Feb. 10, 2012
TEMPE - Day two of the Kajikawa Classic saw the Arizona State softball team fall 3-1 to McNeese State then bounce back for a 10-5 victory against Northwestern in the nightcap.
The Sun Devils move to 3-1 overall after splitting day two with a 3-1 loss to McNeese State (2-1) and a 10-5 win via Dallas Escobedo's 14-strikeout performance against Northwestern (1-1).
After two days of play Annie Lockwood has an impressive .545 batting average, 6-for-11 at the plate with a team-best two homeruns and eight RBI.
Game One: McNeese 3, ASU 1
McNeese would be the first to put a run on the board, doing so in the bottom of the opening frame when Alanna DiVittorio came home unearned on a Dani Price single.
ASU answered in the third with its lone run of the game from Christina Zambrana who reached on a MSU error. Zambrana made her way around the bases on a wild pitch then was brought home on a Lockwood single to left center.
Lockwood went 1-for-3 with one RBI and one walk.
McNeese collected its final two runs in the fourth off three hits to make it a final score of 3-1. Hillary Bach came in for Mackenzie Popescue in the fourth to get the final out of the inning as Popescue falls to 1-1 with the loss after 3.2 innings of work. Bach closed the final 2.1 innings with three strikeouts and Tiffany Denham picked up the win going the distance with four strikeouts.
Game Two: ASU 10, Northwestern 5
The Sun Devils opened with a bang, flashing up five quick runs off three hits in the first inning to build a 5-0 cushion. In the frame, Lockwood posted a two-run homer for her 34rd career longball.
The Wildcats fought back to score two in the second and another in the third to close the gap at 5-3. ASU did not let up for long though, putting two on the board in the bottom of the inning when both Bailey Wigness and Zambrana came home on wild pitches, unearned.
ASU was not quite finished, scoring a trio in the fifth to make it a safe 10-3 lead. With bases loaded Wigness came home on a Zambrana at-bat. Lockwood continued to be clutch, singling to left to bring around Talor Haro who reached on a Wildcat error. Katelyn Boyd scored the final run of the inning as Amber Freeman reached on a fielders choice.
Northwestern scored two late in the top of the sixth for a final tally of 10-5. Escobedo fanned 14 over 7.0 innings for her first win of the season while Meghan Lamberth (0-1) garnered the loss for NU after six frames and one strikeout.
Up Next:
ASU faces Texas State at 4:30 followed by No. 9/14 Tennessee at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on FoxSports.com.