Sun Devils open postseason with a shutout victory
Arizona State opened its 2018 postseason on Friday with a 2-0 win over New Mexico State at Farrington Stadium.
After dropping two of three against UCLA to close the regular season, Arizona State bounced back with the shutout win over New Mexico State. The Sun Devils finished with four hits in Friday night’s low-scoring affair.
Arizona State got off to a hot start after sophomore Kindra Hackbarth was walked and a successful bunt from junior Taylor Becerra put the Sun Devils in scoring position. Junior Morgan Howe drove in two runs, giving the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead heading into the second inning.
Sophomore Giselle Juarez was on an absolute tear for the Sun Devils. Juarez tallied 10 strikeouts in the first six innings, including six straight strikeouts from the first to second inning. She also accrued only a single walk and allowed only two hits on the night.
When asked about what was working, Juarez felt that it was a little bit of everything.
“I always say everything,” Juarez said. “Just me spinning the ball, letting the ball move; just trusting every pitch that I threw tonight.”
While New Mexico State endured six scoreless, hitless innings, the seventh inning got more interesting as the Aggies showed signs of life in the seventh.
The Aggies entered the final inning with more errors (1) than hits. However, singles from junior Kelsey Horton and senior Fahren Glackin put New Mexico State in scoring position. Junior Victoria Castro got walked, loading the bases for the Aggies with two outs remaining.
Though the suspense mounted, the game came to an abrupt end when sophomore Shelby Shultes lined out straight to Becerra, who tagged Horton out unassisted.
Performers of the game
Howe earned Arizona State’s only two runs of the game with a two-run RBI double in the first inning. Juarez also struck out 10 Aggies in Friday night’s win.
More online
The Arizona Wildcats opened their Tucson regional with a game against St. Francis (Pa.) but it started too late to get a result into this edition of The Republic. Go to wildcats.azcentral.com for a game recap.