 5-2 on the year.

After scoring two runs in the top of the first, WSU mounted a scoring attack for the first time in the weekend series with five runs. Left fielder Justin Williams provided the big blow with a bases loaded, two-out double to give WSU the 5-2 advantage. Jason Grove plated WSU's first run with a sharp single to score leadoff hitter Shawn Stevenson.

ASU battled back in the third inning with one swing of the bat. Jones added to his NCAA leading home run total with his 22nd of the year to tie the game with a shot deep over the left field fence. After gaining the lead in the fifth with two unearned runs, ASU added three-run innings in sixth and eighth frames to gain their fourth consecutive win and sixth in the last seven games.

WSU reliever Zach Fisher (2-3) was saddled with the loss, giving up five runs and five hits in 2.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Hattenburg capped a stellar weekend of play with a 3-for-6 day at the plate, notching his team-leading 18th multiple-hit game of the year. The senior utility player finished the series with a .571 (8x14) average and is now hitting .373 on the year. Grove was also 3-for-6 and Jordan Nilsen added his 10th and 11th doubles of the season.

Jones led the Sun Devils at the plate with a 3-for-5 game and four RBI. Third baseman Mike Lopez was also hot, connecting on two doubles and a triple. In the record keeping category, designated hitter Jonah Martin set a single-season ASU record by being hit by his 19th pitch.

WSU will next be in action Monday with an exhibition game against the Prairie Baseball Academy (Lethebrige, Alberta, Canada) at 2 p.m. Johnny All-staff (a.k.a. the entire pitching staff) will go to the mound for the Cougars against the Prairie Dawgs. The Cougars will return to Pac-10 action next weekend with a Thursday-Saturday series at the University of Arizona.

ASU	204	023	030	-  14	15  1
WSU	000	000	000	-   8	16  4
Drew Friedberg, Luke Field (1), Franco Pezely (3), Jason Fingers (6),
Ty Johnson (8), Eric Doble (8), and Casey Myers.
Nick Kenyon, Zach Fisher (3), Reggie Rivard (6),
Les McTavish (8), Donny Davis (9), and Jon Baeder, Ryan Smith (8).
W - Pezely (5-2),L - Fisher (2-3), S - None, HR - Jones (22).
T - 3:54,  A - 309.
ASU Hits - Stocker 2, Myers, Jones 3, Lopez 3, Phelps, Conrad,
Martin 2, Wyrick, Waldrip.
WSU Hits - Stevenson, Hattenburg 3, Grove 3, Bailie, Curran,
Nilsen 2, Gates 2, Baeder, Smith, Williams.
E - Duncan (2), Bailie (5), Gates (12), Fisher (3), Rivard (2).
2B - Jones (13), Lopez 2 (10), Stevenson (6), Hattenburg (13),
Grove (5), Curran (3), Nilsen 2 (11), Williams (2), 3B - Lopez (2), Phelps (3).