The 15th-ranked Arizona State baseball team completed an opening-series sweep of Western Michigan on Sunday, defeating the Broncos 17-2 in front of 2,587 fans at Packard Stadium. ASU outscored Western Michigan 40-2 in 27 innings over the weekend.
Sophomore right-hander Trevor Williams, in his first outing as a starter after serving as the team’s closer last season, earned the win after giving up just two hits and no earned runs in four innings. Sophomore infielder James McDonald finished with three hits, three runs and four RBIs, and junior catcher Max Rossiter added four hits and four runs.
ASU collected five runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, using a combination of solid hitting and discipline at the plate to take an 11-1 lead heading into the latter half of the game.
Western Michigan took the early lead in the second, scoring its first run of the series on a sacrifice fly, but the Devils countered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by McDonald to tie the score at 1-1 and then took control in the fourth and fifth.
Junior right-hander Alex Blackford loaded the bases with no outs in top of the fifth inning but recorded a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to escape the jam. Blackford allowed just two hits and no runs in three innings of work.
Freshman catcher Nathaniel Causey capped a four-run seventh inning for the Sun Devils with a two-run triple, putting ASU on top 16-1.
Redshirt freshman infielder Tucker Esmay collected his first career RBI in the eighth, scoring junior outfielder Andrew Aplin from second on a single up the middle to push the lead to 17-1.
Senior Joseph Lopez gave up one run on one hit in the eighth, and junior Jake Barrett allowed one hit and no runs in the ninth to close out the win.
Western Michigan startinger Troy Forton took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in three innings.
The Sun Devils begin a three-game series against UC Riverside on Feb. 24 at Packard Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., with FOX Sports Arizona providing a live webcast.
