If ASU softball was getting tired of their "winless on the road" narrative, it became clear very early in their first away game after 10 days off.
The No. 23 Sun Devils finally picked up their first road win of the season in dominant fashion, taking down the last-place Stanford Cardinal by a tally of 10-0 in five innings Thursday evening in Palo Alto, California.
This was just the fifth time all season ASU (24-12, 3-7 Pac-12) scored in double digits, the most recent of which coming against Oregon State.
The Sun Devils were in control from the very beginning, building a 6-0 advantage before the game's second out was recorded. Those six first-inning runs came on RBI base hits by redshirt junior third baseman Marisa Stankiewicz and senior shortstop Chelsea Gonzales, coupled with a trio of bases-loaded walks.
Chelsea Gonzales knocks in a run to put the Sun Devils on the board!
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 13, 2017
Watch: https://t.co/qcjjBLiDnV https://t.co/vspftezGOl
Sophomore infielder Taylor Becerra – who had initially recorded the lone out to start the game – tacked on the sixth run with an RBI single before sophomore centerfielder Skylar McCarty grounded into an inning-ending double play.
From there, it was junior pitcher Breanna Macha's (9-5, 1.65 ERA) game to lose, and she remained in complete control after retiring three of the first four batters she faced in the bottom of the first. She ended the game having gone for a complete-game shutout with three strikeouts and three hits allowed.
In the following inning, the Sun Devils tacked on four more runs to increase their advantage to 10 on two-run bombs by both Gonzales and freshman catcher Margaret Stahm.
ASU and Stanford will face off again Friday at 5 p.m. in the second game of their three-game series.
Reach the reporter at jeff.griffith21@asu.edu or follow @Jeff_Griffith21 on Twitter.
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