ASU baseball didn't have much time to prepare for Tuesday's midweek game against New Mexico State, but they didn't seem to the care.
Freshman starter Seth Martinez threw a career-long seven innings and the Sun Devils (24-17) added runs in the first and seventh innings to shutout the Aggies 2-0 48 hours after finishing their series with UA.
Martinez (3-0) pitched his best game at ASU, giving up just two hits and five walks while not allowing an Aggie to reach third base all night, giving the Sun Devils their second shutout in the past three games.
Martinez said his approach was to take the game a pitch at a time, which helped the Sun Devils secure their lowest opposing hit total (two) of the season.
"I just wanted to make sure I pounded the zone and I knew I had great defense behind me so that helped as well," Martinez said.
Sun Devil coach Tim Esmay was equally impressed with Martinez, noting he had a "stellar performance."
"Seth Martinez was the star of the game," Esmay said. "He was outstanding tonight."
Esmay said Martinez, who pitched a previous career-long of six innings in his last outing against UNLV, has become a reliable option for the Sun Devils.
"You've got to have a fourth starter and he's proven to be that guy," Esmay said.
Sophomores Jordan Aboites and Ryan Burr, who earned his 10th save of the season, each struck out the side in relief of Martinez.
The Sun Devil offense managed just four hits off the Aggies (17-23) and scored both of their runs on groundouts, but Esmay was content with the win, the team's fifth in its last seven midweek contests.
"This time of year, a 'W' is a 'W'," Esmay said. "We need to win these games so we did what it took tonight to win that game."
The Sun Devils travel to Stillwater, Okla. this weekend to face Big 12-leading Oklahoma State for a three-game series.
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