Junior starter Erik Averill, struggled in his first start of the season allowing four runs on nine hits. He did however have six strikeouts and didn’t walk any batters. Long Beach State pitcher and pre-season All-American Cesar Ramos, looked solid in the win, allowing only three runs in six innings of work. Ramos’ good pitching and three errors by the Devils were the difference in the game.
The Devils were down 3-0 early in the game until Colin Curtis laced a triple into left center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to score Travis Buck and Tuffy Gosewisch. Curtis finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI. Buck and senior transfer Joey Hooft each had two hits on the night. The Sun Devils were down 4-3 after seven innings but allowed three runs in the last two frames on no hits, which gave the Dirtbags plenty of cushion heading into the last half inning of the game.
Hopefully Pat Murphy and his Sun Devils can turn things around Saturday when the face the Dirtbags at 1:00 PM at Packard Stadium. Senior Jason Urquidez, a 12 game winner from a year ago, will take the mound for the Devils.