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No. 20 Arizona State (21-0, 4-0 Pac-12) is officially tied for the second best start in program history. The Devils steamrolled Oregon (11-7, 1-2 Pac-12) 12-2 en route to a 21st consecutive victory.
Leading the charge was the heartbeat of the Sun Devil batting order. Sophomore first baseman Spencer Torkelson and junior center fielder Hunter Bishop had back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning.
Bishop’s home run was one of two on the evening to give him a nation-leading 14 home runs on the season. To put it frankly, Bishop has been unreal at the plate. He has hit 14 big flies in 21 games and he is batting .444. He has been one of, if not the best players in the entire country. Along with his offense, he also made a great diving snag in center during Friday’s win.
Everything is coming up Hunter these days ♂️@HunterBishop9 doing it all over the diamond tonight.
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 23, 2019
6-0, Devils, after five innings in Eugene! pic.twitter.com/9nVGQNLSQc
Aside from Bishop and Torkelson, junior Lyle Lin and redshirt sophomore catcher Sam Ferri both had two RBI’s. Junior utility man Carter Aldrete also had a three-hit night.
As they have all season, the bats were on full display. On the mound, junior Alec Marsh went into the seventh inning. His final line was 6.2 innings while allowing three hits and striking out four batters. If there was one blemish, it was that Marsh walked five batters.
He ended up letting junior Chaz Montoya close out the seventh before giving way to freshman Dom Cacchione, who finished the final two innings.
Among other highlights, ASU had a defensive relay as they gunned down an Oregon runner at the plate early in the game. Aldrete played a ball off the right field wall and proceeded to get it in quickly to sophomore shortstop Alika Williams, who turned and threw a strike to home.
NOT TODAY, OREGON!@CarterRoo21 hits @Alika_Williams on the relay and Williams throws a STRIKE to @Sam__Ferri for the out at home!
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 23, 2019
Devils remain on top, 6-0, after 6! pic.twitter.com/Bwjrj5PWqt
Mix that play with the homers, the Bishop show, and the pitching, and ASU coasted to a 21st win in a dampened game that featured a few innings that were played in the rain. However, not even those drops of water could put out the Sun Devil bats, which continue to stay on fire.
Game two against the Ducks is tomorrow at 4 p.m. local time.