June 2, 2012
Press conference video
Women's College World Series Bracket and Information | Here
OKLAHOMA CITY - Arizona State softball continues its season in the Women's College World Series with a win against LSU, 6-0, on Saturday. The Sun Devils will play Oklahoma at Noon CT/10 a.m. PT Sunday.
ASU improves to 53-10 after eliminating LSU (40-25) in a 6-0 victory on elimination Saturday. The club will play fourth-seed Oklahoma (52-8) at 12 p.m. CT/10 a.m. PT on Sunday - the contest will be aired on ESPN/ESPN3 and online at www.watchESPN.com.
Hillary Bach (22-1) captured the win after scattering two strikeouts in the 7.0 inning outing. Top hitter for the Sun Devils was Alix Johnson, who went 2-for-4 at the dish with two runs scored, three RBI and her 13th homer of the year.
Should ASU beat Oklahoma, they will play the Sooners at 6 p.m. CT, if necessary, with the winner advancing to the Championship series. Format for bracket play is double elimination, then best-of-three games for the championship series starting Monday, June 4.
In the top of the third, Elizabeth Caporuscio led off the Sun Devil attack with a single, hit right off of LSU pitcher Rachele Fico. Katelyn Boyd followed two batters later with a well-placed bunt to get two runners on the bases for ASU.
What came next was Johnson's 13th home run of the year, a long shot to center that gave Arizona State a 3-0 lead in the third. Johnson is now tied for 16th in single-season homers, and tied for 18th in career homers with 16.
A four-hit, three-run frame in the fifth gave cushion to ASU's 6-0 lead. LSU brought in Brittany Mack for Fico, who left after 4.2 innings of work and two strikeouts. Fico finishes the season with a 20-13 record while Bach improves to 22-1.
With momentum in hand, the Sun Devils recorded the largest margin of victory in the 2012 Women's College World Series thus far with a six-run gap. The shutout victory is the third for ASU in the postseason (9-0 vs. LIU Brooklyn, 8-0 vs. UL).
The Sun Devils will play Oklahoma on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT/12 p.m. CT with the winner advancing to the Championship Series - ASU must take two from the Sooners in order to advance.