TEMPE -- The No. 24/23 Arizona State softball team took advantage of two big innings to hold off a late-surge from the No. 6/7 UCLA Bruins, earning an 8-7 victory on Thursday in the series opener in Tempe.
With the ASU hosting Senior Weekend and the final home series of the careers of five Devils, senior Haley Steele knocked a three-run jack to start a five-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the third and fellow senior Elizabeth Caporuscio went 3-for-3 with an RBI double in the fifth that set up her pinch runner Abby Spiel for the game-winning run on a passed ball later in the inning.
The Sun Devils (33-19, 11-10 Pac-12) picked up their fourth win over a top-10 opponent this season and brought a halt to the Bruins’ 13-game winning streak entering the game. It also marked the first time UCLA had lost a game this season in which it had scored five or more runs, entering the contest with a 40-0 record in such games.
UCLA (44-9, 18-4 Pac-12) knocked four homers in the game, including three straight leadoff shots in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but relief pitcher Breanna Macha shut the door after each of those runs, earning the victory and improving to 16-10 on the season. Macha allowed six hits and three earned runs in four innings of action, striking out four.
Dale Ryndak earned the start, pitching three innings and allowing four runs on 10 hits. The two freshmen pitchers combined to allow just two walks on the day.
Despite the 16 hits given up, ASU did a solid enough job against the incredibly potent UCLA offense that came in with the nation’s third-highest batting average entering the weekend. Macha and Ryndak combined to hold UCLA’s 1-4 hitters (Delaney Spaulding, Allexis Bennett, Ally Carda and Stephany LaRosa) to 4-for-14 (.285) on the day, despite the group holding .414, .520, .375 and .318 batting averages, respectively.
Spaulding went 0-for-3 with a walk in the contest, ending her career-high 14-game hitting streak.
The Devil offense did plenty of work on its own, smacking 10 hits for eight earned runs and chasing the All-American Carda from the circle in the fifth inning after knocing her around for six earned runs – her second highest tally of the season – after she entered the game with a 1.97 ERA.
UCLA got on the board first in the top of the second, dinging Ryndak with a two-run shot by Mysha Sataraka that was followed by a RBI sacrifice fly by Spaulding for a 3-0 lead.
The Devils responding an inning later, amassing a five-run third inning spurred by a two-out, three-run shot from Steele that brought the game back to even Stevens. Nikki Girard then doubled to left to bring in Steele and the Sun Devils added another with Caporuscio scoring on a wild pitch.
Welcome home, Haley Steele! Her three-run SHOT for @ASUSoftball ties it with UCLA! http://t.co/YfMNDWLu5w pic.twitter.com/QDFZzjfnqN
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) May 8, 2015
Macha would enter the game in relief in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and no outs, facing the top of the UCLA order. She quickly got Spaulding to pop out, followed by an incredible diving grab at first base by Kemp against Bennett . Ally Carda drew an RBI walk to get UCLA back within 5-4 but Macha ended the threat by striking out LaRosa to end the inning.
In the fifth the Sun Devils recaptured the lead with the help of some competent base-running and timely hitting. After a pair of singles from Steele and catcher Sashel Palacios, Caporuscio doubled to plate Steele and put ASU back up, 6-5.
Heads up base running resulted in two additional runs for the Sun Devils, as Palacios and Abby Spiel - pinch running for Caporuscio - scored off of two passed balls by LaRosa to give ASU an 8-5 advantage.
This @lizarrrd55 double to the gap put ASU on top to stay in the fifth inning of tonight's victory over #6 UCLA: http://t.co/gusGNEinvb
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) May 8, 2015
ASU wasn’t out of the woods yet, however, as Macha gave up leadoff homers in the top of the sixth and seventh to allowed the Bruins back within 8-7.
The true frosh got Sataraka to fly out and struck out Gracie Goulder for two huge outs but UCLA responded on an infield single by Kylee Perez, who just avoided the diving tag from Kemp at first, that brought UCLA home run leader Spaulding to the plate. The sophomore flew out to center, however, and the Devils held on for another big win over a ranked team.
The two squads will reconvene tomorrow for Game Two of the series, set for a 6 p.m. PT first pitch at Farrington Stadium.