TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State softball extended their streak to three wins to open the 2017 season with a 3-0 victory over Purdue on Friday evening at Farrington Stadium.
Following two dominant outings from returning pitchers Dale Ryndak and Breanna Macha, head coach Trisha Ford called on Alyssa Loza to make her collegiate debut. The freshman from Torrance, Calif., made the most of her first appearance, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out five before being replaced by Macha in the sixth.
ASU (3-0) struck first in their third game of seven this weekend, as Skylar McCarty reached on an error that scored Breena Wise to put the Sun Devils up 1-0 after three.
Arizona State struck again in the home half of the fourth, combining for two runs on four hits to extend the lead to 3-0 heading to the fifth.
The Sun Devils found themselves in a jam in the top of the sixth, as Purdue worked the bases loaded with no outs. Macha responded in a big way, stacking up back-to-back strikeouts leading to a groundout to end the Boilermakers' threat. Macha returned to pitch in the seventh frame, allowing a base runner with one out, but came back to rack up two-straight outs to seal the victory for the Devils and earn her first save of the season.
Arizona State will be back in action for the second game of Friday's doubleheader against San Diego at 7:00 p.m. AZT. A full recap of tonights' games will follow at the conclusion of that contest.
Following two dominant outings from returning pitchers Dale Ryndak and Breanna Macha, head coach Trisha Ford called on Alyssa Loza to make her collegiate debut. The freshman from Torrance, Calif., made the most of her first appearance, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out five before being replaced by Macha in the sixth.
ASU (3-0) struck first in their third game of seven this weekend, as Skylar McCarty reached on an error that scored Breena Wise to put the Sun Devils up 1-0 after three.
Arizona State struck again in the home half of the fourth, combining for two runs on four hits to extend the lead to 3-0 heading to the fifth.
The Sun Devils found themselves in a jam in the top of the sixth, as Purdue worked the bases loaded with no outs. Macha responded in a big way, stacking up back-to-back strikeouts leading to a groundout to end the Boilermakers' threat. Macha returned to pitch in the seventh frame, allowing a base runner with one out, but came back to rack up two-straight outs to seal the victory for the Devils and earn her first save of the season.
Arizona State will be back in action for the second game of Friday's doubleheader against San Diego at 7:00 p.m. AZT. A full recap of tonights' games will follow at the conclusion of that contest.