Tucson, Ariz. – No. 17 Arizona State (24-5, 5-0 Pac-12) shut out its in-state rival No. 14 Arizona (19-9, 1-4 Pac-12) in a run-rule victory over the Wildcats on Saturday evening, 11-0. The Sun Devils combined for 11 hits across five innings, including three home runs in the fifth inning, in an explosive, series-clinching win over Arizona.
In the past two days the Sun Devils have held the Wildcats 20-2 through 12 innings.
"We're putting good swings on the ball, I think they're in a really good place," head coach Trisha Ford said. "Obviously there's a lot of emotions with this series and I think it's a great balance of your emotions and your approach to the plate. I think it there has to be a good balance, tomorrow we'll work our butts off to get another W."
All runs by the Sun Devils were scored while having two outs as Jazmyn Rollin had a three-run home run in the third inning, Yannira Acuña had a double RBI in the fourth, a three-run home run by Jessica Puk and a pair of two-run home runs by Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders in the fifth inning.
Rollin and Sanders are now tied for first on the team with nine home runs.
A night of firsts in Sun Devil Softball history.
It is the first series win in Tucson against the Wildcats for head coach Trisha Ford since she was named head coach in 2016. This is also the first time since April 2, 2010 that ASU has taken down Arizona by 10 or more runs and the first shutout against the Wildcats since April 21, 2011.
Junior and Arizona native Lindsay Lopez pitched all five of the innings to pick up her fourth win of the season as she had no walks throughout the evening. The Wildcats only mustered two hits off Lopez and she struck out three, dropping her ERA on the season to 1.38.
"I thought Lindsay did a great job today, this is one of the best games that she's pitched this year," Coach Ford said. "She's been working hard and staying true to her process and it shows."
After tonight, seven different Sun Devils are slugging above .500%, as they currently lead the Pac-12 in this category.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Arizona State 11, Arizona 0
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow afternoon to conclude their series against the Arizona Wildcats with first pitch at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball from this weekend and the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
STRAIGHT FACTS
SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday 3/25 6:00 p.m. MST – Sun Devils win 9-2
Game 2: Saturday 3/26 5:00 p.m. MST – Sun Devils win 11-0 (5)
Game 3: Sunday 3/27 2:00 p.m. MST Live Stats | Pac-12 Network
In the past two days the Sun Devils have held the Wildcats 20-2 through 12 innings.
"We're putting good swings on the ball, I think they're in a really good place," head coach Trisha Ford said. "Obviously there's a lot of emotions with this series and I think it's a great balance of your emotions and your approach to the plate. I think it there has to be a good balance, tomorrow we'll work our butts off to get another W."
All runs by the Sun Devils were scored while having two outs as Jazmyn Rollin had a three-run home run in the third inning, Yannira Acuña had a double RBI in the fourth, a three-run home run by Jessica Puk and a pair of two-run home runs by Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders in the fifth inning.
Rollin and Sanders are now tied for first on the team with nine home runs.
Her ninth of the season, @JazzyRollin says see ya LATER ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 27, 2022
T3 - ASU 3 | Arizona 0
?? @Pac12Network
?? https://t.co/DqaSVAnDui#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/UApEeGVgVS
WHERE IS THE BALL @SandersCydney?!?!!?!?
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 27, 2022
THINGS HAVE GONE WILD!!!! ??
T5 - ASU 11 | Arizona 0
?? @Pac12Network
?? https://t.co/DqaSVAnDui#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/LfztTltudI
A night of firsts in Sun Devil Softball history.
It is the first series win in Tucson against the Wildcats for head coach Trisha Ford since she was named head coach in 2016. This is also the first time since April 2, 2010 that ASU has taken down Arizona by 10 or more runs and the first shutout against the Wildcats since April 21, 2011.
Junior and Arizona native Lindsay Lopez pitched all five of the innings to pick up her fourth win of the season as she had no walks throughout the evening. The Wildcats only mustered two hits off Lopez and she struck out three, dropping her ERA on the season to 1.38.
"I thought Lindsay did a great job today, this is one of the best games that she's pitched this year," Coach Ford said. "She's been working hard and staying true to her process and it shows."
After tonight, seven different Sun Devils are slugging above .500%, as they currently lead the Pac-12 in this category.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Arizona State 11, Arizona 0
- The Sun Devils had back-to-back singles off of Alynah Torres and Yannira Acuña to get things started early in the top of the first inning, but the Sun Devils hit into a double play to finish the top half of the first inning.
- Lopez struck out two batters in the bottom frame of the first to keep the game scoreless after one.
- Rollin was hit by a pitch to start the second inning followed by a single down the left field line from Makenna Harper. With two outs, Jessica Puk stole second with Harper on third, but both runners were left stranded.
- With two out in the top of the third, Sanders doubled to right field and then advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Next, Jazmine Hill was another victim of hit by a pitch to bring another runner on base for the Sun Devils. Following Hill was Rollin, who homered to center field making it 3-0 for ASU in the top of the third, while earning RBIs off Hill and Sanders.
- Puk had a leadoff walk for the Sun Devils to begin ASU's half of the fourth inning. With two out, Acuña doubled to center field, bringing in Puk, to make it 4-0.
- Harper and pinch hitter Emily Cazares reached base on back-to-back singles with two outs in the top of the fifth. Puk went deep to left center to bring in the second three-run home run for the Sun Devils of the evening to give ASU a 7-0 lead. This is Puk's second homerun of the season.
- Third baseman Bella Loomis doubled to center field, and after this a two-run homer to center field by Torres increased the Sun Devils to 9-0.
- Acuña was hit by a pitch to get on base, and Sanders had a two-run home run to center field, with still two outs in the fifth inning, to boost the lead to 11-0 in the fifth.
- The Wildcats were shut down by Lopez in the final frame as they hit into a double play to end the game via run-rule in favor of the Sun Devils.
A nice little 463 by the squad to end it in five innings. ??#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/z3h5FhcIdN
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 27, 2022
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will return to action tomorrow afternoon to conclude their series against the Arizona Wildcats with first pitch at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball from this weekend and the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
STRAIGHT FACTS
- The Sun Devils are on a 11-game winning streak, which includes sweeps over Oregon State to open conference play, all games in the Sun Devil Classic and two final wins on the road at the Judi Garman Classic.
- Last season, the Sun Devils faced that team down south in a four-game series at Farrington Stadium in April where they took a series win over Arizona as they won three of those four games.
- Jazmyn Rollin, freshman Cydney Sanders and senior Yannira Acuña each have eight home runs this season for ASU, good for a tie for sixth in the conference.
- Mac Morgan's ERA of 1.40 is good for sixth in the conference as she currently leads the team with 11 wins this season.
- In the circle, senior Marissa Schuld not only leads the Sun Devils with a 1.32 ERA, but also has struck out 71 batters while walking just three.
- Yanni Acuña was recognized by D1 Softball as the Week 5 No. 5 Outfielder in the country with a .492 BA, 1.648 OPS, 9 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 25 R, 13 BB, 1.000 FLD%.
- Acuña's batting average ranks 16th overall in the country.
- 1st in the Pac-12 with 44 home runs headed into the series against Arizona.
- 1st in the Pac-12 with a .627 SLG%.
SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday 3/25 6:00 p.m. MST – Sun Devils win 9-2
Game 2: Saturday 3/26 5:00 p.m. MST – Sun Devils win 11-0 (5)
Game 3: Sunday 3/27 2:00 p.m. MST Live Stats | Pac-12 Network