In the final tune-up before Pac-10 play, the ASU softball team proved once again that its lineup is stacked with talented hitters from top to bottom.
Behind three run-rule performances, the No. 5 Sun Devils (33-2) swept the weekend series against UC Santa Barbara.
ASU handed the Gauchos (12-14) an 8-0 loss on Friday before a dominating 11-3 win on Saturday night and an easy 9-1 victory on Sunday.
The Sun Devils plated 28 runs in the series and now have 21 run-rule wins this season.
In each of the three contests, there was a new hero for the Sun Devils at the plate.
“One through nine doesn’t give us justice,” senior catcher Lacy Goodman said. “We’re good one through 25 or however many girls we have. Anybody can be the hero. Given the opportunity, you’ve got to be ready and all of us are good in that position.”
On Friday night, it was freshman pitcher Dallas Escobedo who started in the circle.
Escobedo turned in another strong outing as she tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out nine Gauchos and lowering her season ERA to 1.25
After a six run second inning, junior right fielder Annie Lockwood provided more high-powered hitting in the fourth. With a 2-0 count, Lockwood drove the next offering over the center field fence for her sixth home run of the season.
After a rough performance at the plate the weekend before, Lockwood was thrilled to find her swing.
“I went into that game feeling really comfortable,” Lockwood said. “I tried to slow everything down, really see good pitches and swing at those good pitches and not let them go.”
In Saturday’s Pink-Out matchup, the Sun Devils got off to a less than stellar start in the early innings.
A pair of errors and quiet ASU bats allowed the Gauchos to jump out to a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
That’s when everything took a dramatic turn. The Sun Devils showcased their offensive firepower by exploding for 10 runs.
Senior third baseman Krista Donnenwirth launched her fourth home run of the season, a two run shot to left field that knotted the score at 3-3.
Then senior first baseman Mandy Urfer continued the hit parade with a grand slam that pushed ASU’s lead to 7-3. Donnenwirth would strike again, this time with a three RBI double later in the inning.
In the fifth inning alone, Donnenwirth notched five RBIs.
On the verge of yet another run-rule win, freshman outfielder Alix Johnson laced an RBI single to left field to seal the 11-3 victory.
In Sunday’s weekend finale, junior Hillary Bach got her 11th start of the season.
Bach squeezed out of a jam in the opening inning by striking out UCSB sophomore Keilani Jennings and retiring senior Jessica Beristianos on a lineout.
She would go on to scatter six hits over five innings to earn her ninth win of the season.
The hot hitting continued for ASU as senior center fielder Lesley Rogers launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first.
UCSB would respond with a solo home run of its own off the bat of freshman Kendall Gill in the top of the second.
In the bottom of the second, Goodman launched a shot over the scoreboard in left field for her second grand slam of the season.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lockwood smacked an RBI single down the third base line to score ASU’s eighth run and seal the run-rule win.
Behind explosive hitting, the Sun Devils accomplished what they set out to do in the final weekend of non-conference play.
“I told them I was pleased with the first third of the season,” ASU coach Clint Myers said. “Now we’ve got to go and we’ve got to take care of business. Every game has a significant meaning. Everybody is pretty much understanding their roles, and now we’ve got to go out and perform those roles.”
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu
