If ASU junior Erik Averill keeps this up, he might forget what pitching coach Jack Krawczyk looks like.
Averill pitched his second consecutive complete game Saturday as Krawczyk watched from the dugout, lifting the ASU baseball team to a 7-2 win over South Alabama at Surprise Stadium.
"It's been good going deep in the games," said Averill, who gave up one run and struck out eight. "Hopefully I won't have to see [Krawczyk] that much until after the game."
The victory was the first of two in a doubleheader for
No. 12 ASU, which went 2-1 in the Coca-Cola Spring Training Classic.
For Averill, the win came one start after he pitched a seven-hit shutout against New Mexico State that earned him National Player of the Week honors.
"The kid's on it," ASU coach Pat Murphy said.
Senior first baseman Jeff Larish drove in two runs and hit his first home run of the season Saturday against South Alabama.
ASU (6-4) followed the win with a 7-5 victory over Oklahoma. Both games were played Saturday after rain drenched the field Friday.
Against Oklahoma, Larish hit another home run -- an opposite-field shot that put the Sun Devils ahead 3-1 in the first inning. ASU tacked on two more runs in the fifth for a 5-1 lead.
Oklahoma scored four runs in the sixth to tie the game, but ASU answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Junior transfer Tony Barnette allowed one hit and no runs in 3 2/3 innings for his first victory as a Sun Devil. He was aided by terrific defense -- something ASU had missed all season.
"I could throw whatever I wanted. They were going to get it," Barnette said of the fielders behind him.
On Sunday, ASU suffered a 2-0 loss to Gonzaga.
Sophomore Zechry Zinicola started his first game of the season, allowing two runs and striking out four in 4 1/3 innings. Junior Brett Bordes followed with an impressive performance out of the bullpen. He didn't allow a run in 4 2/3 innings.
However, ASU's offense never got on track, advancing just three runners past first base. Two of those came in the second inning, when the Sun Devils loaded the bases with two outs before freshman center fielder J.J. Sferra rolled into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.
