Feb. 18, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State notched two more shutout victories on Saturday with a 12-0 win over Minnesota in six innings and a 9-0 win against Iowa State in five. The Devils are now 9-2 on the season.
Top single-game performances for the Sun Devils were: Sam Parlich, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and her first homer of the year; Hillary Bach, who kept up her 0.00 ERA and improved her record to 5-0; and Bailey Wigness, going 3-3 in the late game along with one RBI and three runs.
GAME ONE: ASU 12, Minnesota 0 (6)
Bailey Wigness jumpstarted the Sun Devils, leading off the game with an infield single. Katelyn Boyd then reached via walk as the pair went into scoring position after a double steal. Back-to-back RBIs from Annie Lockwood and Elizabeth Caporuscio gave ASU a 2-0 lead in the early goings.
Not to be outdone, the bottom of the Devils lineup scored two runs in the second for a 4-0 lead, when Sam Parlich and pinch runner Kayla Ketchum scored by a bases-loaded walk to Wigness and a sacrifice fly by Boyd, respectively.
In the third, freshman Haley Steele hit her first career home run, a three-run knock over center field that stretched the ASU cause to 7-0. The Gophers brought in Kelsey Kimminau for Alissa Koch to pitch, as Koch (1-1) left the game after 3.0 innings to eventually take the loss.
Boyd put the score over the edge at 9-0 in the top of the sixth with her third home run of the year on a two-run hit to center. Three batters later, Parlich hammered her first homer on the season, bringing in Caporuscio and Talor Haro to pull the score to 12-0 and effectively securing the victory.
Hillary Bach has been a maestro in the circle, a perfect 5-0 over 32.1 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts. Against the Gophers she fanned two in the shutout.
GAME TWO: ASU 9, Iowa State 0 (5)
In the bottom of the first, Annie Lockwood flew a double to the left center wall to score Wigness and Boyd. Soon after the first Cyclone pitching change that brought out Madison Jones, Alix Johnson smacked an RBI two-bagger in her first at-bat of the season for a 3-0 score on the board.
The Devils started the second with a sacrifice fly from Lockwood that gave Wigness her second run of the night. The Cyclones made their second swap on the mound, but it didn’t stop Caporuscio from snapping a double to take Boyd home. Lockwood then snuck the ball up the left line and scored Caporuscio, pulling the score to 6-0.
A-State took charge again in the third, with Wigness popping up along third and driving in Zambrana who reached on a walk. Haro slid in to home on a wild pitch, and Caporuscio notched another RBI hit up the middle gap, bringing Wigness in for a 9-0 game.
The goose eggs piled up on the scoreboard for the Cyclones as Mackenzie Popescue allowed only two hits, giving her a 1.00 ERA thus far in the season.
UP NEXT:
ASU closes out the Littlewood Classic with a scheduled 11:30 a.m. (MT) matchup against Illinois State. All times are subject to delays.