TEMPE, Ariz. – First baseman Danielle Gibson's walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the seventh led the No. 8 Arizona State softball team (35-7, 9-4 Pac-12) to a 2-1 win over the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats in the first game of the three-game series for the coveted Territorial Cup Series point.
The Freshmen of the Year candidate's walk-off accounts for the first walk-off victory of the season for the Sun Devil squad. With that double Gibson currently has a seven-game hitting streak, just shy of her career record 10-game streak.
"Gibby has been nails for us all year," said head coach Trisha Ford of Gibson's game winning RBI. "She is fun to watch and she loves to compete. She really does live for these moments and we are so excited she is a Sun Devil. To see her joy when she comes up in these situations, she has that confidence and you can see it in her eyes. She is a lot of fun to coach."
The Wildcats got things started early with a solo homerun via Ashleigh Hughes in the top of the first. The next two innings remained scoreless before Kindra Hackbarth blasted one to right field in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at one apiece. The homer from K. Hackbarth was her second of the season, and could not have come in a bigger spot.
"I was talking to coach before my at-bat and I told her I was going to place it," said K. Hackbarth of her at-bat in the fourth. "I got a changeup up and in and I just swung on it. For that to be our first hit felt good. Just to have G's back when she is throwing like that is big for us."
Lefty G Juarez stayed dominant in the circle all night, striking out 13 Wildcat batters and keeping them scoreless for the remainder of the game. Juarez moved to No. 12 all-time in the Sun Devil record books for single season strikeouts, with 236 thus far.
Following a shutdown inning from Juarez in the top of the seventh, the Wildcat pitching staff walked Morgan Howe with just one out in the inning to bring Gibson to the plate. The freshman drilled her 11th- double of the season to plate Howe and send a sold-out Farrington stadium home with a walk-off win in game one.
Up next the quest for the Territorial Cup Series point continues with the second game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcasted live on the Pac-12 Network.
The Freshmen of the Year candidate's walk-off accounts for the first walk-off victory of the season for the Sun Devil squad. With that double Gibson currently has a seven-game hitting streak, just shy of her career record 10-game streak.
Welp. That didn't take long ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 21, 2018
CC: @danielleeee41 pic.twitter.com/5PkNYd2JIA
"Gibby has been nails for us all year," said head coach Trisha Ford of Gibson's game winning RBI. "She is fun to watch and she loves to compete. She really does live for these moments and we are so excited she is a Sun Devil. To see her joy when she comes up in these situations, she has that confidence and you can see it in her eyes. She is a lot of fun to coach."
The Wildcats got things started early with a solo homerun via Ashleigh Hughes in the top of the first. The next two innings remained scoreless before Kindra Hackbarth blasted one to right field in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at one apiece. The homer from K. Hackbarth was her second of the season, and could not have come in a bigger spot.
SEE. YOU. LATER. BALL. pic.twitter.com/2G4GpO9GXZ
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 21, 2018
"I was talking to coach before my at-bat and I told her I was going to place it," said K. Hackbarth of her at-bat in the fourth. "I got a changeup up and in and I just swung on it. For that to be our first hit felt good. Just to have G's back when she is throwing like that is big for us."
Lefty G Juarez stayed dominant in the circle all night, striking out 13 Wildcat batters and keeping them scoreless for the remainder of the game. Juarez moved to No. 12 all-time in the Sun Devil record books for single season strikeouts, with 236 thus far.
Following a shutdown inning from Juarez in the top of the seventh, the Wildcat pitching staff walked Morgan Howe with just one out in the inning to bring Gibson to the plate. The freshman drilled her 11th- double of the season to plate Howe and send a sold-out Farrington stadium home with a walk-off win in game one.
Up next the quest for the Territorial Cup Series point continues with the second game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcasted live on the Pac-12 Network.