ASU baseball takes out Oklahoma 15-3

Buoyed by eight strong innings from starting pitcher Mike Leake, No. 3 Arizona State defeated Oklahoma 15-3 in its second game of the NCAA Tournament on May 31 in front of a crowd of 3,744 at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improve to 47-11 with the win, and they will face the winner of tomorrow afternoon's game between Vanderbilt and Oklahoma tomorrow night.

Leake allowed eight hits and two runs while striking out six to improve to 10-2 on the season. The victory makes Leake the fifth pitcher in school history to have double-digit wins in each of his first two seasons at ASU, joining Jeff Pentland, Eddie Bane, Linty Ingram and Jason Urquidez.

Ike Davis, Petey Paramore and Ryan Sontag had three hits each to lead the ASU offense, as the Sun Devils pounded out 15 hits and drew 10 walks on the night.

ASU was playing as the designated visiting team, and the Sun Devils took advantage of some Oklahoma mistakes to score three runs in the top of the second. Davis scored from third when Sooners starting pitcher Ryan Duke committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt to first, and Paramore scored later in the inning on a wild pitch by Duke. Raoul Torrez then brought in another run with an infield single to second.

The Devils added to their lead with four more runs in the third. Greg Bordes drove in two with a bases-loaded single up the middle, Sontag had an RBI single that scored Torrez and Bordes then scored while Oklahoma attempted to get Sontag in a rundown between first and second.

The Sooners cut into the lead with a run each in the fourth and fifth innings, but Mike Jones hit a three-run homer to right in the sixth to put ASU on top 10-2. The home run, which was the second career homer for Jones, came with the two-sport star's quarterback, Rudy Carpenter, and football coach, Dennis Erickson, in attendance.

Kipnis scored on another Oklahoma error in the seventh, as he stole third and then came home when Sooners catcher J.T. Wise threw the ball past the third baseman and into left field.

ASU added four more runs in the ninth with a three-run triple to center by Davis and a sacrifice fly by Paramore. Oklahoma's Aaron Baker capped off the scoring with a solo home run, his second of the night, in the bottom of the ninth.

In the day's first game, Vanderbilt eliminated Stony Brook with a 9-4 win, setting up an elimination game between Oklahoma and Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The winner of that game will then face the Sun Devils at 6 p.m. tomorrow, and ASU can advance to the Super Regionals with a victory.