TEMPE, Ariz. -- The 14th-ranked Arizona State baseball team opened its Pac-12 home schedule Friday night with a 5-1 win over Cal in front of 2,581 fans at Packard Stadium.
Right-hander Brady Rodgers (4-0) earned his fourth win of the season with an impressive complete-game performance. He struck out six while allowing eight hits and a walk.
Andrew Aplin had three hits and an RBI, and Abe Ruiz hit his seventh home run of the season as four Sun Devils drove in at least one run.
Cal committed a pair of errors in the second inning, leading to three unearned runs for the Sun Devils. Michael Benjamin and Aplin each picked up an RBI in the inning as ASU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.
ASU tacked on a run in the third to stretch its advantage to 4-0 when James McDonald plated Ruiz with an RBI single.
Ruiz led off the fifth inning with a solo home run over the right-field wall to extend the Devils’ lead to 5-1.
Cal left-hander Justin Jones (2-3) took the loss, allowing five runs -- two earned -- on nine hits in eight innings.
The Golden Bears scored their only run of the game in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by Darrel Matthews.
