May 11, 2012
BERKELEY, Calif. - California outlasted Arizona State softball (45-7, 17-4 Pac-12) with a score of 5-0 on Friday, to claim the inaugural Pac-12 Championship. The three-game series ends at noon on Saturday.
The Golden Bears (50-3, 21-2 Pac-12) took no time to get on the board, doing so in the bottom of the second, 1-0. Danielle Henderson brought Breana Kostreba home on a single to left center that narrowly missed clearing the outfield fence.
In the bottom of the fourth, Henderson brought home California's second run, 2-0, with a single to left that plated Elia Reid. Cal tacked on an additional two runs in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, forcing ASU to bring in Mackenzie Popescue for Hillary Bach in the circle.
Bach left after retiring five Golden Bears in 4.1 innings worked - she garners the loss which is her first of the season (19-1). Cal added one more run in the fifth after the change to its 5-0 cushion after Jace Williams scored on a sacrifice fly by Henderson.
Valerie Arioto went the distance for the win to push her to 20-2. Popescue closed the contest in the final 1.2 innings for the Sun Devils.
UP NEXT
The final regular-season game of 2012 is at noon on Saturday. Live updates can be found on GameTracker and the ASU softball Twitter, @ASUSoftball.
FOLLOW THE SUN DEVILS LIVE
Sun Devil fans can follow the action on GameTracker and Twitter, which provides live statistics and play-by-play action. You can find the links to GameTracker on the softball schedule page here. Follow Twitter @ASUSoftball.
POSTSEASON INFORMATION
Since the Pac-12 champion is determined by winning percentage, whichever team captures two of the three games will earn the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Cal owns a 21-2 record while ASU is 17-4 after two games were rained out earlier in the conference season. The NCAA Division I Softball Selection Announcement will be broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, May 13 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.
VOTE FOR BOYD FOR THE LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD | Katelyn Boyd has been chosen as one of the 2012 finalist. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Vote for Katelyn at/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=208253662.
SENIOR CLASS WIN PERCENTAGE
Arizona State's 2012 senior class ranks third in the nation compared to all 2012 graduating classes. Here is the Top 5 breakdown:
1. Florida 213-38 = .849
2. Alabama 206-39 = .841
3. Arizona State 196-46 = .810
4. Missouri 193-46 = .808
5. Louisiana Lafayette 188-45 = .807
*updated May 11, 5 p.m.