Jason Kipnis
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 4 Arizona State University baseball team scored a season-high 23 runs on Sunday, as the Sun Devils defeated Arizona 23-7 to complete a three-game sweep of the Wildcats. A third consecutive sellout crowd of 4,371 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark saw the Sun Devils improve to 17-3 overall, 3-0 in the Pac-10, on the season.
It was ASU’s first three-game sweep of Arizona since 2003, and the 23 runs were the most by a Sun Devil team since March 17, 2007, when they beat Maine 23-2.
Jason Kipnis led the offensive explosion with his second career grand slam and six RBI, and Raoul Torrez went 3-for-5 with five RBI in the game. Johnny Ruettiger had three hits and scored two runs despite not entering the game until the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter.
Mitchell Lambson got the win in relief of starter Seth Blair, going five innings and allowing just one hit and no walks with three strikeouts to improve to 4-1 on the season.
The Sun Devils scored five or more runs in three separate innings. With the game tied 4-4 in the third, the ASU offense exploded for seven runs to take an 11-4 lead. They would add five more in the sixth, capped off by Kipnis’ grand slam to straightaway center, and they would score six off Arizona closer Jason Stoffel in the eighth.
