ASU baseball again routs Western Michigan

The 15th-ranked Arizona State baseball team, behind a high-powered offense and an equally potent pitching staff, defeated Western Michigan 13-0 Saturday afternoon at Packard Stadium.

Freshman left-hander Adam McCreery collected the win in his first collegiate start, allowing just two hits and striking out five in four innings of work. Sophomore third baseman Michael Benjamin collected a team-high four RBIs, including a three-run homer, and redshirt sophomore catcher Beau Maggi added three hits and a pair of RBIs. In all, eight Sun Devils had at least one RBI. The Devils racked up 13 runs in the first four innings of play before a trio of newcomers finished the game on the mound.
 
Freshman right-hander Darin Gillies took the mound in the fifth inning and struck out the side, finishing the game with no runs allowed, two hits allowed and five strikeouts in three innings. Junior lefty Matt Dunbar pitched a scoreless eighth inning before junior right-hander Robert Ravago closed out the game with a hitless inning.
 
The Sun Devils scored five runs on five hits in the third inning, capped off by back-to-back home runs from Benjamin and junior outfielder Andrew Aplin. Sophomore outfielder Kasey Coffman added an RBI single to complete the Devils’ big inning.
 
ASU added four runs in the fourth inning to take command, with Maggi driving in two of the four runs in the frame.
 
The scoring started in the first inning, as Aplin reached second on a hard-hit ball down the right-field line and then advanced to third on a passed ball before junior second baseman Joey DeMichele drove him in on a sacrifice fly.
 
Western Michigan starter Steve Laudicina took the loss, allowing nine runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
 
The Sun Devils close out their three-game series with Western Michigan on Sunday at Packard Stadium. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.