Tempe, Ariz.- The 21st- ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (18-5), powered by a 10-run second inning, defeated Nebraska in five innings on Saturday night in game two of the three-game series between the two teams at Farrington Stadium.
"We come out every day and we expect to win and we have to play to win," head coach Trish Ford said. "Nebraska came out today ready to go and scored in the first inning, and we came back and punched back. I expect that tomorrow. I think game three is going to be huge for us. Beating a team three times in three games is a pretty hard task."
Offensively, the Sun Devils attacked in the second inning as they scored 10-runs on seven-hits. ASU entered the bottom of the inning trailing, 1-0, until sophomore, Fa Leilua launched a three-run homerun over the centerfield wall to put the Sun Devils up 3-1. Freshman, Randi Farricker followed Leilua with a double that plated two more for the Sun Devils, giving them a four-run lead.
The ASU offensive onslaught continued, as the Sun Devils' senior class plated the next five-runs. Chelsea Gonzales and Sashel Palacios each recorded RBIs, while Palacios would pick up her seventh run of the season, on a wild pitch that extended the ASU lead to 9-1. Margaret Stahm brought in the final run of the frame on a ground ball that brought in Marisa Stankiewicz.
"The energy was high and we try to keep it as high as possible," Leilua said. "We wanted to keep that momentum from the first inning all the way to the last and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. It's very important for us to get our minds right, especially with conference coming up next weekend."
The pitching staff for the Sun Devils had another phenomenal night in the circle. Freshman Giselle Juarez made the start for ASU in the matchup before handing the game over to junior Dale Ryndak, in the top of the fourth. Nebraska threatened early with a homerun in the first that gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead, but the ASU pitching staff kept the Husker offense quiet the remainder of the game. The two pitchers, combined, threw a total of just 72 pitches, giving up just three hits and one earned run to the Nebraska offense.
Arizona State will look for the series sweep against Nebraska in game three of the series Sunday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. AZT at Farrington Stadium. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.