Stanford, Calif. -- The 23rd- ranked Sun Devil softball team completed their series sweep of Stanford Saturday with a, 7-4, win over the Cardinal at the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium.
Both offenses were held dormant through the first two innings of play, but it was the Sun Devils who would strike first in the top of the third when Marisa Stankiewicz drew a bases loaded walk to put ASU up, 1-0. Fa Leilua would tack on two more in the very next ASU at-bat, looping an infield double down the first base line that brought in two more runs, making it a 3-0 Sun Devil lead heading to the fourth.
The Cardinal would answer back with an RBI double in the fifth to make it a 3-1 game. With neither team able to plate a run in the sixth, the game headed to the seventh with ASU still holding a two-run lead.
The Sun Devils added an insurance run in the top-half of the seventh when a throwing error by the Stanford infield allowed Taylor Becerra to come in for her second run of the game, but that would be all the ASU offense could muster.
Following back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the seventh, Stanford would tie the game at four with a three run blast to right-center.
Both teams battled in the eighth, but neither could produce the game-winning run, sending the game to the ninth still even at four-all. The game would not stay tied for long, however, as senior Chelsea Gonzales connected on her team-leading 10th home run of the season to seal ASU's, 7-4, win.
Through the three-games this weekend, Arizona State out-hit the Cardinal, 34-10, including five home runs. In the circle, the Sun Devils combined for a 1.84 ERA, giving up just five runs and tallied 10 strikeouts in the three-game set.
The No. 23 Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend at Farrington Stadium with a three-gam series against the 15th- ranked Utah Utes with game one scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. Fans can stay up to date with ASU softball by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
Both offenses were held dormant through the first two innings of play, but it was the Sun Devils who would strike first in the top of the third when Marisa Stankiewicz drew a bases loaded walk to put ASU up, 1-0. Fa Leilua would tack on two more in the very next ASU at-bat, looping an infield double down the first base line that brought in two more runs, making it a 3-0 Sun Devil lead heading to the fourth.
The Cardinal would answer back with an RBI double in the fifth to make it a 3-1 game. With neither team able to plate a run in the sixth, the game headed to the seventh with ASU still holding a two-run lead.
The Sun Devils added an insurance run in the top-half of the seventh when a throwing error by the Stanford infield allowed Taylor Becerra to come in for her second run of the game, but that would be all the ASU offense could muster.
Following back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the seventh, Stanford would tie the game at four with a three run blast to right-center.
Both teams battled in the eighth, but neither could produce the game-winning run, sending the game to the ninth still even at four-all. The game would not stay tied for long, however, as senior Chelsea Gonzales connected on her team-leading 10th home run of the season to seal ASU's, 7-4, win.
Through the three-games this weekend, Arizona State out-hit the Cardinal, 34-10, including five home runs. In the circle, the Sun Devils combined for a 1.84 ERA, giving up just five runs and tallied 10 strikeouts in the three-game set.
The No. 23 Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend at Farrington Stadium with a three-gam series against the 15th- ranked Utah Utes with game one scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. Fans can stay up to date with ASU softball by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.