TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 21 Arizona State softball (25-12, 5-5) team fell to No. 1 UCLA, 10-0, in the series opener Friday night at Farrington Stadium.
UCLA got off to a hot start, plating two runs in the top of the first inning.
With ASU unable to answer back in the home-half, junior Samantha Mejia fended off the Bruins in the top of the second frame, holding the visitors scoreless and carding a pair of strikeouts in the frame.
Following another quiet inning from the Sun Devils, the Bruins broke things open in the third, bringing in four runs and pushing the lead to 6-0.
Kindra Hackbarth attempted to chip away at the Bruins' lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when she launched a line-drive to the left field wall, but the UCLA defender made an incredible play to hold the speedy Hackbarth off the base path.
Two batters later senior Morgan Howe looked to get the offense started, shooting a single through the right-side. Following Howe's hit, Jade Gortarez reached safely on a throwing error from the Bruins, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs. Unfortunately, the maroon and gold would be held off the board as the Bruins came up with a groundout to end the inning.
UCLA extended their lead to 10-0 in the top of the fifth, bringing the Sun Devils back to the plate looking to get the offense going.
DeNae Chatman got things started with a double to right field, but it wouldn't be enough to spark the rally as the Bruins would again turn the Sun Devils away, and securing the shutout victory.
ASU will be back in action on Saturday for game two of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT, with ESPN2 set to broadcast the top-25 matchup. Fans can follow all of the action from the rest of the weekend series, as well as the remainder of the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
UCLA got off to a hot start, plating two runs in the top of the first inning.
With ASU unable to answer back in the home-half, junior Samantha Mejia fended off the Bruins in the top of the second frame, holding the visitors scoreless and carding a pair of strikeouts in the frame.
Following another quiet inning from the Sun Devils, the Bruins broke things open in the third, bringing in four runs and pushing the lead to 6-0.
Kindra Hackbarth attempted to chip away at the Bruins' lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when she launched a line-drive to the left field wall, but the UCLA defender made an incredible play to hold the speedy Hackbarth off the base path.
Two batters later senior Morgan Howe looked to get the offense started, shooting a single through the right-side. Following Howe's hit, Jade Gortarez reached safely on a throwing error from the Bruins, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs. Unfortunately, the maroon and gold would be held off the board as the Bruins came up with a groundout to end the inning.
UCLA extended their lead to 10-0 in the top of the fifth, bringing the Sun Devils back to the plate looking to get the offense going.
DeNae Chatman got things started with a double to right field, but it wouldn't be enough to spark the rally as the Bruins would again turn the Sun Devils away, and securing the shutout victory.
ASU will be back in action on Saturday for game two of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT, with ESPN2 set to broadcast the top-25 matchup. Fans can follow all of the action from the rest of the weekend series, as well as the remainder of the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.