TEMPE, Ariz. -- Following a midweek sweep of New Mexico State, the 21st- ranked Arizona State softball team built on their momentum, picking up their eighth run-rule victory of the season with an 8-0 victory over Pac-12 foe Oregon State Saturday afternoon at Farrington Stadium.
Longballs were the name of the game for the Sun Devils, as they knocked a season-high four on the afternoon, the first time since connecting on four homers since their matchup against the University of California, Berkeley in 2016.
Sophomore Fa Leilua mashed a triple to center field to get things started for ASU with one out in the bottom of the second inning, setting the table for Marisa Stankiewicz. The redshirt junior roped the second pitch of her at-bat into left center for a two-bagger that scored Leilua and gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead.
Arizona State would put two on the board in both the third and fourth innings by way of a two-run home run by both Chelsea Gonzales and Stankiewicz, giving the ASU a 5-0 advantage over the Beavers. For Gonzales, the homer marked her 164th career RBI, leaving her just one shy of moving into eighth place in school history in career RBI.
The Devils would cross the plate again in the home half of the fifth inning using back-to-back home runs by senior Sashel Palacios, her third-straight game with a dinger, and junior Brynley Steele. With her home run, Palacios has also reached base in 13 consecutive games for the Maroon and Gold.
For the fifth-straight inning, ASU would score a run when Stankiewicz sent a double into right field for her third hit of the afternoon, her first three-hit game of the season. Stankiewicz would move to third off a single by freshman Brianna Wise, and would use heads up base running to cross the plate when sophomore Taylor Becerra put a ball in play, far enough to score Stankiewicz from third, securing the run-rule victory.
Starting in the circle for the 11th time this season was junior Breanna Macha, who tossed another complete-game gem. The Mesa-native scattered four hits across six innings of work, keeping the Beavers off the board for her third shutout of the season. Macha neutralized the Beaver bats for the entire matchup, retiring eight of the final 10 batters she faced while inducing 12 ground outs on the day.
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow in game two against Oregon State. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on Pac-12 Network. Fans can also follow all of the action on Twitter by following @ASUSoftball.
Longballs were the name of the game for the Sun Devils, as they knocked a season-high four on the afternoon, the first time since connecting on four homers since their matchup against the University of California, Berkeley in 2016.
Sophomore Fa Leilua mashed a triple to center field to get things started for ASU with one out in the bottom of the second inning, setting the table for Marisa Stankiewicz. The redshirt junior roped the second pitch of her at-bat into left center for a two-bagger that scored Leilua and gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead.
Arizona State would put two on the board in both the third and fourth innings by way of a two-run home run by both Chelsea Gonzales and Stankiewicz, giving the ASU a 5-0 advantage over the Beavers. For Gonzales, the homer marked her 164th career RBI, leaving her just one shy of moving into eighth place in school history in career RBI.
The Devils would cross the plate again in the home half of the fifth inning using back-to-back home runs by senior Sashel Palacios, her third-straight game with a dinger, and junior Brynley Steele. With her home run, Palacios has also reached base in 13 consecutive games for the Maroon and Gold.
For the fifth-straight inning, ASU would score a run when Stankiewicz sent a double into right field for her third hit of the afternoon, her first three-hit game of the season. Stankiewicz would move to third off a single by freshman Brianna Wise, and would use heads up base running to cross the plate when sophomore Taylor Becerra put a ball in play, far enough to score Stankiewicz from third, securing the run-rule victory.
Starting in the circle for the 11th time this season was junior Breanna Macha, who tossed another complete-game gem. The Mesa-native scattered four hits across six innings of work, keeping the Beavers off the board for her third shutout of the season. Macha neutralized the Beaver bats for the entire matchup, retiring eight of the final 10 batters she faced while inducing 12 ground outs on the day.
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow in game two against Oregon State. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on Pac-12 Network. Fans can also follow all of the action on Twitter by following @ASUSoftball.