May 22, 2008

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. -

By Matt Storey

No. 2 Arizona State clinched its second consecutive Pac-10 championship with a 13-6 win over Arizona Thursday night at Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium in Tucson. The win marks the second straight year the Sun Devils have clinched the conference title against the rival Wildcats, and it improves their record to 45-9, 16-6 in the Pac-10.

ASU scored in each of the first eight innings and pounded out a season-high 21 hits in the victory. Five different Sun Devils had three or more hits in the game, with Jason Kipnis and Petey Paramore each going 4-for-5, Raoul Torrez and Ryan Sontag 3-for-5 and Brett Wallace 3-for-6.

Josh Satow started and went five innings, allowing four hits and three runs to earn the victory and improve to 8-3 on the season.

The Sun Devils got the scoring started with a two-run double by Ike Davis down the right field line in the bottom of the first. ASU added three more in the next inning when Sontag scored on a wild pitch and Kipnis hit a two-run homer, his 13th of the season, to right center.

The Sun Devils extended their lead with a run in each of the next two innings, as Kipnis had an RBI single to center in the third and Kiel Roling drove in a run with a single in the fourth.

Arizona cut into the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth off Satow, but the ASU offense answered with solo home runs in the next two innings. Wallace hit his team-leading 20th home run in the fifth and Sontag hit his fourth of the season in the sixth.

The Sun Devils continued to add to their lead in the seventh with a two-run single by Paramore.

Arizona scored three in the bottom half of the seventh, and ASU then capped off the scoring with two runs in the eighth. Kipnis drove in his fourth run of the night with a single up the middle, and Torrez then stole home for the final run. It was the second time Torrez has stolen home this season, with the first coming on May 11 in a win over Loyola Marymount.

The Sun Devils continue their three-game series with the Wildcats tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.