May 5, 2012
TEMPE, Ariz. - In its 11th-consecutive sellout at Farrington Stadium, the Arizona State softball team (44-5, 16-2 Pac-12) used three home runs and nine strikeouts to top Utah (26-25, 1-19 Pac-12) with a score of 6-4 on Saturday.
With the win, Dallas Escobedo is tied for 20th at ASU in single-season victories with 18.
Alix Johnson jumpstarted ASU's scoring with her ninth homer of the year in the bottom of the first - her second against Utah in the series. The two-run shot also continues the Sun Devil streak of homering against every Pac-12 opponent faced thus far.
Utah took no time to respond, bringing one run in during the top of the third to make it 2-1. Kelsi Hoopiiaina's sacrifice fly to center allowed Taylor Austin to reach home safely from third.
ASU captures the win Saturday, 6-4, with timely hitting. thesundevils.com/sports/w-softb...
-- ASU Softball (@ASUSoftball) May 6, 2012
Home runs kept fueling the Sun Devil offense as Amber Freeman got in on the act, hitting her ninth long ball of the season in the bottom of the fourth, adding cushion to a 3-1 ASU lead. Elizabeth Caporuscio tacked her homer on the board in the fifth putting the game at 4-1.
Caporuscio has now etched her name in the record books; she is tied for ninth in single season homers and tied for 18th in career homers, both with 14.
The Utes used three runs on four hits in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. ASU went through two pitching changes in the frame, subbing Mackenzie Popescue for Hillary Bach, then bringing in Escobedo to pick up the final two outs.
A pinch hit by Nikole Afusia in the bottom of the sixth, combined with a Utah misplay allowed the Sun Devils to break the tie, 5-4 as Talor Haro came home on the play. Haro finished a team-best 2-for-3 at the dish. Bailey Wigness re-entered for Afusia to score the final run of the contest, 6-4, on a RBI-double from Boyd one at-bat later.
Escobedo is now t20th in single season wins (18) and Caporuscio is t18th in career homers (18) @SparkyArizonaSt @asu @NCAAsoftball @pac12
-- ASU Softball (@ASUSoftball) May 6, 2012
Escobedo picked up the win, bumping her total to 18-4 overall. Escobedo had five strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched, while Bach exited with four fanned Utes in 5.1 innings worked. Generra Nielson went the distance in the loss and falls to 19-16.
UP NEXT:
Senior day is at noon on Sunday, come out and support your seniors in their final home Pac-12 game! Live stats can be found on the ASU schedule page, here, live radio here.
SENIOR DAY ON SUNDAY:
Nikole Afusia, BIS (sociology/social welfare)
Hillary Bach, MBA, undergraduate degree in business marketing
Katelyn Boyd, family and human development
Laura Bradley, kinesiology
Talor Haro, BIS (communication and exercise wellness)
Annie Lockwood, special education and sociology
Christina Zambrana, physical education and sociology
TICKET OFFICE PROMOTION
The first 100 fans to come through the gates each day of the Utah series will receive a 2011 National Championship commemorative ticket autographed by the Sun Devil softball team.
CLOTHING DRIVE AT SOFTBALL, MAY 4-6 | Watch Video Here
The weekend of May 4-6 the softball team will have a table set up at Farrington Stadium to accept donations for Helen's Hope Chest throughout the weekend as the Sun Devils take on Utah in the season home finale. Senior designated player Nikole Afusia is an intern at Helen's Hope Chest - we invite you to learn more about this event here.
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.