April 30, 2010
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Hillary Bach’s one-hit complete game shutout and Mandy Urfer’s fifth home run of the season fueled the fire Friday night as the No. 7 ASU softball team topped the 14th-ranked Stanford Cardinal 2-0 in Palo Alto. Bach improves to 20-4 on the year while ASU moves to 38-10 and 7-6 in Pac-10 play while Stanford falls to 31-13 and 4-9 in conference play.
Hillary Bach took to the circle on a picture perfect night in the Bay Area, entering the game with a 19-4 record on the year versus her Stanford nemesis, Ashley Chinn taking the pitching duties on with a 7-4 record to begin the day.
A State decided to take it up a notch in the third inning as Lesley Rogers took a tough pitch off her shoulder to perambulate to first base where a Talor Haro sac bunt and an RBI single through the right side helped break the stalemate and give ASU the 1-0 lead.
While the pitchers dueled it out for the next few innings it was the Sun Devils that prevailed again as Mandy Urfer continued her hitting tear with a solo shot over center with a 1-0 pitch sent packing across the Bay to make it 2-0 with the tip of the cap to ASU.
The Cardinal decided to make Bach work hard for her money though as they loaded up the bases in the sixth inning only to see the smiling hurler compose herself for a ground out to escape the threat. Bach came out again in the seventh holding onto the 2-0 lead and didn’t disappoint controlling the Cardinal bats at her whim and fancy as she closed out her eighth complete game shutout of the season.
The Sun Devils continue their match-up with the Stanford Cardinal tomorrow as they take on the reddish hue again at 1 p.m. in Palo Alto at Smith Family Stadium.