Tempe, Ariz. – Arizona State softball defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 9-1, in a six inning run-rule victory on day three of the 2018 Kajikawa Classic Saturday evening.
Offensively, the Sun Devils got off to a hot start, plating the first runs of the game with a two run shot by sophomore Jade Gortarez to straight away center that brought in Taylor Beccerra and had the Devils up, 2-0, after the first inning.
"G [Juarez] is an up-ball pitcher and those balls tend to go out in Arizona," head coach Trisha Ford said. "It's the nature of the beast, but I think she threw well tonight. I think she threw really well tonight, she's special. She's left-handed, that ball was dancing, she did a great job."
In the bottom of the fifth, junior Morgan Howe drew a walk and eventually scored on a sacrifice-fly by senior Marisa Stankiewicz, pushing ASU to a four-run cushion heading to the sixth inning.
Sun Devils wouldn't let up, scoring four more runs to secure the ASU victory. With the bases loaded, a single up the middle by Howe, and another Notre Dame fielding error, brought in two runs for ASU bringing junior Fa Leilua to the plate with runners at second and third. A hard hit ball to shortstop brought in one run, and heads up base running by Howe on a wild-pitch sealed the run-rule victory.
"I think we did a good job at the plate," Ford added. "That pitcher was very good. She had a good up ball, good down ball, and a good change up. I think we just did a good job at getting good pitches. She had to come into that zone. I think we did a great job at being discipline and hitting balls we could drive."
The Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow to close out the 2018 Kajikawa Classic with a double header against Indiana and Saint Mary's. Game one against the Hoosiers is set for 11:30 a.m. while the Sun Devils' matchup against the Gales is slated for 4:30 p.m. AZT. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
Offensively, the Sun Devils got off to a hot start, plating the first runs of the game with a two run shot by sophomore Jade Gortarez to straight away center that brought in Taylor Beccerra and had the Devils up, 2-0, after the first inning.
Starting pitcher G Juarez was lights out again for ASU, this time carrying a no-hit bid through the first three innings of play. The sophomore racked up seven strikeouts before giving up just one run on a fourth inning long ball that stood as the Irish's lone score of the game. Aside from the home run, Juarez stayed dominant through her six innings in the circle. In 23 batters faced, the left-handed pitcher allowed just three hits and one earned run, while recording 10 strikeouts and giving up one walk.E1 | Two-run ??to put your team up by two?
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 11, 2018
Just another day for @jade_g_15 ?????
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"G [Juarez] is an up-ball pitcher and those balls tend to go out in Arizona," head coach Trisha Ford said. "It's the nature of the beast, but I think she threw well tonight. I think she threw really well tonight, she's special. She's left-handed, that ball was dancing, she did a great job."
Arizona State answered right back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the frame. A walk, followed by a double off the left field wall by freshman Danielle Gibson put runners on second and third with one out. A Notre Dame wild pitch and error would bring in both runners making the score 4-1 after four innings of play.M2 | ?????@ggotgame45 is rackin' up the K's through two. Irish get two on with two outs, but G notched BACK-TO-BACK strikeouts to end the inning. pic.twitter.com/muKEB85fRZ
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 11, 2018
In the bottom of the fifth, junior Morgan Howe drew a walk and eventually scored on a sacrifice-fly by senior Marisa Stankiewicz, pushing ASU to a four-run cushion heading to the sixth inning.
Sun Devils wouldn't let up, scoring four more runs to secure the ASU victory. With the bases loaded, a single up the middle by Howe, and another Notre Dame fielding error, brought in two runs for ASU bringing junior Fa Leilua to the plate with runners at second and third. A hard hit ball to shortstop brought in one run, and heads up base running by Howe on a wild-pitch sealed the run-rule victory.
"I think we did a good job at the plate," Ford added. "That pitcher was very good. She had a good up ball, good down ball, and a good change up. I think we just did a good job at getting good pitches. She had to come into that zone. I think we did a great job at being discipline and hitting balls we could drive."
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— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 11, 2018
The Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow to close out the 2018 Kajikawa Classic with a double header against Indiana and Saint Mary's. Game one against the Hoosiers is set for 11:30 a.m. while the Sun Devils' matchup against the Gales is slated for 4:30 p.m. AZT. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.