Leake, ASU avenge 2007 postseason loss

 by Andrew Pentis
 published on Monday, March 24, 2008

Kaitlin Ochenrider / THE STATE PRESS

REMEMBER ME?: Sophomore pitcher Mike Leake throws a strike during ASU’s victory over the UC-Irvine Anteaters on Sunday at Packard Stadium.

Nine months ago, Mike Leake, then a true freshman, yielded the final run in the last inning of ASU's baseball season. It cost his Sun Devils a chance to advance in the College World Series. And the culprit was the UC-Irvine Anteaters.

Sunday in Tempe, Leake made his sixth start of 2008 against, guess who, No. 7 UC Irvine, and the results could not have differed more.

Just two days after No. 1 ASU's undefeated streak to start the season abruptly ended, Leake tossed nine innings and his Sun Devils (22-1) beat the No. 7 Anteaters (16-2) 11-3 as 3,375 watched on.

"The guys were definitely fired up for it," ASU coach Pat Murphy said. "There was a sense of importance in the dugout that you couldn't fake."

Leake (5-0) notched his third career complete game, throwing 129 pitches and allowing three runs while striking out nine.

He said he wasn't thinking much about last year but acknowledged the increased meaning of Sunday's grudge match.

Leake had thrown 7 2/3 shutout innings when Francis Larson took a 0-2 pitch out the ballpark for UC-Irvine's second and third runs.

Murphy said Leake was going to finish the game no matter what, not only to save the pitching staff but to prove to himself he could do it.

"I told him, 'You may be the first pitcher to throw 200 pitches, but you're finishing it,'" Murphy said.

ASU grabbed the lead in the third inning when junior Ike Davis' two-run home run, his eighth of the season, cleared the 30-foot high "Green Monster" in center field, which is more than 400 feet from home plate. It was the 16th time a Sun Devil has completed the feat all-time, the second occasion this season.

Davis did it, no less, breaking his aluminum bat in the process.

UC-Irvine starter Daniel Bibona (3-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings, scattering eight hits and allowing four earned runs. The Anteaters would use five more relievers who would all fair similarly — the Sun Devils added nine runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Davis continued his hot streak at the plate, going 4-5 with three RBIs and two runs.

Another good piece of news for ASU is that sophomore Kiel Roling finally seems to be winning his season-long battle at the plate. During the Bob Schaefer Memorial Tournament, the designated hitter/catcher went 9-for-18 while going deep twice.

"Things either start coming for you, or you melt down," Murphy said. "[Roling's] taking the road of swinging it good."

ASU's first defeat this year on Friday to Northern Colorado, 6-3, was unexpected by all accounts. The Sun Devils had won 19 straight, the most recent being a 13-3 pounding of the very same UNC team. Plus, the opposition had a wee streak of its own: 11 consecutive losses.

"They responded pretty well," said Murphy of his team's first loss. "That's the most important thing."

"That still ticks me off," he added.

But by all considerations, ASU also didn't deserve to win, having stranded 13 runners. Down by three runs, Sun Devil batters loaded the bases in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Each time, the crowd rose to its feet in anticipation but was given reason to sit back down after no runs were scored.

The Sun Devils began their new win-streak Saturday with a doubleheader, outscoring Florida International, 18-9.

Reach the reporter at: apentis@asu.edu.

For more ASU baseball coverage, visit thesundevilsweetspot.blogspot.com.