TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 22 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils battled hard, but fell, 3-4, to No. 10 UCLA Thursday night in game one of the three-game series.
Junior pitcher, Breanna Macha, made the start in game one, but it was freshman, Alyssa Loza, who took over in the top of the fourth inning to earn the decision.
Macha's performance started strong as she was able to hold the Bruins scoreless in the first two innings of play. Despite the Bruins offense moving runners to third in both the second and third inning, Macha and the Sun Devil defense were able to fight back to hold UCLA off the board early.
In the top of the third, a pair of base hits plated the first two runs of the game for the Bruins, and a home run in the fourth gave UCLA a three-run lead over ASU heading into the home half of the fourth.
In the bottom of the frame, ASU rallied back tying the game up at three-all. Senior, Sashel Palacios, ignited the Sun Devil offense with a single to center field that would plate Taylor Becerra with just one away in the inning. Just one batter latter, with runners on second and third, sophomore Fa Leilua came up clutch and hit a rocket down the left field line bringing in two more runs for the Sun Devils pulling the score to 3-3 heading to the fifth.
Loza continued to dominant in the fifth and sixth innings as she kept the Bruin offense quiet in both frames, but a home run in the seventh put UCLA up by one run, which would be the deciding hit in the loss for the Sun Devils.
ASU will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the top-25 matchup. Friday's game is slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch, and will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter by following @ASUSoftball.
Junior pitcher, Breanna Macha, made the start in game one, but it was freshman, Alyssa Loza, who took over in the top of the fourth inning to earn the decision.
Macha's performance started strong as she was able to hold the Bruins scoreless in the first two innings of play. Despite the Bruins offense moving runners to third in both the second and third inning, Macha and the Sun Devil defense were able to fight back to hold UCLA off the board early.
In the top of the third, a pair of base hits plated the first two runs of the game for the Bruins, and a home run in the fourth gave UCLA a three-run lead over ASU heading into the home half of the fourth.
In the bottom of the frame, ASU rallied back tying the game up at three-all. Senior, Sashel Palacios, ignited the Sun Devil offense with a single to center field that would plate Taylor Becerra with just one away in the inning. Just one batter latter, with runners on second and third, sophomore Fa Leilua came up clutch and hit a rocket down the left field line bringing in two more runs for the Sun Devils pulling the score to 3-3 heading to the fifth.
E4: The Sun Devils tie it up with 3 runs in the 4th! Check out how it happened. pic.twitter.com/jiExDTZLGU
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) May 12, 2017
Loza continued to dominant in the fifth and sixth innings as she kept the Bruin offense quiet in both frames, but a home run in the seventh put UCLA up by one run, which would be the deciding hit in the loss for the Sun Devils.
ASU will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the top-25 matchup. Friday's game is slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch, and will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter by following @ASUSoftball.