Feb. 6, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. – Outscoring their opponents 18-7 on the night, the second-ranked Sun Devil Softball Team took two wins in the opening day of the Kajikawa Classic Friday, topping UCF 10-7 and Portland State 8-0 in five innings. The Sun Devils cranked four home runs on the night as they pushed their record to 3-0 overall while dropping UCF to 0-2 on the season and Portland State to 1-1.
Up first on the day for ASU were the Central Florida Golden Knights which saw the Sun Devil offense shake off their slow start from the night before and post three runs in the first inning alone with a two-RBI single from Kaylyn Castillo followed up with another RBI single from Christina Zambrana. The Sun Devils broke it open in the third though as they posted four runs on five hits, with Mandy Urfer’s two-run longball to right center leading the highlight reel.
Another two runs from solo homeruns in the fourth with solo shots from Kaitlin Cochran and Kaylyn Castillo cemented the win, as the Golden Knights rallied in the seventh to make a game of it, but ultimately fell short as Megan Elliott picked up her first win of the season.
In the nightcap, the Sun Devils were all business as they took on the Portland State Vikings who were coming off a 10-0 win earlier in the day. The Sun Devils set the tone early though as Ashley Muenz stepped up to crush the first pitch of the season that she saw deep to center field for two runs in the second and ASU never looked back.
In the circle, freshman Hillary Bach looked untouchable as she posted the complete game shutout, striking out four and allowing only three hits all night. Her offense had her back as well tacking on two more runs in the third and four in the fifth with three hits, one of which was the walk-off RBI double from senior Jessica Mapes to wrap the game early in five innings.
Up next, Day Two of the Kajikawa Classic looms large as ASU digs in to take on two more teams tomorrow, facing Penn State and 3:30 and Cal State Bakersfield at 5:30 at ASU’s Farrington Stadium. Games will be played starting at 10 a.m. at both Tempe Sports Complex and Farrington Stadium. For a complete listing of scores, please visit the ASU softball homepage.