Tempe, Ariz.- The Arizona State softball team (19-5) capped their three-game series against Nebraska with a dominant 6-0 win Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium.
"I think that was a big win against a power-five conference," head coach Trisha Ford said. "I'm very pleased with our approach at the plate. They worked really hard during spring break and worked on some things in the box and I think we executed those things very well."
Senior shortstop, Chelsea Gonzales had an impressive day, going two-for-three with a total of five RBI and one homerun. In the first inning, Gonzales came up with runners on first and second and sent one over the centerfield wall that gave the Sun Devils and early 3-0 lead. In the bottom half of the second, the senior connected on a bases loaded single to left that brought in two more runs, and gave ASU a 5-0 lead.
"Our approach this week was to just be aggressive," Gonzales said. "I worked a lot with coach Roman and coach Ford and I was just trying to be aggressive in my at bats and get good pitches. Also, just having fun out there. These past couple days I've been laughing so much with my teammates. We take things seriously, but also trying to make it fun, and that has helped a lot."
Sophomore, Taylor Becerra was responsible for the final run for ASU as she blasted a single to left that brought in Brynley Steele and locked up the 6-0 victory.
Over the weekend, the ASU offense shined. In three games, the Sun Devils had a total of 28 hits, with 14 of those going for extra bases. Sashel Palacios and Gonzales each recorded one homerun, while Fa Leilua added two. The Sun Devils combined for 25 RBI, and scored 28 run in just 14 innings of play.
Junior, Dale Ryndak, who had been used as a closer in both game one and game two, got the start in the final game of the series. Ryndak was dominate for ASU in the circle in her six innings on the mound as she kept the Husker offense scoreless and gave up only two hits to the 21 batters she faced. Ryndak handed the ball to fellow junior Breanna Macha to close out the seventh.
"Both of them are juniors and they have gone through this a couple of times and they have that confidence," Ford added. "They know what they're entering into. I think they're going to come out and keep us in games in Pac-12. The conference right now, you have four of the teams in the top-10, that's why you play in the PAC though. It's a conference of champions and you want to compete. They're in a good place mentally, and they have the skill set to keep us in a lot of ball games."
The Sun Devils' series against Nebraska wrapped up the majority of the non-conference schedule for the Sun Devils, as ASU will travel to Seattle next weekend to open PAC-12 play against the Washington Huskies. First pitch in the three game tilt against the Huskies is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday night. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.