The Arizona State baseball team defeated UC Riverside 11-2 Sunday afternoon to improve to 5-1 on the season. Junior second baseman Joey DeMichele had a huge game for the Sun Devils, going 3-4 with four RBI's. Senior Abe Ruiz continues his productive season as Ruiz went 2-4 with two RBI's.
UC Riverside started the scoring in the first inning when first baseman Vince Gonzales singled down the first base line to score leadoff hitter Devyn Bolasky.
Arizona State countered in the first with two runs of their own with the help of two UCR errors. ASU added three more runs in the third inning with an RBI double from Joey DeMichele and a two RBI single from Abe Ruiz.
ASU broke the game open in the seventh inning scoring three runs, including a solo home run for DeMichele. RBI sac flys from Nathaniel Causey and Michael Benjamin added two more runs for the Sun Devils.
Starting pitcher Trevor Williams had another solid outing for the Devils. Williams pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs and giving up only six hits. The ASU bullpen threw three scoreless innings, including one from closer Jake Barrett, to finish off the victory.
Up next for ASU is the 2012 Coca Cola Classic. The Sun Devils play four games in Surprise, Ariz., March 1st- March 4th. Arizona State faces St. Louis, Northwestern, Winthrop and St. Mary's in the tournament.