(Tempe, AZ) – Petey Paramore returned to the lineup for Arizona State on Wednesday night and answered all the questions regarding his health status by falling a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Starting as the designated hitter and batting in the third spot, Paramore hit his second home run of the year in the bottom of the first, that quickly staked the Devils to a two run lead. Leading off the inning sophomore Jason Kipnis singled through the right side, and stole second and third base off Wofford College starter Jordan Mickleberry before Petey came to bat.
In the top of the third the Terriers hit a two run home run of their own to even the score at two a piece. Ninth hole batter Jake Williams was plunked on a 0-2 pitch by ASU starter Stephen Sauer, and after Sterling Dye grounded out sophomore Kyle Behrendt drove the ball over the right field fence to tie the game up.
The Sun Devils would answer and raise one in the bottom of the third inning as the big bats came through. Brett Wallace would start a two out rally by doubling down the left field line. Paramore would score Wallace with a double of his own before Ike Davis also sent a ball over the right field fence for a two run home run.
Two more runs were scored by ASU in the fourth as a Wallace ground out to first base brought home Marcel Champagnie. Next despite a slight hiccup in his giddy up, Paramore legged out a single on a ground ball to Terriers third baseman Shane Kirkley that scored Rocky Laguna and gave the maroon and gold a 7 to 2 lead.
Wofford would score single runs in both the fifth and sixth inning, but that would be it on the offensive front for the old gold and black.
In the bottom of the sixth Wallace led off with a laser single to right field. Paramore drew a walk and Mike Jones replaced Petey at first as a pinch runner. That strategic move wouldn’t matter though, as Davis batted next and sent a giant blast over both fences in right field and across Rural Road. This second home run of the night for Ike allowed for a leisurely trot around the bases, and gave Davis his fourth multiple home run game of the season.
Freshman Matt Newman debut on the mound for the Devils in the top of the seventh inning. In his one inning of work he struck out two Terriers, but also gave up a triple to designated hitter Neil Robinette.
The game came to a premature end after ASU scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning due to travel regulations. It was a little past 9:00 pm local time and Wofford was booked on a red-eye flight back to Spartanburg, SC. The Terriers will host The Citadel for a three game series this weekend. Arizona State was also scheduled to travel, but not until early Thursday morning for a three game series against Stanford. This will be the first time ASU travels outside of the state of Arizona this season.
