March 31, 2007
SEATTLE, Wash. - Bianca Cruz's two-run home run and Katie Burkhart's 11 strikeouts combined to give the No. 7 ASU Softball team their second conference win as they topped the No. 12 Washington Huskies 2-1 at Husky Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Sun Devils are now 36-7 on the season and 2-0 in conference play with another game versus the Huskies tomorrow.
The game turned out to be a standard Pac-10 pitching duel, pitting aces Katie Burkhart and Danielle Lawrie against one another. Lawrie retired the first nine batters in the game before hitting Jessica Mapes with a pitch to break the streak.
Both Lawrie and Burkhart kept it scoreless until the fifth inning when lead-off hitter Ashley Charters, who leads the Huskies in batting average as well hit a solo shot over center field to break the tie and give the Huskies the 1-0 lead.
The Sun Devils retaliated though in the top of the sixth as Kaitlin Cochran reached on a rare bunt single, which set up Bianca Cruz to hit her ninth home run of the season as she crushed a two run shot over left with the first pitch she saw to give ASU the lead 2-1.
That was all the Devils needed as Katie Burkhart cruised to her 18th win of the season, striking out 11 and allowing only five hits. The Sun Devils will continue conference play tomorrow as they take on the Huskies again at 1 p.m. tomorrow in Seattle at Husky Stadium.