March 5, 2011
TEMPE, Ariz. - A three-hit complete game shutout and a save highlighted the day for Dallas Escobedo as she stepped up to lead the No. 7 ASU Softball to two wins to open the Wilson/DiMarini Invitational Friday night. The Sun Devils topped ECU 11-0(5) and Northern Iowa 6-1 with Escobedo moving to 8-0 on the year and Popescue moving to 3-1 as ASU holds at 14-1 overall.
Game one pitted Dallas Escobedo against the ECU Pirates who were coming off a three home run win over New Mexico State earlier in the day but Escobedo had other plans in mind as she shook off an early single to kick it into high gear and strike out ten through the rest of the game.
Her offense decided to join the hit parade as well as ASU put 12 hits on the board with a multi-hit game from Sam Parlich, Annie Lockwood and Mandy Urfer led the way with Alix Johnson and Urfer also collecting two RBIs a piece in the outing as ASU rolled to an 11-0 win in five innings over the Pirates.
With the offense at high octane in the first game, the Sun Devils seemed to come out a bit sluggish in the second game against the Northern Iowa Panthers. After plating a quick run in the first inning off a Sam Parlich sac fly, the Sun Devils were silenced by UNI’s Jaime Fisher through the next three innings as they watched the Panthers tie it up at one apiece in the third off an RBI double from Chelsea Dunker.
That was all she wrote for the Panthers though as ASU rallied up in the fifth inning with Parlich proving clutch again with a two-RBI bases loaded single followed up by Krista Donnenwirth’s RBI single. They slammed the door shut in the sixth with a two RBI single to left center from Mandy Urfer as Escobedo drove the rest of the way home for the save.
ASU hits the home diamond again tomorrow as the Wilson/DiMarini Invitational rolls on with the Sun Devils set to play Northern Colorado and New Mexico State at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in Tempe at Farrington Stadium.