Tempe, Ariz.- The 21st- ranked Arizona State softball team claimed their first Pac-12 series win in dominant fashion with a 11-0 run-rule victory over Oregon State in five innings on Sunday night at Farrington Stadium. The Sun Devils had a phenomenal offensive outing against OSU, matching a season-high 12 hits, that included a season-high of five home runs.
ASU (23-8, 2-3) opened the flood gates early when they put up a four-spot in the bottom half of the first inning. Senior Chelsea Gonzales led things off for the Sun Devils with a three-run home run that gave ASU an early lead over the Beavers. Sashel Palacios followed the next at bat with another home run over the centerfield wall that put ASU up 4-0 heading into the top of the second.
In the third inning, Margaret Stahm and Marisa Stankiewicz added a pair of back-to-back home runs for the Sun Devils, pushing the ASU lead to 7-0 heading to the fourth inning.
"We're taking it one pitch at a time," head coach Trisha Ford said. "As cliché as that sounds, winning the moment has really been our mindset since we took over. Being in the present, and not worrying about the hustle and bustle that's around. Worry about our bubble. I think they're doing a good job at worrying about our own bubble, who's in our dugout and worrying about how we can take care of business. Everything else will take care of itself."
Senior, Sashel Palacios had a night of her own as she went three for four with two home runs, a single, and a career-high six RBI. The senior followed Gonzales's first inning home run with a solo shot that put the Sun Devils up 4-0 in the bottom of the first. Palacios also had a single that plated another Sun Devil and a walk-off grand slam to close out game two with a final score of 11-0 in five innings.
"I'm seeing the ball really well right now and I think it's a credit to all the hard work we're doing in practice," said Sashel Palacios. "This is the most prepared I've felt going into a Pac-12 series so zoning in and staying aggressive is huge for me."
In her 11th- appearance as a Sun Devil, G Juarez had another strong outing in the circle, throwing a five-inning shutout against Oregon State and recording her fourth win of the season. In the five innings of play, Juarez faced 21 batters, giving up just four hits, while adding four strike outs and only two walks allowed.
"This is fun," said Sashel Palacios. "Being aggressive, hitting home runs, and throwing a great game in the circle is fun. We're at home so we just need to rebound, refocus and come out tomorrow with more energy than we did tonight."
"I think every game is important for us," said coach Ford. "Tomorrow is a very, very important game and obviously being at home being in front of our fans, it's our comfort so tomorrow is huge for us. You just don't know what's going to happen down the road and what tomorrow's going to bring so we just need to focus on controlling what we can control."
Arizona State will look to sweep OSU in game three of the series on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday's game will also be televised on the Pac-12 Network. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 season by following the team on Twitter at @ASUSoftball.