May 10, 2012
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BERKELEY, Calif. - Second-ranked Arizona State softball (45-6, 17-3 Pac-12) fell to top-seeded California (49-3, 20-2 Pac-12) on Thursday, 4-2, in a showdown that will crown the inaugural Pac-12 Champion.
While the board remained unlit through three complete innings, it would be the Sun Devils to tack on the first run of the game, 1-0, in the top of the fourth. With bases loaded, Elizabeth Caporuscio's sacrifice fly to left field brought home Katelyn Boyd, who reached by walk.
In the sixth, Amber Freeman homered to left center with two outs to give ASU the 2-0 lead. The long ball is Freeman's 10th of the year and ties her for 21st in single season homers.
We need to win next two to get @pac12 title thesundevils.com/sports/w-softb... Game 2 at 3 PT Friday @SparkyArizonaSt @asu @NFCAorg @ASAUSASoftball
-- ASU Softball (@ASUSoftball) May 11, 2012
California tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth after loading the bases in its own two-out rally by scoring a pair of runs via walks by Danielle Henderson and Victoria Jones.
Mackenzie Popescue entered the circle for the Sun Devils in the bottom of the sixth to close out the frame, as Dallas Escobedo left after 5.2 innings pitched and six strikeouts.
Cal's Valerie Arioto put an end to the contest in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run walk-off homer to right center, giving the Golden Bears the 4-2 victory. Popescue garners the loss (7-2) after 0.2 innings pitched and two strikeouts, while Jolene Henderson improves to 30-1 on the year.
Arizona State must win the next two games against California to earn the Pac-12 Championship - California needs to win just one of the next two to take the crown.
UP NEXT
Game two of the series is slated for 3 p.m. PT Friday. Live updates can be found on GameTracker, here, and the ASU softball Twitter, @ASUSoftball.
FOLLOW THE SUN DEVILS LIVE
Sun Devil fans can follow the action on GameTracker and Twitter, which provides live statistics and play-by-play action. You can find the links to GameTracker on the softball schedule page here. Follow Twitter @ASUSoftball.
POSTSEASON INFORMATION
Since the Pac-12 champion is determined by winning percentage, whichever team captures two of the three games will earn the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Cal owns a 19-2 (.905) record while ASU is 17-2 (.895) after two games were rained out earlier in the conference season. The NCAA Division I Softball Selection Announcement will be broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, May 13 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.
STRIKEOUT CANCER
The Sun Devils will join forces with the Golden Bears this weekend for Cal's inaugural StrikeOut Cancer Game on Friday. At that game, both the Golden Bears and the Sun Devils will don pink hair ribbons and encourage all fans to wear pink. Those fans who do wear pink will receive giveaways such as Silly Bandz and foam sticks. Since starting the StrikeOut Cancer initiative more than 10 years ago, the NFCA has raised thousands of dollars to support the fight against cancer.
Sun Devil profile: Katelyn Boyd from ASU News on Vimeo.
VOTE FOR BOYD FOR THE LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD | Katelyn Boyd has been chosen as one of the 2012 finalist. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Vote for Katelyn at/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=208253662.
SENIOR CLASS WIN PERCENTAGE
Arizona State's 2012 senior class ranks third in the nation compared to all 2012 graduating classes. Here is the Top 5 breakdown:
1. Florida 213-38 = .849
2. Alabama 207-39 = .841
3. Arizona State 196-46 = .810
4. Missouri 193-46 = .808
5. Louisiana Lafayette 188-45 = .807
*updated May 10, 7:51 p.m.