Feb. 9, 2006
Tempe, Ariz. - The 2006 Arizona State Softball Team showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with this season as they shutout the Utah State Aggies 8-0 in six innings on opening night at Farrington Stadium.
The night started off with a tribute to Sun Devil Athletic legend Bill Kajikawa, who the team presented with his own ASU Softball jersey in a ceremony dedicated to celebrating his contributions to ASU Athletics.
After that, it was all Desiree Serrano and the red-hot bats of the Devils doing the talking.
The Sun Devil defense was given an easy night as Desiree Serrano was only one walked batter from pitching a perfect game.
Serrano almost single-handedly shut down the Aggies bats as she tacked up 14 strikeouts on the night, where at one point she had eight K's in a row and only allowed more than three batters up for Utah State in the first inning as she settled in.
Her fellow Devils didn't let her down on offense though as throughout the night they battered the Aggies with hit after hit, rounding the night up with 12.
The night for the Devil offense was sparked up in the second inning with a double from senior Sharee Zaleski where she was followed up with a blast over the left field wall from Rhiannon Baca to jump to a quick 2-0.
The Devils looked comfortable at the plate from there on out, with a double from Mindy Cowles in the third and another home run in the fifth for catcher Heidi Knabe.
ASU was able to wrap the game up early as they went into the sixth inning with five runs and were able to blast three more home ending the game in six innings.
The Devils start off with 1-0 start as the Aggies fall to 0-1 in their opening game.
ASU returns to action tomorrow as they host the Kajikawa Classic, a 16-team, 41-game tournament held at ASU's Farrington Stadium and the Tempe Sports Complex.
The tournament starts at 11:30 on Friday, though the Devils won't be in action until 4:30 and 7 p.m. where they'll look to jump to 3-0 on the season against Syracuse and Nevada at Tempe Sports Complex.