TEMPE? The No. 21 Arizona State softball team swept its tournament opening doubleheader at the Louisville Slugger Invitational on Friday in Tempe, defeating No. 23 Nebraska, 6-0, before closing things out in the nightcap with a 13-0 (5) victory over Georgetown.
ASU (20-5) has posted three straight shutouts for the first time since 2014 - when it help Southern Miss to no runs in a three-game series - and shutout two opponents on the same day for the first time since 2013 (Fullerton and Texas). The Devils haven’t allowed a run since the third inning of the contest against Northwestern, a streak of 23 straight innings.
Arizona State opened the night with their second consecutive victory over a ranked opponent after defeating then-No. 24 Baylor this past Sunday to close out the Judi Garman Classic. Kelsey Kessler was exceptional against a Nebraska (13-5) offense that was averaging over five runs per game, earning her second straight shutout and marking the first time ASU had blanked back-to-back ranked foes since it did so against No. 9 UCLA and No. 7 Arizona in consecutive games in 2011.
Breanna Macha earned her first shutout of the year in the nightcap with her two-hit effort to improve to 6-2 on the year.
It was a total team effort at the plate as nine different Sun Devils logged an RBI, 11 knocked a hit and 12 scored a run over the course of the day. Sashel Palacios went 3-for-4 and was hit by a pitch over the two games with three RBI, matching the team lead for the day.
Arizona State returns to action tomorrow at Farrington Stadium for their second game of the weekend against Georgetown at 6 p.m. MT. A victory would mark the 1,600th in Sun Devil softball program history.
Full recaps from each of today’s games are below.
ASU 6, #23 Nebraska 0
Kelsey Kessler earned her fourth shutout of the season in the opening game of the day ? tying the Pac-12 lead in the process - allowing just five hits and four strikeouts while walking none to pick up her eighth win of 2016. The Sun Devils got 10 hits from nine different batters as Jenn Soria and Nichole Chilson each hit their fourth home runs of the season.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Kessler and Nebraska’s Emily Lockman through three innings as both allowed just three hits each with no runs coming across early in the game.
ASU backed up Kessler with some offense in the fourth, however, getting back-to-back doubles from Jennifer Soria and Nikki Girard to lead off the bottom half of the inning to make it a 1-0 game. An error put runners on first and second with no outs and a flyout moved both to scoring position.
E4 | After 4 in Farrington, ASU w/ a 4-0 lead over Nebraska! Whole thing got started with this @nikki_girard double! https://t.co/qeB1gArO6S
? Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 12, 2016
Pinch runner Breona Peralta scored from third on a wild pitch and Fa Leilua scored on a Chelsea Gonzales single. A Taylor Becerra RBI fielder’s choice made it a 4-0 ball game. ?
The Sun Devils stuck again in the bottom of fifth inning with the two solo shots from Soria and Chilson to extend their lead 6-0, which would hold as the final result.
Because who doesn't enjoy watching @jennsoria5 hit solo dingers? Here's her shot in tonight's 6-0 W over Nebraska. https://t.co/QmGAbU4Ut7
? Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 12, 2016
Kessler spun a gem to do the rest, allowing just two Husker batters to move into scoring position and not allowing any to make it as far as third base. She held power-hitting third baseman MJ Knighten (.475, 12 HR entering contest) to 0-for-2 and a sacrifice bunt. Entering the weekend, 48 of Nebraska’s 86 hits this season had been for extra bases but the junior RHP wasn’t having it as she extended her scoreless streak to 15.1 innings pitched.
ASU 13, Georgetown 0 (5)
ASU earned its eighth run-rule victory of the year behind Breanna Macha in the second game of the evening. The sophomore allowed two hits and no earned runs with two walked batters for her sixth win and first shutout of the season. The Sun Devils racked up multiple hits from Taylor Becerra, Fa Leilua, and Sashel Palacios.
Leilua and Palacios each finished 2-for-3 with three RBI each.
The Maroon and Gold got to work early in the second game against Georgetown, capitalizing on an error from Hoyas left fielder Theresa Kane that loaded the bases before Leilua hit a two-run double.
Chilson drew a walk to load the bases once again and Palacios also doubled and drove in two more runs for a 4-0 ASU lead after one inning.
The Sun Devils added one more run on a sac fly from Abby Spiel in the bottom of the second.
A merry-go-round of singles and from ASU and errors from Georgetown in the fourth inning led to eight runs as the Sun Devils batted around the order for what would be the game’s final score, 13-0.