Even the most high-powered lineup is no match for great pitching.
In game one of three against No. 2 Oregon (33-5, 11-2 Pac-12), No. 19 ASU softball (27-13, 5-4 Pac-12) lost by a margin of 7-0 in what was a pitchers' duel through the first 4.5 innings.
Freshman Breanna Macha (12-7) took the circle for the Sun Devils and pitched four fantastic frames before a fifth in which she gave up a grand slam and a solo home run. Junior Alexis Cooper relieved Macha with one out in that fifth inning.
On the other side, junior Cheridan Hawkins (17-3) pitched for the Ducks and retired the first 10 batters she faced en route to a complete game victory where she gave up only two total hits.
Oregon struck first in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a fielder's choice, getting out to an early 1-0 advantage over ASU.
In the top of the fourth, the Sun Devils got their first baserunner of the game after starting 0-for-10, but couldn't cash in with that runner in scoring position and senior catcher Amber Freeman up to bat.
The Ducks didn't get a hit off of Macha until the fourth inning, one where they failed to score any additional runs to pad their lead.
The fifth inning told a far different story for Oregon, however, as junior catcher Janelle Lindvall crushed a grand slam to left to give the Ducks a 5-0 lead.
Later in the inning, junior Koral Costa smacked a solo shot of her own to center to put Oregon up 6-0 before Cooper came in for ASU to try and clean up the mess. She did just that, and got out of the inning without giving up another score.
ASU got its first hit of the game in the top of the fifth in the form of a double down the right field line by junior second baseman Nikki Girard, but couldn't get anything else going as Hawkins locked in and retired three consecutive Sun Devil batters.
Freshman utility player Gwen Svekis led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to give Oregon a 7-0 lead, but ASU stayed alive and didn't allow another run that would have ended this game one inning early.
Sophomore shortstop Chelsea Gonzales started off the seventh with a powerful double of her own, but once again ASU could not capitalize as it fell by a final of 7-0.
Game two of the series will be played Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Eugene.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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