Cathedral City, Calif. -- The 17th- ranked Arizona State softball team improved to 12-2 on the season with a 6-0 shutout victory over the Liberty Flames Saturday night in the Sun Devil's fourth game of the 2018 Mary Nutter Classic.
Sophomore G Juarez threw another masterful game in the Sun Devil victory, notching ten strikeouts in her seven innings of work. The southpaw kept the Flames off balance all game, allowing just six total base runners in the game. With her ten strikeouts in tonight's outing, Juarez has now amassed 57 strikeouts in just 40 innings pitched this season.
The Sun Devil offense got started early as catcher Maddi Hackbarth launched a two-run blast down the left line in just the first half-inning, giving ASU an early 2-0 lead.
After being held off the bard in back-to-back innings, the Sun Devil offense struck again in the fourth inning when freshman Danielle Gibson blasted another long ball to straight away center to extend Arizona State's lead to 3-0.
With neither team able to crack the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth innings, the Sun Devils pulled away with a three-run top of the seventh to close the game. Kindra Hackbarth got things started with a two-RBI double down the third base line that scored Taylor Becerra and Skylar McCarty, before Jade Gortarez dropped down a perfect RBI bunt-single that brought in the game's final run.
With Saturday's win, the Sun Devils have now recorded three-shutout victories on the year, their last coming against San Diego (7-0) to close out the 2018 Littlewood Classic last Sunday.
ASU will be back in action in their final game of the 2018 Mary Nutter Classic tomorrow when they take on Cal State Fullerton. First pitch in Sunday's contest is scheduled for 3:00 MST and will be streamed live through FloSoftball. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
Sophomore G Juarez threw another masterful game in the Sun Devil victory, notching ten strikeouts in her seven innings of work. The southpaw kept the Flames off balance all game, allowing just six total base runners in the game. With her ten strikeouts in tonight's outing, Juarez has now amassed 57 strikeouts in just 40 innings pitched this season.
The Sun Devil offense got started early as catcher Maddi Hackbarth launched a two-run blast down the left line in just the first half-inning, giving ASU an early 2-0 lead.
After being held off the bard in back-to-back innings, the Sun Devil offense struck again in the fourth inning when freshman Danielle Gibson blasted another long ball to straight away center to extend Arizona State's lead to 3-0.
With neither team able to crack the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth innings, the Sun Devils pulled away with a three-run top of the seventh to close the game. Kindra Hackbarth got things started with a two-RBI double down the third base line that scored Taylor Becerra and Skylar McCarty, before Jade Gortarez dropped down a perfect RBI bunt-single that brought in the game's final run.
With Saturday's win, the Sun Devils have now recorded three-shutout victories on the year, their last coming against San Diego (7-0) to close out the 2018 Littlewood Classic last Sunday.
ASU will be back in action in their final game of the 2018 Mary Nutter Classic tomorrow when they take on Cal State Fullerton. First pitch in Sunday's contest is scheduled for 3:00 MST and will be streamed live through FloSoftball. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.