After Friday's game, when the No. 2 ASU softball team stranded eight runners on base, it started Saturday's matchup in a similar fashion
Through the first two innings, ASU left three runners on the bases against No. 12 UCLA (24-5, 1-1 Pac-12). Then the offense poured it on, and ASU earned its first Pac-12 victory of the season.
The Sun Devils (30-3, 1-1 Pac-12) outscored UCLA 10-3 behind 11 hits and nine walks in a seven inning affair.
ASU tallied four runs in an explosive third inning. UCLA was forced to switch pitchers for the first time in the third. It did not matter which pitcher ASU was facing.
Neither UCLA sophomore pitcher Ally Carda nor junior pitcher Jessica Hall could control ASU at the plate.
Carda (15-3) came into relief Friday and picked up the win for UCLA in the first game of the series.
On Saturday, ASU’s hitters figured her out.
Carda was tagged with seven earned runs in four innings on the mound. Half of the batters Carda faced walked or earned a hit off her.
In the fourth inning, sophomore catcher Amber Freeman blew the game open with a three-run homer off Hall, putting ASU comfortably ahead 7-1.
ASU added to its lead in the fifth and sixth innings. Freshman pinch runner Allie Butterfield scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and ASU picked up two additional runs in the sixth.
ASU nearly picked up the win in a mercy-rule decision in the sixth inning. UCLA had other thoughts and its first three hitters reached base. UCLA pulled to within 10-3 in the inning after scoring two runs, but it only delayed their eventual defeat by an inning.
Of ASU’s 11 hits, only two went for extra bases. Junior pitcher Mackenzie Popescue (14-0) earned the win, though her ERA (1.03) climbed above one for the first time all season.
The rubber game of the series is at 12 p.m. on Sunday. Junior pitcher Dallas Escobedo is the probable starter on the mound while UCLA will likely counter with either Hall or Carda.
UCLA has started a third pitcher, freshman Paige McDuffee, but she hasn’t pitched in a game since March 2.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Janssen@asu.edu
