Palo Alto, Calif. -- Arizona State softball snapped a nine-game slide Friday evening with a 10-4 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the first of three-games at Smith Family stadium.
In the circle, redshirt-junior Cielo Meza picked up her third win of the season, throwing five innings and allowing just two earned runs. The right-hander struck out seven of the 22 batters she faced. At the plate, three Sun Devils hit home runs, including DeNae Chatman who launched a pair of long balls pushing the season total to 72 on the season.
With neither team able to score in the first, it was the Cardinal that plated the game's first run on a throwing error in the bottom of the second.
Following a quiet third, ASU would answer back with a solo shot off the bat of DeNae Chatman in the top of the fourth to make it a 1-1 game.
The Sun Devil offense came to life in the top of the sixth inning, scoring five runs on three hits, including Yannira Acuña's first collegiate grand slam, making it a 6-1 Sun Devil lead heading to the home half of the frame.
The Cardinal offense would not go quietly, scratching in three runs in the home-half, making it a two run game with an inning to play.
Looking to create a little separation in the top of the seventh, the Sun Devil offense got back to work in the final frame. Senior Morgan Howe got things going with a one out walk, before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a throwing error. She would be brought in just two batters late when Maddi Hackbarth reached on an error.
With a runner on, Chatman launched her second home run of the evening, this time a shot to left-center that pushed the score to 9-4. Looking to keep the offense rolling, Bella Loomis turned on one, shooting it over the wall in straightaway center to make it a 10-4 ASU lead.
With the Cardinal unable to respond in the home half of the frame, the Sun Devils picked up their 26th- win of the season, and sixth Pac-12 victory in 2019.
The Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the three-game set against the Cardinal. First pitch in Saturday's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT, and will be streamed live on Stanford Live Stream-2. Fans can also follow all of the action from the remainder of the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
In the circle, redshirt-junior Cielo Meza picked up her third win of the season, throwing five innings and allowing just two earned runs. The right-hander struck out seven of the 22 batters she faced. At the plate, three Sun Devils hit home runs, including DeNae Chatman who launched a pair of long balls pushing the season total to 72 on the season.
With neither team able to score in the first, it was the Cardinal that plated the game's first run on a throwing error in the bottom of the second.
Following a quiet third, ASU would answer back with a solo shot off the bat of DeNae Chatman in the top of the fourth to make it a 1-1 game.
The Sun Devil offense came to life in the top of the sixth inning, scoring five runs on three hits, including Yannira Acuña's first collegiate grand slam, making it a 6-1 Sun Devil lead heading to the home half of the frame.
The Cardinal offense would not go quietly, scratching in three runs in the home-half, making it a two run game with an inning to play.
Looking to create a little separation in the top of the seventh, the Sun Devil offense got back to work in the final frame. Senior Morgan Howe got things going with a one out walk, before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a throwing error. She would be brought in just two batters late when Maddi Hackbarth reached on an error.
With a runner on, Chatman launched her second home run of the evening, this time a shot to left-center that pushed the score to 9-4. Looking to keep the offense rolling, Bella Loomis turned on one, shooting it over the wall in straightaway center to make it a 10-4 ASU lead.
With the Cardinal unable to respond in the home half of the frame, the Sun Devils picked up their 26th- win of the season, and sixth Pac-12 victory in 2019.
The Sun Devils will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the three-game set against the Cardinal. First pitch in Saturday's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT, and will be streamed live on Stanford Live Stream-2. Fans can also follow all of the action from the remainder of the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.