Feb. 25, 2012
PHOTO GALLERY
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State softball had hitting sprees over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils in both games of their Strike Out Cancer doubleheader on Saturday evening. With scores of 10-0 and 11-1 in two five-inning matches, the Sun Devils move to 13-2 on the year.
Annie Lockwood tied her career high for single-game RBI with four in the first game of the evening. Elizabeth Caporuscio hit her fifth home run of the year, which gives her the most on the team so far.
GAME ONE: Arizona State 10, Central Connecticut 0 (5)
ASU didn't hesitate in lighting up the scoreboard in the opening frame of the day. With a walk and a hit-by-pitch to put Bailey Wigness and Katelyn Boyd on base respectively, Annie Lockwood launched her fourth home run over the left center wall to score three.
After a Blue Devil error put Haley Steele on base in the second, Wigness hit a single three batters later to score the freshman for her sixth run of the season.
With two in scoring position, Sam Parlich rocketed one straight back to the pitcher to score Elizabeth Caporuscio as CCSU lost the ball in the long shadows. Haley Steele and Talor Haro then reached on back-to-back errors with Parlich coming home. Wigness walked, Boyd singled and Lockwood hit a sacrifice fly to chalk up two runs, making it 9-0 after three.
ASU brought in the secondary in the bottom of the fourth with six pinch hitters logging an at-bat. Laura Bradley hit a grounder to first to score Nikole Afusia, who reached on a single. Bethany Kemp, Danielle Muniz, Kayla Ketchum and Lindsey Edgerton also saw time at the plate.
Mackenzie Popescue threw five strikeouts throughout the five innings and allowed only three hits in the shutout victory. She now has a 3-1 record with a 0.74 ERA.
GAME TWO: Arizona State 11, Central Connecticut 1 (5)
The Devils started with some small ball, as the first run was scored on a sacrifice bunt from Caporuscio to get Wigness past home plate.
Nicole Springer tied it up in the bottom of the second inning with a home run shot for Central Connecticut, but Arizona State answered in the top of the third with a Caporuscio run off of a fielder's choice, pulling the score to 2-1. An inning later, Boyd notched a run for ASU on a sacrifice fly from Lockwood.
The Sun Devil scoring spree began in the top of the fifth, with a home run from Amber Freeman, her second on the year. The Devils then batted around the order, with eight runners scoring on ten hits and only two left on base. Caporuscio hit her fifth homer of the season, which puts her tops in the clubhouse for the category.
Bach improves to 6-0 on the year with the win - she holds a 0.19 ERA and had zero walks on the night with only five hits.
Up Next:
Arizona State wraps up the series against Central Connecticut on Sunday afternoon with a scheduled first pitch at 12 p.m.